Sep
30
Why accent marks are important in Spanish
One of the things that we English speakers don’t always pay close attention to when writing in Spanish is when an accent mark (la tilde) is needed. Not only does the accent mark indicate where to place the stress in pronouncing a word, it also is used to distinguish between words. Conversationally, it may not seem like a big deal, but when you write an email or an essay or any kind of text, leaving off the accent marks can change the entire meaning of your sentences. There’s a big difference between ano (anus) and año (year); ingles (groins) and inglés (English).
Take note of the following list of identical word pairs. Their meanings change depending on whether they have an accent mark or not. (Consider this a follow-up to a previous post I wrote last week about por qué, porque and porqué.)
WITHOUT A WRITTEN ACCENT WITH A WRITTEN ACCENT
aun (even) aún (still, yet)
carne (meat) carné (identification card)
de (of) dé (imperative of verb “dar”)
el (the) él (he)
mas (but) más (more, most, plus)
mi (my) mí (me)
o (“or” between words) ó (“or” between numbers)
papa (potato); El Papa (the Pope) papá (dad); papás (parents)
que (that) qué (what?)
se (himself, herself, themselves) sé (I know; be!)
si (if) sí (yes)
solo (alone) sólo (only)
te (you, to/for you) té (tea)
P.S. My blog layout is too narrow so there isn’t enough space to write a full explanation in the column format. Note that dé can be the imperative or the subjunctive of the verb dar; sé can either mean “I know” or it can be the imperative of the verb ser. Regarding o and ó, they both mean “or”. However, if you are talking about things, no accent mark is necessary; if referring to numbers, you would use ó with the accent mark. For example: Necesito un lápiz o una bolí. Juan tiene 2 ó 3 hijos. [I heard from bilingual blogger gastephen that this accent mark is necessary to avoid confusion with the zero. Read his comment below.)
Do you know of any others? List them below in the comments section! 
September 30th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
Howdy!
In your article you say:
However, if you are talking about things, no accent mark is necessary; if referring to numbers, you would use ó with the accent mark. For example:Necesito un lápiz o una bolí. Juan tiene dos ó tres hijos.
I don’t think that’s quite right. It would only be accented if the numbers were written in digits: i.e. Juan tiene 2 ó 3 hijos (this is to avoid potential confusion between the “o” and the digit zero).
Here’s what the DPD, el Diccionario panhispánico de dudas says:
3. Por razones de claridad, ha sido hasta ahora tradición ortográfica escribir la o con tilde cuando iba colocada entre números, para distinguirla del cero: 3 ó 4, 10 ó 12. La escritura mecanográfica hace cada vez menos necesaria esta norma, pues la letra o y el cero son tipográficamente muy diferentes. No obstante, se recomienda seguir tildando la o en estos casos para evitar toda posible confusión. La o no debe tildarse si va entre un número y una palabra y, naturalmente, tampoco cuando va entre dos palabras: Marca de incorrección.Había 2 ó más policías en la puerta (correcto: 2 o más); Marca de incorrección.¿Quieres té ó café? (correcto: té o café).
Take care,
G.
October 1st, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Wow, something I didn’t know about the o and ó. Very useful post (and comment, gastephen). Thanks!
October 1st, 2008 at 9:17 pm
I didn’t know it either, I guess I should be sent back to school.
Gracias Eleena
October 1st, 2008 at 10:23 pm
This is a wonderful and useful post!!!! Learned a few things myself.
Gracias-
Maribel
October 2nd, 2008 at 12:32 am
Me alegro.
Gracias, chicos!
October 2nd, 2008 at 1:23 am
I am just learning the language but still find this very useful information. I am guilty of being lazy at times and leaving off the accent when writing. I’ll make more of an effort from now on. Thanks for the nudge.
December 3rd, 2008 at 6:31 pm
this website is soooo cool. i love to learn. thanks