Dónde or donde - when to put the accent?
Rules about Spanish accents in interrogative forms explained
Accents in the Spanish language may play different roles. Some of them are related to syllables, but others don’t change the way you have to pronounce them at all. This second group comprises words like como/cómo, donde/dónde, cuando/cuándo, cuanto/cuánto quien/quién and que/qué. In the article What’s the difference between que and qué you will find detailed information about these words. And today I will explain to you some interesting rules about the rest of the words mentioned above.
What’s the difference between donde and dónde
Donde without written accent means “where” and is used in sentences which are neither questions nor hidden questions/exclamative sentences. In other words it’s a relative adverb. Let’s the the examples below:
La ciudad donde vivo es muy grande – The city where I live is very big. Donde vive mi abuela hay muchas tiendas de ropa – There are many clothes shops where my grand-mother lives.
Dónde with tilde also means “where” but is used in questions and hidden questions.
Examples of a question:
¿Dónde está mi hija? - Where is my daughter? ¿Dónde estás? - Where are you? ¿Dónde vives? - Where do you live?
Examples of a question and a hidden question/exclamative sentence:
- ¿Sabes dónde está el cine Vega? - Do you know where the cinema Vega is?
- Lo siento, no sé dónde está – I’m sorry, I don’t know where is it.
What’s the difference between cuanto and cuánto?
Cuanto without written accent might mean many things and is used in different contexts. You can used it to make a comparison or sometimes the quantity but only in non-exclamative affirmative sentences. On the other hand, used with additional words (like for example with the preposition “en”) even changes its meaning. The examples below should make this explanation clearer:
Cuanto más lo desees, menos deberías pensar en ello – The more you desire it, the less you should be thinking about it.
Cuanto menos bulto, más claridad – is an Spanish expression which basically means that “you can see clearer with less things”.
En cuanto la vea, se lo comentaré – As soon as I see her I will talk to the her about it. Here “en cuanto” means “as soon as”, so it has completely changed its meaning.
What’s the difference between cuando and cuándo?
Cuando - is a relative adverb which means, amongst others, “when”. We use it in affirmative sentences:
Cuando tenga tiempo,iremos al cine – When I have time, we will go to the cinema.
Cuando can also express the idea of “if”, “even if”, however we will discuss these meanings in another article.
Cuándo - with written accent also means “when”,but it’s used in questions and exclamative sentences:
¿Cuándo vendrás a verme? - When you will come to see me? No sé cuándo podré hacerlo – I don’t know when I will be able to do it.
What’s the difference between quien and quién?
Quien without written accent is a relative pronoun that we can translate as “who” or “everyone”, an in some cases, like negative sentences, as “nobody”. Of course, we won’t use it in questions or hidden questions.
Quien haya acabado el examen, puede salir del aula – Everyone that has finished the exam, can leave the classroom.
No hay quien entienda a esa chica – Nobody can understand this girl.
Quién with accent still can be translated as “who” or in negative sentences as “nobody”, however we should put written accent if there’s a question or an exclamative sentence.
¿Quién eres? - Who are you? ¿Con quién estás hablando? - Who are talking to? ¡Mira quién fue a hablar! - Look who´s talking!
¡Ojo!: when it comes to sentences like “aquí no hay quien viva”, “no hay quien lo entienda” etc, la Real Academia Española allows the use of both forms, with and without accent, depending on the context.
What’s the difference between que and qué?
Did you know?
In the paragraph related to quien and quién, I have included a sentence “Aquí no hay quien viva” which is also a title of a very funny Spanish comedy TV show. If you have access to it, it’s definitely worth being seen.
If you want to know more Spanish words in which the tilde plays a fundamental role, also see the following articles: What’s the difference between si and sí and What’s the difference between tu and tú.