Reference · module 34
Writing it down
Everything this module explains, on one page.
Where the accent goes
Place written accents by rule rather than by memory.
- A word ending in a vowel, n or s is stressed on the last syllable but one, and needs no accent: casa, hablan, lunes.
- A word ending in any other consonant is stressed on the last syllable: hablar, feliz, reloj. Break either rule and an accent is written: café, árbol.
- An accent also separates identical words: él and el, tú and tu, sí and si, más and mas, qué and que.
The mistake you are about to make
Tu eres Ana.
Tú eres Ana.
The accent looks decorative. Without it tu means your; with it, tú means you.
Punctuation
Punctuate the way Spanish does.
- Questions and exclamations open as well as close: ¿Cómo estás? ¡Qué bien! The opening mark goes where the question starts, not at the front of the sentence.
- No comma before que in a defining clause: El libro que compré. This is where Russian and Spanish part company.
- Dialogue takes a dash, not quotation marks: — ¿Vienes? — preguntó. The dash opens the speech and marks the narration.
The mistake you are about to make
«¿Vienes?», preguntó.
—¿Vienes? —preguntó.
English puts dialogue in quotation marks. Spanish uses a dash to open the line and mark the narrator's words.
A formal letter
Write a complaint or a request.
- Open with Estimado señor or Estimada señora, and close with Atentamente or Un cordial saludo.
- State the reason first: Me dirijo a usted para. Le escribo en relación con. El motivo de esta carta es.
- Ask at the end: Les agradecería que. Ruego que. Both take the subjunctive, because both are requests.
The mistake you are about to make
Les agradecería que me responden.
Les agradecería que me respondieran.
Thanking sounds like a statement, so an ordinary verb comes out. After agradecería it is the past subjunctive.
Summarising and arguing
Write a short opinion piece.
- The usual shape is four parts: the subject, the arguments for, the arguments against, and what you think.
- To attribute: según el autor, el texto sostiene que, se afirma que. None of them commits you to agreeing.
- To hedge: en cierta medida, hasta cierto punto, en general, salvo excepciones. They keep a claim defensible.
The mistake you are about to make
Según el autor dice que…
Según el autor, …
"According to the author he says" doubles up. Según already names the source.