Where is the accent? And what is the rule for placing the accent?
Estoy bebiendolos.
I'll send this to our Spanish expert, SraJMcGin.
(I've lost this once already!)
1. If the word ends in a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) or the consonants n or s, and there is no written accent mark, you will hear the next-to-last syllable as in muchacho.
2. If you want to hear the last syllable, there must be a written accent mark, as in condición, pidió
3. if the word ends in any consonant EXCEPT n or s, and there is no written accent mark, you will hear the last syllable. hospital / condición
4. if you want to hear the next-to-last syllable, there must be a written accent mark. (too tired to think of an example!)
Then every interrogative (question word) must have an accent: qué, por qué, quién, cuál, etc.
Many short words have accent marks to explain the difference. de (preposition), dé (verb), si (if) but sí (yes)
Then with dipthongs (a strong vowel with a weak vowel, strong ones being a, e, o and weak vowels being u and i. (remember "u" and "i" are weak!) If there is no written accent mark, you will hear the strong vowel as in oigo but if you want to hear the weak vowel, you must put an accent mark on it as in oí.
This is essentially it. Just learn the accent marks with the word.
Sra
You did not answer the question completely though. So for the phrase "estoy bebiendolos" where is the accent placed? Don't you have to add an accent when the direct object is attached at the end of a progressive tense?
Yes. Did you not see my answer?
Oh dear, I see that I lost that as well!
bebiéndolos
Sra
In the word "Estoy" in the sentence "Estoy bebiendolos," the accent is placed on the letter "o." The accent mark, or tilde, indicates where the stress of the word falls.
The general rule for accent placement in Spanish is as follows:
- Words that end in a vowel, "n," or "s" are stressed on the second-to-last syllable. For example: "estoy," "hablan," "mesa."
- Words that end in a consonant other than "n" or "s" are stressed on the last syllable. For example: "hablar," "beber," "feliz."
- If a word does not follow the regular stress pattern, an accent mark is used to indicate where the stress falls. For example: "bebé," "rápido," "camión."
In the case of "estoy," the accent mark is used because the stress falls on the last syllable instead of the second-to-last syllable according to the general rule. This is to differentiate it from the regular conjugated form "estoy" from the verb "estar" (to be).
Regarding "bebiendolos," there is no accent mark because the word "bebiéndolos" follows the regular stress pattern. It is stressed on the second-to-last syllable because it ends in a vowel, and the stress naturally falls on the "-en" syllable.