- Words ending in a vowel, -n, or -s are stressed on the next to the last (penultimate) syllable:
nada
na - da
limonada
li - mo - na - da
zapatos
za - pa - tos
origen
o - ri - gen
compro
com - pro
esta
es - ta
estas
es- tas
- Words ending in any consonant except -n or -s are stressed on the last syllable:
doctor
doc - tor
ciudad
ciu - dad
comer
co - mer
- When rules #1 and #2 above are not followed, a written accent is used:
compró
com - pró
está
es - tá
estás
es - tás
- Written accents are also used to differentiate between words that are pronounced the same but have different meanings:
si - if
sí - yes
mi - my
mí - me
el - the
él - he
tu - your
tú - you
¿Qué dices? What ...?
¿cómo llego? how ...?
Sabe dónde estoy. He knows where I am. Digo que hace calor I say that...
como quieras as...
Estoy donde te dije. I am where I told you.
Don't think of these rules as burdensome. Rather, view them as your friends. They allow you to pronounce any Spanish word correctly
EXERCISES : Go to the link below to do stress exercises
2. Practice rule no1 / Practica la primera regla (palabras terminadas en -n, s-, o vocal)
3. Practice rule no2 / Practica la segunda regla (palabras terminadas en consonante, no -n ni -s)
4. Practice the two basic rules combined / Practica las dos reglas básicas juntas
5. Practice rule no3 / Practica la tercera regla (vocal cerrada tónica junto a vocal abierta)
6. Practice rule no4 / Practica la cuarta regla (interrogativos)
7. Practice rule no5 / Practica la quinta regla (monosílabos)
8. Practice all rules / Practica todas las reglas