Word Stress

Level 1

Check the last letter. A vowel means the next-to-last syllable is stressed, and a consonant means the last one is.

How It Works

You do not need an accent to find the stress in most words. The ending tells you.

The word ends in	Stress on	Examples
a vowel	the next-to-last syllable	femna (woman), pòrta (door), libre (book)
a vowel and s	the next-to-last syllable	femnas, libres
a consonant	the last syllable	ostal (house), ostals, mercat (market)
-n in the they form of a verb	the next-to-last syllable	parlan (they speak), vendon (they sell)

A written accent marks a stress that breaks the rule. Mercé ends in a vowel but is stressed on the last syllable. Parlaràs (you will speak) ends in s but is stressed on -ràs. Cossí (how) is stressed on -sí.

A grave accent (è, ò) also shows an open vowel, so it can appear where the rule is followed: pèira, pòrta.

Examples (5)

femna
woman
It ends in a vowel, so the stress is on fem-.
ostal
house
It ends in a consonant, so the stress is on -tal.
mercé
thank you
The accent shows the stress on the last syllable.
cossí
how
The accent shows the stress on the last syllable.
parlan
they speak
The verb ending -n keeps the stress on par-.

Common Mistakes

Leaving out the accent that marks the stress.
merce
mercé
The word is stressed on the last syllable, which breaks the rule, so it needs the accent.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Word StressLevel 1

Learn This First

Word stress uses the written accents as its exceptions, so the grave and acute accents come first.

Acute and Grave Accents
Know what the grave and acute accents show, because a written accent marks the words that break the stress rule: mercé, cossí.
Level 1

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Nouns in -ariáLevel 4

Practice Word Stress in Bubblegum

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