Foreign Language Class– SPANISH

Lesson 3

ACCENTUATION, PUNCTUATION AND CAPITALIZATION, DEFINITE AND

INDEFINITE ARTICLES

ACCENTUATION1

Spanish word stress is generally determined according to the following rules:

Rule 1. If a word ends in a vowel, or in –n or –s, and is stressed on the last
syllable, it needs an accent mark.

Ex: limón, lemon; jamón, ham; jamás, never; mamá, mom

These words don’t need an accent mark: hablar, to speak, pastel, cake, reloj,
watch. They are stressed on the last syllable, but they don’t end in a vowel, in –n or –s.

Rule 2. If a word is stressed on the second to the last syllable, and it doesn’t end
in vowel, or in –n or –s, it needs an accent mark.

Ex: difícil, difficult; inútil, useless

These words don’t need an accent mark: tomate, tomato; arte, art
Rule 3: Every word stressed on the third to last syllable needs an accent.
Ex: pájaro, bird;

Note: we can notice that it has three syllables, therefore since the third syllable is
the stressed one, it needs an accent.
Thus,
vowel, n, s = 2nd to last
other than n, s = last

Exemption to these rules have a written accent mark over the stressed vowel
(fácil, easy, hablará, to talk to, ultimo, last). There are also words that take accent
marks in order to distinguish them from homonyms2 (el, the, él, he; si, if, sí, yes ).
Adverbs ending in –mente have two stressed syllables since they retain both the
stress of the root word and of the –mente suffix (lentamente, slowly, difícilmente,
harldy). Many compounds also have two stressed syllables (limpiaparabrisas, wiper
washer).

EXERCISES: Put a number below the syllable, and encircle the proper stress.
1. artístico 4. mujer
2. hombres 5. azúcar
3. atlético 6. lápiz

PUNCTUATION3 AND CAPITALIZATION4

Just like in in English, punctuation marks are used to:
 provide emphasis
 to indicate pauses
1
To make (something) more prominent or noticeable (emphasis).
2
A word that is spelled and pronounced like another word but it different in making.
3
The marks (such as period) in a piece of writing that makes its meaning clear and that separate it into sentence,
clauses, etc.
4
The use of capital letter in writing.

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Foreign Language Class– SPANISH

 intonation changes
 guide people through the meaning of our expressions

El punto, the dot (period/full stop)

 Juan viene hoy. Juan is coming today
La coma, the comma (short pause in a sentence)
 Viajaré por Andalucia, Zaragosa y Toledo. I will travel to Andalucia, Zaragosa
and Toledo
El punto y coma, the dot and comma (semicolon- divide related sections in a
sentence)
 Hoy veremos un buen partido; sin embargo, creo que mi equipo perderá. Today
we will see a good match; however, I think my team will lose.
Signos de interrogacíon, question mark (used in interrogative sentence)
 ¿Qué hora es? What time is it?
Exclamacion, exclamation point (used in strong emotion)
 ¡Socorro! Help!

Questions and exclamations in Spanish are preceded by an inverted question mark

¿ and an inverted exclamation mark ¡, respectively:
 ¿ Quándo llamó Ana?
 Y tú, ¿ qué piensas?
 ¡No hagas eso!
 Pero, ¡qué lástima!

In Spanish, unlike English, the following words are not capitalized:

 Names of days, months, and languages (juvenes, octubre, español).
 Spanish adjectives or nouns derived from proper nouns (los nicaraguenes,
una teoria marxista)

EXCERCISES
Write CORRECT if the word/sentence is correct. If the word/sentence is wrong, write
the correct one on the space provided before the number.
__________1. ¿ es nuevo? __________6. Griego
__________2. ¿ como esta usted ? __________7. Julio
__________3. ¿ llamaron ? __________8. Mayo
__________4. Lunes __________9. Augusto
__________5. Abril __________10. Mama!

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Foreign Language Class– SPANISH

DEFINITIVE ARTICLES5

We use definitive articles to introduce specific nouns. Spanish has five forms of definite
articles: el (masculine singular), la (feminine singular), los (masculine plural), and lo
(neuter). The first four agree in gender and number with the nouns they limit:
 el carro, the car; las tijeras, the scissors
Although the form el is used with feminine singular nouns beginning with a- or -ha
 el aguila, el hambre

Singular Plural
Masculine El los
Feminine La las

The neuter article lo is used with the masculine singular form of an adjective to
express and abstract concept.
 lo mejor de este metodo, the best thing about this method
 lo meticuloso de su trabajo, the meticulousness of her work
 lo mismo para mi, the same for me
Whenever the masculine article el immediately follows the words de or a, it combines
with them to form the contractions del and al, respectively (viene del campo, vi al
hermano de Roberto).

de + el = del a + el = al

The use of el, la, los and las in Spanish corresponds largely to the use of the in
English; some exemptions are noted below.

The definite article is used:

 When referring to something as class (los gatos son aguiles, cats are
agile; me musta el café, I like coffee).
 In references to meals and in most expressions of time ¿ comiste el
amuerzo? did you eat lunch?; son las dos, it’s two o’clock?
 Before titles (except don, dona, san, santo, santa, fray, and isor) in
third-person references to people (la senora Rivera llamo, Mrs. Rivera
called; but: hola, senora Rivera, hello, Mrs. Rivera).
 In references to body parts and personal possessions (me duele la
cabeza, my head hurts; dejo el sombrero, he left his hat).
 To mean “the one” or “the ones” when the subject is already
understood (la de madera, the wooden one; los que vi ayer, the ones I
saw yesterday).

5
Not able to be argued about or change: final and settled. The definite article is used before singular and plural
nouns when the noun is specific or particular. The signals that the noun is definite, that it refers to a particular
member of a group. For example: "The dog that bit me ran away."

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Foreign Language Class– SPANISH

The definitive article is omitted:

 Before a noun in apposition, if the noun is not modified (Caracas,
capital de Venezuela; but: Pico Bolivar, la montana mas alta de
Venezuela)
 Before a number in a royal title (Carlos Quinto, Charles the Fifth).

INDEFINITE ARTICLE6

The forms of the indefinite article in Spanish are un (masculine singular), una (feminine
singular), unos (masculine plural), and unas (feminine plural). They agree in number
and gender with the nouns they limit (una mesa, a table; unos platos, some plates),
although the form un is used with feminine singular nouns beginning with a stressed a-
or ha- (un ala, un hacha).

English
Singular Plural
Translations
Masculine un Unos
a, an, some
Feminine una Unas

The use of un, una, unos, and unas in Spanish corresponds largely to the use of a, an,
and some in English, with some exceptions:
 Indefinite articles are generally omitted before nouns identifying someone
or something as a member of a class or category (Paco es
professor/catolico, Paco is a professor/Catholic).
 They are also often omitted in instances where quantity is understood from
context (vine sin chanqueta, I came without a jacket; no tengo carro, I don’t have
a car).

EXCERCISES
Provide a definite article for each noun in numbers 1 -5, and an indefinite article for
each noun in numbers 6 - 10.
(el, la, los or las) (un, una, unos o unas)
1. __________ chico 6. __________ lapis
2. __________ chica 7. __________ autobus
3. __________ maleta 8. __________ escuela
4. __________ cuadernos 9. __________ computadora

5. __________ mujeres 10. __________ hombre

6
Not certain in amount or length, typically designating an unidentified, generic, or unfamiliar person or thing; not
clear or certain in meaning or details. The indefinite article (a, an) is used before a noun that is general or when its
identity is not known.