A Complete Guide to Written Accent Marks in Spanish: With Exercises

This is the best explanation available for accent marks in Spanish; it falls elegantly between a brief introduction and an exhaustive compendium. My webpage on the use of accent marks in Spanish has for years been at or near the top of any "Google" search on the topic and I'm pleased that my explanation has been of use to teachers and students. Recently, I have received several requests for a version in print and I have sensed a need for some limited practice exercises. There are a number of short lessons on accent marks on the internet and most every Spanish textbook has a few pages on the topic at the end of an early chapter, but by and large none of these include enough detail or examples to make expert users of students. At the opposite extreme, the most recent Ortografía de la lengua española (2010) published by the Real Academia devotes a full 87 pages of small print to the subject. The goal in this volume is to be thorough but not overwhelming or pedantic. I aim to provide an explanation that is appropriate for students of Spanish with limited background in linguistics and to provide exercises of progressive difficulty (with answers) so that these same students can become adept, if not expert, at using accent marks in their writing.