A consonant coming between two vowels, belongs to the vowel by which it is followed; as, a-mor, pe-na, le-che,* ga-llo.*

Two consonants, coming between two vowels, are divided; as, al-zar, cas-tor, már-tir.

But should the first consonant be the semivowel f, or any of the mutes, and the second or r, both the consonants are then joined to the vowel by which they are followed; as, ta-bla, co-bre, la-cre, an-drajo.

Except, at-leta, and at-lante.

When s is preceded by b, l, m, n, or r, and followed by another consonant at the same time, s must be joined to the consonant by which it is preceded; as, Amsterdam.

Four consonants coming between two vowels are equally divided between them: as, trans-cribir.

Of some of the Marks used in Punctuation.
Note of Interrogation (?).

This mark is not only used at the conclusion; but also placed, inverted at the beginning of an interrogatory, in order to warn the reader; unless the preceding words convey a sufficient warning; as, "¿Qué es lo que vmd. acostumbra comer?" preguntó al enfermo.

"Ahora bien," me preguntó friamente el chalan, "cuanto pide vmd. por su mula?”

Note of Admiration (!).

This note is also inverted at the beginning of ejaculations, when the preceding words are not sufficient to prepare the reader; as, ¡Mirándome con ternura esclamaba, "o que gracioso eres y que lindo!" "¡Pastas dulces

* Ch and I are deemed only single consonants.

y viandas suculentas!" esclamó suspenso y admirado el doctor.

Diæresis ().

This is used only over the u of ue and ui, when the u is to be sounded: as ungüento, argüir.

The Accent (').

Accent, in orthography, is the mark which is placed over some letters to denote the manner of their pronunciation. In Spanish it is commonly placed over that vowel on which the stress is laid in pronouncing a word, if it cannot be ascertained without.

(1.) Monosyllables having only one signification are never accented; as, cal, pan, coz, mal.

(2.) Monosyllables, having more than one signification, should be accented when they are more slowly pronounced; as mí, me; mi, my; tú, thou; tu, thy; él, he; el, the, &c.

(3.) The vowels á, é, ó, ú, when used either as prepositions or conjunctions, should always be accented; as, voi á Lóndres; padre ó hijo; cruel é ingrato.

(4.) Dissyllables and polysyllables ending in a vowel, may be accented on any vowel (the penultima excepted) whereon the stress is laid; as, cántico, espíritu, santísimo, Bercebú, allá.

(5.) But if to some person of a verb ending in an accented vowel the case of a pronoun should be added, the accent must be continued although it fall on the penultima; as, temí, temile; enseñó, enseñóla; miró, miróme.

(6.) Dissyllables ending in a diphthong are never accented; as, indio, Julio, agua, gloria, mutuo, fragüe.

All words which end in y must not be accented; as, Paraguay, Rey, Comboy.

*

(7.) Trisyllables and polysyllables ending in two vowels, must be accented on whichever of the two vowels the stress happens to be laid; as, alegría, puntapié, ganzúa, continué: see No. 9.

Except the first and third persons singular of the imperfect of the indicative, and of the subjunctive ending in ia, which are never accented; as, temia, amaria, sufriria, &c.

(8.) Trisyllables and polysyllables ending in any of these diphthongs ia, ie, io, ua, ue, uo, must be accented on any vowel (the penultima excepted) whereon the stress is laid.

(9.) Words ending in ae, ao, au, ea, oa, oe, 00, (not being diphthongs) must not be accented; as, pelea, Sarao, albacea. But should these two vowels form a diphthong, the word must be accented on whatever vowel the stress is laid; as, héroe, línea, etérea.

(10.) Words ending in a consonant may be accented on any of the vowels (except the last) whereon the stress is laid; as, árbol, vírgen, metamorfosis, alférez.

Except the second person singular and third plural of the future indicative, which are always accented on the last vowel; as, amarás, vendrán, and surnames ending in ez, which are never accented; as, Sanchez, Fernandez, Martinez.

(11.) Verbs or nouns which require to be accented in the singular generally retain the accent, on the same syllable, in the plural; as, vendré, vendrémos; salió, saliéron; árbol, árboles.

Except carácter, which changes into caracteres in the plural number.

*

According to the new manner of spelling; these, and similar words, should be written with an i: See page 44 rule 5th.

(12.) If to an unaccented person of a verb, consisting only of two syllables, we affix one or more pronominal cases, the first vowel must then be accented; as, oye, byeme; compra, cómpramelo; but if the person of the verb consist of more than two syllables, its penultima should be accented; as, entrega, entrégalo, entrégaselo; comuniquemos, comuniquémoslo.

(13.) If an adverb ending in mente be formed from an unaccented adjective, the adverb remains unaccented; as, feliz, felizmente; humilde, humildemente; but should the adjective be accented, the accent continues on the same vowel in the adverb; as, fácil, fácilmente; difícil, difícilmente; inútil, inútilmente.

(14.) If a dissyllable ending in two vowels be increased by the prefixing of a monosyllable, the penultima is then generally accented; as, via, desvía; lia, deslía.

The other marks used in punctuation are employed in the same manner as they are in English.