The diacritical mark is a punctuation mark used to distinguish the grammatical office from homograph words. In general, an accent or accent marks the phonic emphasis that is made on a syllable of a word. Diacritical marks examples

For their part, homograph words are those that, although different, have the same spelling; that is, they are written the same.

Now, in words with more than one syllable, there is a stressed syllable – pronounced with a greater voice intensity and unstressed syllables. At the written level, this marked intonation is indicated by a small inclined line known as a tilde or orthographic mark. However, the diacritical mark, or emphatic mark, has a different function.

In the first instance, this is used in monosyllabic words (words with a single syllable) to distinguish them from others of a different category that are written the same.

This can be seen in the prayers: He came to Mass and The wine is extracted from the grape. Clearly, the mark serves to differentiate the personal pronoun he from the article el.

The same phenomenon is observed in: He wants me to give wine to the guests and He gave a bottle of wine. The word with the diacritical mark indicates that it is a form of the verb to give, while the other is the preposition. It can be noted that this does not happen with the words wine (from the verb to come) and wine (the noun).

In addition, the interrogative and exclamatory pronouns have a diacritical mark. This distinguishes them from relative pronouns, relative adverbs, and conjunctions.

Thus, for example, the pronoun when has an mark: When are you going to forgive me? But the conjunction does not: He says he does not know when the truth is that he was there all the time.

Types and examples Diacritical marks examples

-Diacritic mark in monosyllables

The norms currently in use state that monosyllabic words, in general, do not carry an mark. However, some monosyllables have a diacritical accent to distinguish them from other words with the same spelling. Diacritical marks examples

Now, the criterion for using the mark form or not is its grammatical category. These grammatical categories express notions such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, among others.

Examples

Notice how the diacritical mark is used in the following examples:

1. -You need me to give you the phone number of all providers whose companies start with from . ( Give as a verb, the preposition and of a noun).
2. He thinks that everything will be resolved no later than the Monday. ( He as a personal pronoun and the like article).
3. -She was the most qualified for the position, but she did not trust her own abilities. ( More like an adverb and more like an adversative conjunction).
4. -I was desperate to earn more money, but could not work anymore . ( More like an adjective, more like an adversative conjunction and more like a pronoun).
5. -Of course it must be read five plus two equals seven, but you must put the plus . ( More like conjunction with addition value, more like adversative conjunction and more like noun).

-Interrogative and exclamatory

The interrogative and exclamatory relative pronouns must have the diacritical mark. These are used to enter the question mark and exclamation mark, respectively.

This same rule applies when they are used as nouns. In the case of interrogation, this can be direct or indirect, but it is always marked.

On the other hand, when they function as relative, the words that, who, who, which, which, where, where, how, which, when, when and how much do not have an mark. Nor are they accentuated when they function as a conjunction.

Examples

In the following sentences you can see the application of this set of rules with some of these grammatical categories:

1. – ?do you think of the new neighbor? (Direct interrogative relative pronoun).
2. -I want to know what you think of the new neighbor. (Indirect interrogative relative pronoun).
3. -¡ What amazing! (Relative exclamatory pronoun).
4. -The things he said didn’t make much sense. (Relative pronoun).
5. -I’m glad you think so. (Conjunction). 
6. -I didn’t want to know what , but how much . (Nouns).
7. -¿ Who translated these texts? (Direct interrogative relative pronoun).
8. -It is necessary to find out who translated those texts. (Indirect interrogative relative pronoun).
9. -¡ Who saw you now! (Relative exclamatory pronoun)

-Even / still

In the case of the pair still / even, the marked form is used when changing it to the word still does not alter the meaning of the sentence. The other form is used when it has the same value of also , until , even or even (the latter with the negation nor ).

Likewise, it is written without an mark when it has a concessive value, either in the conjunctive expression even when (equivalent to although ), as well as if it is followed by an adverb or a gerund.

Examples

In the following sentences you can see the use of these rules:

1. -He still asks me to give him some kind of explanation. (Still asking …).
2. -This way of preparing fish is even easier. (.. it’s even easier.).
3. -We prepared as much as we could, but we believe that we should study even more. (… Study even more.).
4. -Everyone received an award, even those who made no effort. (… Even those who made no effort.).

-Demonstrative Diacritical marks examples

Demonstratives are words that determine the meaning of the name, or noun, through a relationship of place. The group is made up of this, that, that, this, that, that, these, those, those, these, those, those, this, that and that. Diacritical marks examples

Except for the last three, the demonstratives can have the function of adjectives (It is this building) or pronoun (The building is this ). Previously, the rules of the Royal Spanish Academy, as with the adverb solo , required the use of the diacritical mark to differentiate between the two uses.

Thus, when these functioned as pronouns, that mark should be used. For example, in sentences like * That one is a sacred tree or * Give me one of those , the demonstratives should be accentuated. Its use avoided ambiguities in the interpretation of the texts.