Spanish · Chapter 49 · Lesson 8 · Grammar primer
Accent rules: agudas, llanas, esdrujulas
When a Spanish word needs a written accent: agudas take one ending in a vowel, n or s (cafe, cancion); llanas take one when they do not (arbol, lapiz); esdrujulas always (rapido, musica); and the dia/pais hiatus rule.
The short version
The one test behind every Spanish accent
Find the stressed syllable, then ask one question: does the word end in a vowel, n or s? Agudas, stressed on the last syllable, take the tilde when they do. Llanas, stressed on the second to last, take it when they do not. Esdrújulas skip the test and always wear one.
corazón
When a tilde is not about stress at all
A weak vowel (i or u) next to a strong one normally glides into one syllable: bien, cuando, seis. When the pair is pulled apart instead, Spanish marks the split with an accent on the weak vowel. That is why día is dí-a and país is pa-ís. This override beats the ordinary agudas and llanas rule.
día
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