The accentuation rules are related to the stressed syllable positioning (the most intensely pronounced syllable). There are specific rules for oxytone, paroxytone and proparoxytone words.
Oxytone word accentuation rules
Oxytones, words where the last syllable is stressed, must be graphically accented in some specific cases. Check out the rules for accentuation of oxytones below.
1. Stressed syllable ending in stressed vowel -a, -e and -o
Oxytones with stressed syllables ending in stressed vowel -a, -e and -o, followed or not by -s, are accented.
Examples:
- shaman
- you
- badge
- by the way
- calf's foot jelly
- after
2. Nasal diphthong -em or -ens
Oxytones with stressed syllables ending in nasal diphthong -em or -ens are accented.
Examples:
- beyond
- also
- Amen
- warehouses
- contains
- Happy birthday
3. Open diphthong -eu, -éi or -hi, whether or not followed by -s
Oxytones with stressed syllables ending in an open diphthong -éu, -éi or -ói, followed or not by -s, are accented
Examples:
- mausoleum
- veils
- hero
- suns
- faithful
- rings
Learn more aboutoxytone words.
Paroxytone Word Accent Rules
What defines the accent of a paroxytone, a word where the penultimate syllable is stressed, is your termination. See below for paroxytone accentuation rules.
1. Paroxytones ending in -r, -l, -n, -x and -ps
Paroxytone words ending in -r, -l, -n, -x, and -ps are accented.
Examples:
- character
- sphincter
- fossil
- reptile
- lichen
- lumen
- chest
- cortex
- biceps
- forceps
2. Paroxytones ending in -ã and -ão
Paroxytones ending in -ã and -ão, followed or not by -s, are accented.
Examples:
- orphan
- orphans
- magnet
- magnets
- organ
- organs
- attic
- attics
- blessing
- blessings
3. Paroxytones ending in -one and -ones
All paroxytone words ending in -um and -uns are accented.
Examples:
- forum
- forums
- quorum
- quorums
- album
- albums
4. Paroxytones ending in -om and -ons
All paroxytones that have an -om or -ons ending are given a graphic accent.
Examples:
- Indom
- protons
- electrons
- neutrons
5. Paroxytones ending in -us
Paroxytone words ending in -us are accented.
Examples:
- anus
- virus
- onus
- humus
- bonus
- tone
- Venus
6. Paroxytones ending in -i and -is
Paroxytone words ending in -i followed or not by -s are graphically accented.
Examples:
- khaki
- bile
- jury
- oasis
- beriberi
- bikini
- cutis
- free
- pencil
- taxi
7. Paroxytones ending in -ei and -eis
Paroxytone words whose ending is -ei or -eis are given a graphic accent.
Examples:
- hockey
- jockey
- pony
- healthy
- you knead
- cantaloupe
- fizseis
Learn more aboutparoxytone words.
Proparoxytone word accentuation rules
The accentuation rules of proparoxytones, words where the third to last syllable is stressed, institute that they are always accentuated.
Thus, all proparoxytone is accentuated.
Examples:
- liquid
- light bulb
- mite
- bird
- Traffic
- tactic
- army
- doctor
- barbarian
- tree
Learn more aboutproparoxytone words.
New accent rules after the Spelling Agreement
In 2009, when the 1990 Orthographic Agreement entered into force in Brazil, the graphic accenting of some words was suppressed.
Check below cases that lost the accent according to the new spelling.
1. Open diphthongs -hi and -hey in paroxytone words
In paroxytone words, the open diphthongs -oi and -ei are no longer accented.
Examples:
- jewel > jewel
- alkaloid > alkaloid
- android > android
- asteroid > asteroid
- jelly > jelly
- idea > idea
- assembly > assembly
- european > european
2. Vowels -i and -u preceded by diphthong in paroxytones
In paroxytone words, the vowels -i and -u preceded by diphthongs are no longer accented.
Examples:
- ugliness > ugliness
- baiuca > baiuca
- bocaiuva > bocaiuva
- boiúno > boiuno
- cauila > cauila
- Maoist > Maoist
- Taoism > Taoism
3. Closed stressed vowel -o de -oo in paroxytones
In paroxytone words, the stressed closed vowel -o of -oo is no longer stressed.
Examples:
- seasickness > seasickness
- flight > flight
- zoo > zoo
- wizard > wizard
- I forgive > I forgive
4. Paroxytone hiatus whose termination is -em
Paroxytone words whose ending is -em, and which have -e tonic in hiatus, are no longer stressed. This occurs with the third person plural of the present indicative or subjunctive.
Examples:
- see > see
- read > read
- believe > believe
- give > give
- disdain > disdain
- review > review
- reread > reread
5. homographic paroxytones
The differential accent is no longer used in homographic paroxytones.
Homographs are words that have the same spelling but have different meanings.
Examples:
- (verb stop) stop > stop
- (noun) fur > fur
Before the Orthographic Agreement, the inflection of the verb “parar” was accentuated in order to differentiate it from the preposition “to”. After the Agreement, both are written without accents.
Examples:
- Before the Spelling Agreement: He always stops at this store to buy gum.
- After the Spelling Agreement: He always stops at this store to buy gum.
In the case of the noun “pelo”, the accent applied before the Orthographic Agreement established the difference in relation to the word “pello”, which has a preposition function. Check it out below.
Examples:
- Before the Spelling Agreement: I ran my hand through the dog's fur.
- After the Spelling Agreement: I ran my hand through the dog's fur.
6. Umlaut words
The use of the umlaut was suppressed in Portuguese or Portuguese words.
Examples:
- sausage > sausage
- rinse > rinse
- equine > equine
- frequency > frequency
- linguistics > linguistics
- bilingual > bilingual
The umlaut remains only in foreign proper names or in words derived from them.
Examples:
- Muller
- Mullerian
- Hubner
- Hubnerian
graphic accents
Graphic accents are signs that indicate, in the writing of words, the pronunciation of the vowel of a certain syllable. They are: acute accent, circumflex accent, grave accent and tilde.
Acute Accent
The acute accent is represented by the graphic sign ´ and indicates that the vowel has an open pronunciation in the stressed syllable of a given word.
Examples:
- area
- era
- clock
Circumflex accent
The caret is represented by the graphic sign ^ and indicates that the vowel has a closed or nasal pronunciation in the stressed syllable of a given word.
Examples:
- academic
- scope
- you
grave accent
The grave accent is represented by the graphic sign ` and it indicates a back of the preposition "a" with the articles "a" or "as", or a back of the preposition "a" with a demonstrative pronoun that starts with the letter "a".
The grave accent does not mark the stressed syllable.
Examples:
- à (preposition “a” + article “a”)
- to that (preposition “a” + demonstrative pronoun “that”)
- to that (preposition "a" + demonstrative pronoun "that"
til
The tilde is represented by the graphic sign ~ and indicates that the vowel of a given word has a nasal sound.
The tilde does not always mark the stressed syllable.
Examples:
- blessing
- heart
- election
Want to improve your knowledge of accentuation? Be sure to check the contents below:
- Graphic accentuation
Graphic accentuation exercises