proparoxytone words are those whose stressed syllable is the antepenultimate of the word. These words always receive a graphic accent and are the least common in the Portuguese language, with paroxytone words (stressed syllable on penultimate syllable) and oxytone words (stressed syllable on last syllable).
Read too: Portuguese words — words of foreign origin that have undergone adaptations in writing
Topics of this article
- 1 - Summary of proparoxytone words
- 2 - What are proparoxytone words?
- 3 - List of proparoxytone words
- 4 - What are the differences between tonic accentuation and graphic accentuation?
- 5 - Proparoxytone words and prosody deviations
- 6 - Proparoxytone words and double prosody
- 7 - What are the differences between oxytones, paroxytones and proparoxytones?
- 8 - Solved exercises on proparoxytone words
Summary on proparoxytone words
Proparoxytone words have the antepenultimate syllable as the stressed syllable.
They are the least common words in the Portuguese language.
They receive graphic accent (acute or circumflex) to indicate their tonic syllable.
In addition to them, there are paroxytone words (stressed syllable on the penultimate syllable) and oxytone words (stressed syllable on the last syllable).
What are proparoxytone words?
proparoxytones are the words whose stressed syllable is the antepenultimate. The stressed syllable is the one pronounced with more emphasis.
In Portuguese, it is uncommon for the tonic syllable of words to be the antepenultimate, which means that proparoxytones have graphic accent in writing, indicating this unusual position for the stressed syllable.
List of proparoxytone words
Below are some examples of proparoxytone words.
áArab
Airtico
Anokhad
bulkheadnullthymus
babylic
herecattle
dromefrom theriver
hypodustwe are
readrich
mimica
Ocupsurfaced
dustreadtica
rehoohollow
resThuheat
defendantstico
yeahlaba
will havecocktico
I'munique
lastthymus
sawgreat
sawvicious
Do not stop now... There's more after the publicity ;)
What are the differences between tonic accentuation and graphic accentuation?
tonic accent: refers to the pronunciation of the word. The syllable with a tonic accent is the one with the strongest and most emphatic pronunciation.
Graphic accentuation: refers to the accent marks used in writing to indicate the tonic accent. It is specifically about the acute accent (to indicate emphasis with open sounds) and circumflex accent (to indicate emphasis with closed sounds).
Look at the following words and note the difference between them:
sabia - visawdo – viyoubad
sábia – sawvid – sawgreat
Notice that the tonic accent in the words of the first line falls on the penultimate syllable and that there is no graphic accent in these words. In the second line, the tonic accent falls on the antepenultimate syllable, with a graphic accent in them to indicate this tonic syllable.
Proparoxytone words and prosody deviations
A prosody deviation is the improper pronunciation of a word. Prosody deviations occur when we change the stressed syllable of the word, for example. Some proparoxytones are commonly mispronounced. See some cases:
correct pronunciation |
incorrect pronunciation |
aerolitho |
aeroreadI'm |
airwhattype |
bowyoudust |
bideer |
bigamo |
interim |
intekidney |
prooktype |
protoyoudust |
Proparoxytone words and double prosody
Some proparoxytones have double prosody, that is, two correct ways of being pronounced, and it is up to the person who speaks to choose which one to use. See the cases below where the word can be pronounced as a paroxytone and also as a proparoxytone.
paroxytone |
proparoxytone |
acrobaOK |
Thecrobeat |
hieroglifo |
hieroglyph |
soonyoudust |
itgootype |
What are the differences between oxytones, paroxytones, and proparoxytones?
The difference between these words is in the position of the stressed syllable.
words theshitones: have their stressed syllable on the last syllable. Examples: jabuyou, Theneis, unconstitutionalend.
Paroxytone words: have their stressed syllable on the penultimate syllable. Examples: rosa, stepOKcheck, specifyfrom thein.
proparoxytone words: have their stressed syllable on the antepenultimate syllable. Examples: étic, okfrogTula, misericolorday.
See too: Classification of words according to the number of syllables
Solved exercises on proparoxytone words
question 1
(Cespe/Cebraspe - adapted)
With reference to the ideas and grammatical aspects of the text above, judge the following item.
The words “possible”, “syndrome”, “victims” and “vomit” are accented because they are all proparoxytones.
( ) Right
( ) Wrong
Resolution:
Wrong
The word “possible” is not proparoxytone, since its stressed syllable is the penultimate one, that is, it is a paroxytone. The other words are proparoxytones and are accentuated accordingly.
question 2
(Cespe/Cebraspe)
In the section “He was one of the pioneers in this activity, which would make aviation accessible to the general public”, the words “accessible” and “public” are accented according to different accentuation rules.
( ) Right
( ) Wrong
Resolution:
Right
The word “public” is accentuated because it is a proparoxytone. The word “accessible”, a paroxytone, has an accent justified by another rule: that of being a paroxytone ending in -l.
By Guilherme Viana
Grammar Teacher
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
VIANA, William. "Proparoxytone words"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/gramatica/palavras-proparoxitonas.htm. Accessed on July 22, 2023.
Doubts about graphic accentuation? Do not cultivate them anymore, because from now on, you will have a section only on this subject. Clicking is the watchword!
In this article you will understand the classification of words according to the number of syllables, that is, if the words are monosyllable, disyllable, trisyllable or polysyllable.
Read and learn about oxytones, paroxytones or proparoxytones, which are the classifications of words according to the position of the stressed syllable.
Click here and find out which are the oxytone words and which of them must be accentuated. Also know what paroxytones and proparoxytones are.
Click here and learn what paroxytone words are. See examples and understand their accent rules.
After reading this text, you will understand what syllables are and how they are formed and classified!
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