Spanish Written Accents in Questions and Common Contrasting Word Pairs
Spanish Written Accents in Questions and Common Contrasting Word Pairs
In this lesson, you will use written accents correctly in direct questions, simple indirect questions, and several common word pairs whose accent marks distinguish grammatical functions.
Question words carry written accents
Common interrogative forms include:
- — what
- — who
- — which / what
- — how
- — when
- — where
- — how much / how many
- — why
Direct questions
- — What do you need?
- — Who is calling?
- — Which one do you prefer?
- — How does it work?
- — When does it arrive?
- — Where is the station?
- — How much does it cost?
- — Why did you change the booking?
Simple indirect questions also keep the accent
- — I do not know what he / she needs.
- — I want to know who is calling.
- — I do not remember when it arrives.
- — I need to confirm where the parcel is.
The sentence does not need question marks for the interrogative word to keep its accent.
Tú and tu
- — You work here.
- — Your book is here.
Tú is a subject pronoun. Tu is a possessive adjective.
Él and el
- — He lives in Madrid.
- — The hotel is nearby.
Él is a pronoun. El is the masculine singular article.
Sí and si
- — Yes, I can go.
- — If you can, call tomorrow.
Sí can mean yes. Si without an accent introduces an if-clause in this familiar pattern.
Mí and mi
- — This message is for me.
- — My message is here.
Mí is a pronoun after a preposition. Mi is a possessive adjective.
Sé and se
- — I know the answer.
- — Be patient.
- — I give it to Ana.
- — Ana gets up at seven.
Sé can be a form of saber or the affirmative tú command of ser. Se is a pronoun.
Dé and de
- Déme el recibo, por favor. — Give me the receipt, please.
- — The room door is open.
Dé is a verb form of dar. De is a preposition.
Accent distinction is not the same as the general stress rule
The accent in él, tú, mí, sé, and dé distinguishes grammatical functions in common pairs. Do not conclude that every short stressed word needs a written accent.
Words such as — sun and — bread are stressed but do not receive an accent mark under the normal spelling rules.
Editing task
Incorrect:
— Where is your ticket?
Correct form:
— Where is your ticket?
Incorrect:
— I do not know when he / she arrives.
Correct form:
— I do not know when he / she arrives.
A practical accent-check method
- Mark direct and indirect interrogative words with their required accents.
- Distinguish tú / tu by pronoun versus possessive function.
- Distinguish él / el by pronoun versus article.
- Distinguish sí / si by yes versus if in these familiar uses.
- Distinguish mí / mi by pronoun versus possessive.
- Distinguish sé / se by verb versus pronoun.
- Distinguish dé / de by verb versus preposition.
- Do not add written accents to every word simply because you hear stress.
From Accent Checks to Revising an A2 Text
You can now choose the correct written accents in questions and common contrasting word pairs. The next lesson uses a staged editing method to revise an A2 text for tense, agreement, and pronoun clarity.