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Spanish Accents

1. If a word ends in -n, -s or a vowel, and the next-to-last syllable is not stressed, an accent is needed:

está, estás, están, música
2. If words with all other endings do not stress the last syllable, an accent is needed:

fácil, lápiz, carácter
3. If the vowels i, u are stressed and combined with a, e, or o, an accent is needed:

mío, grúa, sonríe
4. Pronouns such as cómo, dónde, qué, quién have accents when used as question and exclamation words:

¿Dónde vives? No sabe qué decir. ¡Cómo habla!
5. Only a few one-syllable words have accents to signal different meanings: dé give (command) de of, from
él he/him el the
más more mas but
mí me mi my
sé I know se 3rd person reflexive/impersonal pronoun
sí yes si if
té tea te you
tú you tu your

TYPING ACCENTS: (For a more detailed explanation, go to: www.bowdoin.edu/~eyepes/newgr/accsp.htm)
With the Number Pad and NumLock on (PC) With MSWord Only With Mcintosh
á alt 0225 ctrl ', a alt option E + a
é alt 0233 ctrl ', e alt option E + e
í alt 0237 ctrl ', i alt option E + i
ó alt 0243 ctrl ', o alt option E + o
ú alt 0250 ctrl ', u alt option E + u
ñ alt 0241 shift + ctrl+~, n alt option n
Á alt 0193 ctrl ', A alt option E + A
É alt 0201 ctrl ', E alt option E + E
Í alt 0205 ctrl ', I alt option E + I
Ó alt 0211 ctrl ', O alt option E + O
Ú alt 0218 ctrl ', U alt option E + U
Ñ alt 0209 shift + ctrl+~, N alt option N
¿ alt 0191 alt+shift + ctrl + ? alt option + shift + ?
¡ alt 0161 alt+shift + ctrl + ! alt option + !
ü alt 0252 shift + ctrl+:, u alt option + u
Ü alt 0220 shift + ctrl+:, U alt option + U