Stress Accents: móét, dít
Put an acute accent (´) on a word to show that you stress it: Jy móét kom! (You really must come!)
How It Works
1. What it does. The acute accent (akuutaksent) shows that a word is spoken with extra stress. English writers underline a word or print it in italics; Afrikaans writers put an accent on it:
- Jy móét kom! (You really must come!)
- Dít is wat ek bedoel. (That is what I mean.)
- Dit is sý hond, nie myne nie. (It is his dog, not mine.)
2. Where it goes. The accent goes on the vowel of the stressed syllable. When a vowel is written with two letters, both letters take it: móét, véél, óók. An i that is part of a vowel group never takes the accent, so in ie only the e is marked: nié, dié, sién. A single i does take it: dít, ís.
3. Only when you need it. An emphasis accent is optional. The same word is written without it when it is not stressed: Jy moet kom. Use it sparingly, where a reader might otherwise miss the stress.
4. Fixed accents are different. A few words always carry an acute accent because it tells them apart from look-alike words: dié (this, that) versus die (the), and ná (after) versus na (to). The paired conjunctions óf ... óf and nóg ... nóg are usually written with accents too.
5. Not a kappie or a grave accent. The acute accent slopes up to the right (´). Do not confuse it with the kappie (ˆ), which is part of the normal spelling of words like wêreld, or with the grave accent (`) in nè and appèl.
Examples (6)
- Jy móét kom!
You really must come!
Word by Word: You must come!
- Dít is wat ek bedoel.
That is what I mean.
Word by Word: That is what I mean.
- Ek het dit nié gesê nie!
I did not say that!
Word by Word: I have it not said not!
The first nie is stressed. In ie only the e takes the accent.
- Dit is véél beter so.
It is much better like this.
Word by Word: It is much better so.
Both letters of the double vowel ee take the accent.
- Dit is sý hond, nie myne nie.
It is his dog, not mine.
Word by Word: It is his dog, not mine not.
- Sy ís slim, al glo jy dit nie.
She really is clever, even if you don't believe it.
Word by Word: She is clever, even believe you it not.
Common Mistakes
Putting the accent on the i of ie.
Ek het dit níé gesê nie!Ek het dit nié gesê nie!An i inside a vowel group never takes the accent. In ie, only the e is marked: nié, dié.
Marking only one letter of a vowel written double.
Jy móet kom!Jy móét kom!When a vowel is written with two letters, such as oe, ee or oo, both letters take the accent.
Using a grave accent for emphasis.
Jy mòèt kom!Jy móét kom!Emphasis is always shown with the acute accent, which slopes up to the right. The grave accent belongs only to a few fixed words such as nè and appèl.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Accents can mark stress for emphasis, like dié.
Related Patterns
- náAfter: Ná
Ná (after) is written with a fixed acute accent to tell it apart from na (to).
Level 2 - óf ... ófEither ... or
This paired conjunction is usually written with stress accents.
Level 3 - nóg ... nógNeither ... nor
Another paired conjunction that is usually written with stress accents.
Level 4 - The Kappie (Circumflex)
The kappie is a different mark that is part of a word's normal spelling.
Level 1 - The Deelteken (Diaeresis)
The deelteken is another vowel mark, used to split vowels into separate syllables.
Level 1
Practice Stress Accents: móét, dít in Bubblegum
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