Accentuation of DIPTONGOS and HIATOS

Putting the accents in a word can be complicated when we are not clear about the rules. To facilitate this task, in this lesson from a TEACHER we are going to show you what the accentuation of diphthongs and hiatuses so that you are clear about how you should proceed in each situation. You will see that it is very easy to identify and accentuate them if you pay attention to this content.

In addition, here you will also find some printable exercises with solutions so you can practice accentuating diphthongs and hiatuses.

Index

1. Summary of the stress rules for diphthongs and hiatuses
2. What are diphthongs and hiatuses
3. When diphthongs are accentuated
4. When hiatuses are accentuated - with examples

In this lesson we will talk about accentuation of diphthongs and hiatuses. First of all, let's remember what diphthongs and hiatuses:

• Diphthong: two vowels that are pronounced in the same stroke of voice, that is, they belong to the same syllable.
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• Hiatus: two vowels that are pronounced in two strokes of voice, each one belongs to a syllable.

The diphthongs will be accentuated whenever accentuation rules of the sharp, flat or esdrújulas words allow it. In the case that accentuation is needed, we will accentuate only the open or strong vowel (a, e, o): afterés. However, if we find a diphthong with two closed or weak vowels, we will always accentuate the second of the vowels: cuídate.

In order to accentuate the hiatuses we will also follow the basic rules of accentuation except in one case. When we have the combination of a weak vowel (i, u) stressed with a strong vowel (a, e, o) unstressed (and vice versa). In this case we will ALWAYS accentuate the weak vowel (i, u) which when accentuated will turn it into a strong vowel.

In the first place, and before setting out to determine when diphthongs and hiatuses should be accentuated, it will be necessary to know what each of them are in order to identify them. So we are going to make a definition of each term.

What are diphthongs

When we talk about diphthong we mean the union of two vowels that are pronounced in the same syllable. In other words, these two vowels are pronounced with a single blow of the voice and remain united. In these examples we are going to perform a hyphenation and you will clearly see what a diphthong is:

• Travel
• Hair comb
• Noise
• Dance
• Friday
• Noise
• Widow

In all of them we find that two vowels appear together and these are pronounced within the same syllable. But when is a diphthong formed? The answer is simple if we think about the vowels we have in Spanish and how each of them are classified. As you know we have two types:

• Open vowels: a, e, o
• Closed vowels: i, u.

In the case of diphthongs, they will always be made up of two closed vowels or one open and one closed, not accented, never two open vowels.

What are hiatuses

The hiatuses for their part, they are formed when two vowels that are followed are part of two different syllables. That is, in two strokes of the voice. Let's look at some examples of words that make up hiatuses.

• Mary
• Poet
• Trunk.
• Aerial
• Rail
• Spike

If we look at what was explained above regarding open and closed vowels, we will see that in the examples the vowels are always two open or one open and one closed accented.

Now that we know what diphthongs and hiatuses are and we have seen some examples of them in the previous sections, we can explain when they are accentuated. These words follow the same rules as the rest, therefore you only have to apply the rules of accentuation, although there is some exception that we will explain below.

Diphthongs follow the rules of accentuation and therefore they will be accentuated as follows:

• When the diphthong is formed by an open vowel and a closed vowel. The accent will always be placed in an open vowel following the accentuation of acute, flat and esdrújulas words. For example: can-tion; a-plaú-de-les.
• When the diphthong is formed by two closed vowels, the check mark will always be placed on the second. Let's see an example: take care of you.

As you can see, we just have to be clear about the general rules and on which vowel the accent is going to fall.

The hiatuses, being formed by two open vowels, or an open vowel and a closed vowel that must be pronounced in two syllables and like diphthongs they conform to the general rules of accentuation. That is, to accentuate a hiatus we must take into account whether the word is sharp, flat or spruce and when each of them are accentuated.

Thus, by way of summary, we can point out that those hiatuses that are formed by two open vowels follow the following precepts:

• Aerial: being a sdrújula word it is always accentuated.
• Poet: It is a plain word that ends in a vowel, for this reason it does not have an accent.

In the event that we find a hiatus formed by an open vowel and a closed vowel, but stressed or stressed, this should always have an accent. We show you some examples:

• Corn: it is a sharp word ending in a consonant. If we look at the rules of accentuation, it should not be accented because it does not end in -n or -s. But as we have already pointed out, there are some exceptions. In this case, the tilde is placed on the closed vowel to mark the hiatus.
• Mary: would be another example, since we also find a plain word that ends in a vowel. Following the rules, it should not be accented, but as in the previous example, this accent helps us to mark that there is a diphthong between the two vowels.

We hope this lesson on accentuation of diphthongs and hiatuses has been helpful to you. In the video you will find more examples and you will be able to continue expanding your knowledge of the Spanish language with much more content like this. Do you dare to continue learning with us?

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