Accents... How to use them? It is not as difficult as you may think. But first of all, as an introduction, let me explain you the basics:

Spanish words, according to the syllable pronounced with more "stress", belong to one of the following groups:

Palabras agudas ("Agudas" words)
When we pronounce any of theses words, we put the stress on their last syllable.
For example: canción, verdad, jamón or radiador.
These four words have they last syllable pronounced with more emphasys, more strength. If we were able to mark the syllable with more strengh when pronounced, we could do something like this:

canción, verdad, jamón, radiador


2. Palabras llanas ("Llanas" words)
   Theses words take the stress, when pronounced, on their penultimate syllable (The second syllable from the end of the word). For example: silla, gallina, árbol or almíbar.
   
   See, in bold, the syllable pronounced with more emphasys :
   
   silla, gallina, árbol or almíbar



3. Palabras esdrújulas ("Esdrújulas" words)
   When pronounced, the stress will be on their antepenultimate syllable, the "second next to the last syllable", that is, the third syllable from the end of the word. For example: esdrújula, típico, mágico or práctico.
   
   See, in bold, the syllable pronounced with more emphasys :
   
   esdrújula, típico, mágico or práctico

These are the basics to understand how to use Spanish accents.
More information: See Spanish Accents Rules

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