Still having trouble understanding the rules of Spanish accentuation? In this don Quijote article you’ll learn everything you need to know to know when to accent words in Spanish. If you want to master this language, the accent of the words is essential to know how to pronounce them and how to differentiate them.

You can change the language and read this same article in Spanish, French or Italian to continue your way to learning Spanish in Spain with don Quijote. Don't miss anything!

What is accentuation in Spanish?

Accentuation is a basic part of Spanish as a language, as knowing how and when words are accented is essential to speaking and writing correctly. That said, Spanish words are accented according to the stressed syllable, that is, the syllable on which the stress falls when pronouncing a word.

Therefore, Spanish accents will help you to know how to pronounce a word simply by seeing it written. In Spanish, the accent mark is only written on the five vowels: á, é, í, ó, ú. Thus, the letters that are accented in Spanish are only these five, the rest of the letters or, rather, consonants, do not have an accent mark.

When to stress stressed syllables in Spanish?

Spanish words are stressed depending on where the stressed syllable is, but not all words are stressed. Therefore, it is necessary to know how to identify the stressed syllable to correctly stress words. In addition, depending on the position of the stressed syllable, Spanish words can be divided into four groups.

The rules of accentuation of Spanish words are as follows:

• Palabras agudas (oxytone words). They are accented when they end in a vowel, n or s, and the stressed syllable is the last one. For example: camion (truck), café (coffee), sofa (sofa), jamás (never), compás (compass).
• Palabras graves or llanas (paroxytone words). These words have stress when they end in a consonant other than s or no and do not end in a vowel. The stressed syllable is the penultimate syllable: lápiz (pencil), césped (lawn), fácil (easy), débil (weak), túnel (tunnel), ángel (angel).
• Palabras esdrújulas (proparoxytone words). These words always have a tilde and their stressed syllable is in the antepenultimate place. Examples: pájaro (bird), música (music), teléfono (telephone), lógico (logical), rápido (fast), histórico (historical).
• Palabras sobresdrújulas (proparoxytone words). Like the previous ones, they also always have a stress mark, but their stressed syllable is before the antepenultimate, i.e., fourth or fifth. For example: devuélveselo (give it back to him), repíteselo (repeat it), explícaselo (explain it to him), entrégamelo (give it to me).

Stressing monosyllabic words in Spanish

As a rule, monosyllabic words in Spanish are not accented, but there are exceptions. The rule that applies to these words is that they are accented when it is necessary to distinguish between words that are spelled the same, but have different meanings, i.e. homophones in Spanish.

For example, in the sentence “Tú tienes que traer tu propia camiseta el domingo” (You have to bring your own shirt on Sunday), there are two words that are the same but are differentiated by the accent: tú and tu. The first is a personal pronoun and the second a possessive. The same happens with other monosyllables such as: él and el, se and sé, mas and más, si and sí, te and té.

This type of accentuation is called diacritical tilde and, as we mentioned before, it is used to differentiate two words that are spelled the same but do not mean the same thing.

Accenting questions in Spanish

Questions in Spanish are always accented. Interrogative pronouns are accented to differentiate them from adverbial conjunctions. Thus, in addition to the question marks at the beginning and end of the sentence, you can tell that it is a question with the tilde that the pronouns carry.

For example:

1. ¿Qué tienes de comer hoy? (What do you have to eat today?)
2. Dime quién te lo contó (Tell me who told you)
3. ¿Cómo prefieres el café: solo o con leche? (How do you prefer your coffee: black or with milk?)
4. ¿Cuánto cuesta este libro? (How much does this book cost?)
5. No recuerdo cuándo fue eso (I don't remember when that was)
6. ¿Dónde vives ahora? (Where do you live now?)
7. ¿Cuándo es tu cumpleaños? (When is your birthday?)
8. Explícame por qué no viniste (Explain to me why you didn't come)

Common Spanish words with accents

Here are some of the most common Spanish words that have a tilde and can be heard daily. Do you know all of them?

• Café (Coffee)
• Inglés (English)
• Papá (Dad)
• Compás (Compass)
• Mamá (Mom)
• Además (In addition)
• También (Also/too)
• Jamás (Never)
• Útil (Useful)
• Limón (Lemon)
• Quizás (Maybe)
• León (Lion)
• Corazón (Heart)
• Francés (French)
• Árbol (Tree)
• Lápiz (Pencil)
• Fácil (Easy)
• Débil (Weak)
• Azúcar (Sugar)
• Móvil (Mobile)
• Césped (Lawn)
• Cárcel (Jail)
• Frágil (Fragile)
• Música (Music)
• Teléfono (Telephone)

• Pájaro (Bird)
• Fantástico (Fantastic)
• Lógico (Logical)
• Rápido (Fast)
• Científico (Scientific)
• Decisión (Decision)
• Esdrújula (Proparoxytone)
• Lágrima (Tear)
• Eléctrico (Electric)
• Álbum (Album)
• Dígamelo (Tell me)
• Panadería (Bakery)
• Repíteselo (Say it again)
• Tráigaselo (Bring it back to me)
• Devuélvemelo (Give it back to me)
• Préstaselo (Lend it to him)
• Cuéntamelo (Tell me about it)
• País (country)
• Río (River)
• Frío (Cold)
• Raíz (Root)
• Día (Day)
• Vacío (Void)
• Reír (To laugh)
• Aéreo (Aerial)

Of course there are many more Spanish words that are accented, but you will have to discover them for yourself. You can improve your command of the Spanish accentuation rules by reading, watching Spanish series and movies in their original version or by joining one of our intensive Spanish courses. Constant practice will help you understand and use Spanish accent words.

If you have already mastered the Spanish verb tenses, it is time for you to start getting into irregular verbs. These verbs are widely used in everyday Spanish, and it is essential that you know them and how to conjugate them to become a Spanish speaker. At don Quijote you will learn everything you need to know about irregular verbs in Spanish with practical examples.

Continue practicing to learn Spanish in Spain or switch languages and read this article in Spanish, French, Italian or Dutch.

What are irregular verbs in Spanish?

Irregular verbs in Spanish are those that do not follow the usual patterns of conjugation in one or more of their tenses and moods. Therefore, they must be learned separately since, when conjugating these verbs, their root changes its form.

How many irregular verbs are there in Spanish?

There are currently more than 100 irregular verbs in Spanish. Although among the most common ones, the list is reduced to about 50 and they constitute an essential part of the daily vocabulary. In fact, many of the most used verbs in Spanish (ser, estar, ir, tener, hacer) are irregular.

Spanish irregular verbs appear very frequently in everyday communication, so it is essential to know their conjugation. Their irregularity is a structural characteristic of the language and does not respond to a choice of the speaker, i.e. they must be memorized, since they do not follow a fixed rule.

Types of irregularities in verbs

Irregular verbs in Spanish can present different types of changes. These are the most common ones:

1.Change in the root by diphthongation or vowel change. They change the vowel in the root in some forms, generally in the present indicative and subjunctive:

• e → ie: pensar → pienso
• o → ue: poder → puedo
• e → i: pedir → pido

2. Change in the first-person singular. These verbs are irregular only in the first-person present indicative:

• poner → pongo
• salir → salgo

3. Irregular roots in the preterite indefinite:

• tener → tuve
• decir → dije

4. Completely irregular verbs. All these conjugated verbs are completely different from their root. For example:

• ser → soy → soy, fui, sea
• ir → voy, fui, vaya
• haber → he, hubo, haya

Most common irregular verbs in Spanish

Some of the most used verbs in Spanish are irregular. Here is a list of the most used irregular verbs in Spanish in two forms: present and preterite indicative.

1. Ser (to be): yo soy, tú eres, él/ella es, nosotros somos, vosotros sois, ellos son. Yo fui, tú fuiste, él/ella fue, nosotros fuimos, vosotros fuisteis, ellos fueron.
2. Estar (to be): yo estoy, tú estás, él/ella está, nosotros estamos, vosotros estáis, ellos están. Yo estuve, tú estuviste, él/ella estuvo, nosotros estuvimos, vosotros estuvisteis, ellos estuvieron.
3. Ir (to go): yo voy, tú vas, él/ella va, nosotros vamos, vosotros vais, ellos van. Yo fui, tú fuiste, él/ella fue, nosotros fuimos, vosotros fuisteis, ellos fueron.
4. Tener (to have): yo tengo, tú tienes, él/ella tiene, nosotros tenemos, vosotros tenéis, ellos tienen. Yo tuve, tú tuviste, él/ella tuvo, nosotros tuvimos, vosotros tuvisteis, ellos tuvieron.
5. Hacer (to do): yo hago, tú haces, él/ella hace, nosotros hacemos, vosotros hacéis, ellos hacen. Yo hice, tú hiciste, él/ella hizo, nosotros hicimos, vosotros hicisteis, ellos hicieron.
6. Haber (to have): yo he, tú has, él/ella ha, nosotros hemos, vosotros habéis, ellos han. Yo hube, tú hubiste, él/ella hubo, nosotros hubimos, vosotros hubisteis, ellos hubieron.
7. Decir (to say): yo digo, tú dices, él dice, nosotros decimos, vosotros decís, ellos dicen. Yo dije, tú dijiste, él/ella dijo, nosotros dijimos, vosotros dijisteis, ellos dijeron.
8. Poder (to be able to or to can): yo puedo, tú puedes, él/ella puede, nosotros podemos, vosotros podéis, ellos pueden. Yo pude, tú pudiste, él/ella pudo, nosotros pudimos, vosotros pudisteis, ellos pudieron.
9. Dar (to give): yo doy, tú das, él/ella da, nosotros damos, vosotros dais, ellos dan. Yo di, tú diste, él/ella dio, nosotros dimos, vosotros disteis, ellos dieron.
10. Saber (to know): yo sé, tú sabes, él/ella sabe, nosotros sabemos, vosotros sabéis, ellos saben. Yo supe, tú supiste, él/ella supo, nosotros supimos, vosotros supisteis, ellos supieron.

List of irregular verbs in Spanish

Here is a list of the 50 most used irregular verbs in Spanish:

• Acertar – To get it right
• Adquirir – To acquire
• Agradecer – To thank
• Andar – To walk
• Caber – To fit
• Caer – To fall
• Comenzar – To start
• Conducir – To drive
• Conocer – To meet
• Conseguir – To achieve/ to get
• Construir – To build
• Convertir – To convert
• Corregir – To correct
• Dar – To give
• Decir – To say/to tell
• Destruir – To destroy
• Dormir – To sleep
• Elegir – To choose
• Estar – To be
• Hacer – To do
• Haber - To have
• Hervir – To boil
• Incluir – To include
• Influir – To influence
• Ir – To go
• Jugar – To play

• Medir – To measure
• Mentir – To lie
• Morir – To die
• Nacer – To be born
• Obedecer – To obey
• Oír – To hear
• Pedir – To request
• Poder – To be able to
• Poner – To put
• Preferir – To prefer
• Querer – To want
• Reír – To laugh
• Saber – To know
• Salir – To exit
• Seguir – To follow
• Sentir - To feel
• Ser – To be
• Sonreír - To smile
• Tener – To have
• Traducir – To translate
• Traer – To bring
• Ver – To see
• Venir – To come
• Volver – To return

Examples of sentences with Spanish irregular verbs

Once you have understood how irregular verbs work in Spanish, we propose you a challenge: figure out the infinitive. Can you guess which is the root verb of these sentences? We leave you the answers below.

1. Ella es muy amable y generosa (She is very kind and generous)
2. Nosotros vamos al cine cada sábado (We go to the movies every Saturday)
3. Estoy cansado después del viaje (I'm tired after the trip)
4. Tengo una reunión importante mañana (I have an important meeting tomorrow)
5. ¿Hiciste la tarea ayer? (Did you do your homework yesterday?)
6. Él siempre dice la verdad (He always tells the truth)
7. Mis amigos vienen de Francia (My friends are coming from France)
8. ¿Puedes ayudarme con este problema? (Can you help me with this problem?)
9. Puse el libro sobre la mesa (I put the book on the table)
10. Salgo a correr todas las mañanas (I go jogging every morning)
11. Duermo ocho horas cada noche (I sleep eight hours a night)
12. Pido una pizza grande, por favor (I order a large pizza, please)
13. Queremos viajar en verano (We want to travel in the summer)
14. No sé la respuesta correcta (I don't know the right answer)
15. Conduje durante cinco horas seguidas (I drove for five hours straight)

Here are the answers to the irregular verbs in Spanish in each sentence: ser, ir, estar, tener, hacer, decir, venir, poder, poner, salir, dormir, pedir, querer, saber, conducir.

Spanish irregular verbs are fundamental to achieve fluency in the language, even though they are a challenge for learners. Mastering the most common irregular verbs in Spanish will allow you to improve your comprehension and expression in the language. At don Quijote we recommend the best way to learn them: through constant practice in our intensive Spanish course, where you can learn the language, put it into practice and, in addition, get to know wonderful cities such as Madrid, Barcelona or Valencia. Start your adventure in the language and come study with don Quijote!