Mexican rice recipe

Ingredients

3 cloves Garlic fresh chopped
1/3 cup of finely chopped Spanish white or yellow onions
1/2  Bell pepper
1/3 tablespoon of cummin
3 tomatoes puree
4 tablespoons of Olive oil
Boiled Long grain white rice
1/4 teaspoon salt

After the rice is cooked, you add it to a pan with oil and simply add onions, pepper, cummin, garlic, salt and tomatoes purée. You can adjust the ingredients of course to taste. This is one of the easiest recipes there is. Some people add bacon fat or very small pieces of ham.

After all is browned you can add a few chilli peppers and some people add grated cheese on the top. The heat from the rice should melt the cheese. Some people like to microwave it but I am a purist and try only to use my black iron skillet on a natural gas stove.

Rice alone is not enough protein to make it a complete meal. It could be a side dish or cheese or beans could be added.

I cooked in a restaurant for many years and the basic thing about cooking is this, it is art not a science. There are too many variable, however, in my opinion the best recipes were those from the highest quality ingredients. If you are making Mexican rice and you use green house tomatoes and generic rice your Spanish or Mexican rice will not taste great. However, if you buy garden fresh tomatoes, real garlic, not Chinese white garlic which is too strong, and quality spices it will taste good not matter how you cook it.

Another thing I learned about cooking is you do not want to overwhelm the main ingredient. If you are cooking rice, you should taste rice and not some soupy mix of whatever.

Variations of rice Mexican style

Some people like to add salsa and cream and beef and all sorts of variation for this recipe. However, I do not like it. I prefer light and in anything you can add something green at the end like arugula. Some people also add chicken broth for flavor or others corn to make it a more complete protein combination and make it more a Latin American recipe for rice.

You can also use different types of rice. White long grain Oryza sativa is the standard but there is also some yellow rice that works. I have never tried Mexican brown rice, but I should. Also you can mix it with wild rice, which is really a grass or grain. Except for wild, rice is not native of the Americas or even Mexico, it was brought by the Spanish.

I am curious if there are real difference in the north and south of Mexico. Most of the recipes you see online are pretty generic. However, if you are from Mexico city is it prepared different than from Yucatan or Baja. It is such a large country I am sure there must be some differences.

If you personally have a variation or any other ideas for this Mexican recipe for rice, please let me know.

Write in Spanish by installing  it and then configure it for proof reading in Spanish.

Set proof reading options for writing in Spanish

It does not differentiate between European and Latin American Hispanic writing but it does give you want you need.

A writing coach in the Hispanic language

The reason I am such a big fan of this tool is I am a teacher and I also study languages. I believe you can learn by reading, speaking and writing.  However, writing is the most difficult.  I have often questioned can anyone really teach you how to write in any language.  My general philosophy is yes, because everyone is creative and can put their creativity on paper. Therefore being a good writer is really a study in how to clarify ideas, so others can understand you. This is where the free tool After the Deadline come in.

It corrects you real-time as you write so you become conscious of your mistakes. It explains why you made the mistake so you might not make it again. It can not help you if you do not know one word of Spanish. But it can help you if have a base, but need to learn Spanish grammar . It will explain your mistakes from a linguistic style or grammatical point of view and therefore teaches you to write in Spanish.

Skip the lessons on how to become a Spanish writer and just try this free online tool.  Like Morpheus might say, “stop thinking yourself a Spanish writer and be a Spanish writer”. Let me know your experiences or any other pieces of technology you use to improve your writing skills.

Eggplant from Spain - my own recipe based on healthy ideas

I would say the broad classifications of the typical dishes you might find in Spanish cooking are as follows:

• Spanish rice based recipes, usually with beans
• Spanish wheat based dished, in the form of a flat bread
• Spanish corn based meals
• Pure vegetable based dishes, like eggplant

What is my favorite Spanish food? I think that most people think of Spanish fast food as tacos and nachos. However, if you have any exposure to Spanish culture been known that Spanish cuisine is not restricted to a few dishes you might find on an American menu.

Let’s think about how Hispanic cuisine has fused with indigenous cultures. The realm of the Spanish world, includes South America, North America, the Caribbean islands, the Philippines, Europe, and I am sure a few other places.

Each place Spanish culture fuses with a local culture something totally different occurs in the kitchen. Think of it this way one plus one does not equal two but equal three. That means a combination of Spanish and Caribbean cooking results in something that is something completely different.

I tend to like less spicy vegetable based Spanish cooking. I particularly like eggplant dishes. And when was the last time you saw a Hispanic eggplant dish on a menu at taco bell. This is why I decided to write this post. I wanted to give you a Spanish eggplant recipe that is not common.

Spanish eggplant recipe

Ingredients for my eggplant recipe

• 1 large purple eggplant
• 5 cloves of garlic (I use pink garlic not Chinese white garlic). Garlic is my staple for health so use as much as you like, I chop very fine, or crush.
• 1/4 large yellow of onions
• 2  small red chilli peppers cut very small
• oregano (one of the worlds best anti-oxidants so use as much as you like it gives it a mediterranean taste)
• fresh basil
• fresh parsley
• Olive oil (it does not have to be Spanish) and a pinch of butter, I am not giving an exact quantity because it depends how you cook, heavy or light.
• a pinch or two or pepper
• sea salt for preparing the Spanish eggplant but not for seasoning as it will have enough residual salt.
• Cheese for the top of the eggplant from Spain dish – type and quantity will be up to you.

Eggplant from Spain – how to prepare

1. Peel and cut the eggplant, place it on a dish or on a cutting board and cover it in salt on both sides.  Wait ten minutes to 1/2 hour. Basically what you want to do is soak the eggplant in salt and then rinse it well in water so it is not too salty.  This takes the bitterness out of the eggplant. I slice the eggplant into thin slices. The I cut it in small pieces before I add it to the pan.
2. Into the pan – I do not like the idea of a soupy mix, rather, when all the ingredients are added to a pan for saute I like to keep some order. I add the stronger vegetables first like onions and garlic and soften these, then tomato base second, then the vegetables (in this case eggplant) and seasoning.  If you do not understand how to cook this write me, it is basically.
3. Next I take the take the handle off my black iron skillet and with cheese on top I put it in the over to bake.

The result is something like eggplant Parmesan but without the flouring and frying part and a little more spice The other key part of this is your choice in cheese.  Parmesan cheese is very Italian. Choose some Spanish cheese, or stinky hard round cheese. The idea is this will gently melt of the dish. Another thing is you do not want too much tomato, it should be thick not a watery mess.

Serve this with warmed garlic bread and red wine.  Spanish eggplant is very healthy as my recipes is loaded with anti-oxidants. It’s a warming food, best eaten with someone who will eat it with you as you might have garlic breath. Let me know what you think of my own version of a Madrid style eggplant recipe.

Why olive oil

It is the best oil to use as it is monounsaturated. This is a very important point.  Do not dismiss this, if you use Spanish olive oil or any other it does not turn bad when heated or cooked with.

In contrast when you heat polyunsaturated or normal vegetable oil it will destroy your health.  Do not cook with polyunsaturated oil.  It is the worst thing for your weight and health.  Only use butter or olive oil.  Vegetable oil must be raw or for salads. But the main reason is olive oil tastes great.

Why olive oil from Spain?

It is simple economics, I do not understand it myself, but boy I love it.  Spanish olive oil is usually the cheapest. There are so many different brands and flavors that I can not even go into it here, however, for me the country of origin is important for the price.

If you are frugal like me first go right for the for Latina olive oil.  Now that Olea europaea is the center of every supermarket shopping aisle, as it should be first focus on the country of origin.   Then focus in on the specific type you want. I think the low cost producer of Hispanic olive oil is Goya.  This is only about 2 dollars a bottle. This I pour on everything.  It is so cheap it is basically free.

When it comes to Spanish food in general Goya is the cheapest.  However if you take a look at Goya olive oil and hold it up to the light you can see it is also low quality in terms of richness.  It is not bad to use as your main oil, however, if you are preparing something special maybe you want to chose another brand.

How to choose good Hispanic olive oil

I simply hold it up to the light.  Be careful because a lot of the bottles have a tint and can deceive you regarding the color and look.  However, generally if you are in a shop, you can see the quality and even how the oil moves in the bottle. I like the olive oil from the Madrid region as the arid warm climate gives it a good taste but any Español (language) speaking country produced good olive oil.

Do not get too involved with the label and what it says, first press or this or that, look with your eyes. You do not have to read everything you can on it, uses your own senses, taste, smell, look, I think personal experience not someone’s recycled information on the Internet is the best way to choose.  I like a little cloudy unfiltered thick look. However, I think first pressed is the best.

Pomace oil is extracted with a chemical process, is this good for you? Of course the pure olive oil is the best but it comes down to price.  I have to do more research is this Pomace is really all that good for you as they use hexane to extract it.  I think they use this grade in cheap restaurants.

What about Mediterranean oil from olives countries?

Production of olive oil:

1. Spain 32%
2. Italy 22%
3. Greek 16%
4. Rest comes from Tunisia, and other Mediterranean countries.

These are great quality countries but you pay a price. Italy they have this volcanic soil that really changes the taste in positive way, but there is a cost factor, which changes in a negative way.  This is why I stick to Spain.

I am American living in the EU.  For me here in Europe, Spain is the country of choice. If I was in the States I think I would look for Mexican in the future (once it develops this tree crop, and it will) or  now Spanish oil from olives.

Uses of this wonderful oil

1. Olive oil soap
2. I use it for a hand moisturizer
3. Massage for my back or feet or healing uses
4. Mixed with other things can be a good night anti-wrinkle application, make your own that is
5. Put herbs in it like rosemary or even garlic and have it as decoration
6. Use it for burning in a lamp
7. Aromatic uses

Let me know if you think my assessment of Spanish olive oil is correct or I am partial because I like the culture of this country.

At the end of this lesson I have a game! Try it, it is word search it will help lock in what you have learned.

I make professional Spanish verb flashcards which will teach you all the verbs you need to know in the past, present and future tense. They are amazing in terms of art and effectiveness.

However, here is a very simple explanation of verbs.

The categories of regular verbs are:

• Spanish -ar ending verbs (such as hablar – which means to speak)
• Spanish -er ending verbs (such as comer – which means to eat)
• Spanish -ir ending verbs (such as vivir – which means to live)

These endings refer to the infinitive. Here is how -ar verbs are conjurgated.

Ar verbs in Spanish

• I – hablo
• you – habla
• he – habla
• she – habla
• we- hablamos
• You-all – hablan
• They – hablan

Notice you do not use a personal pronoun in Spanish.  It is implied in the verb form.

Sample sentence which needs no translation: ¿Habla usted español?

Ir verbs in Spanish

• I – como
• You- come
• He -come
• She – come
• We – comemos
• You-all coméis (informal)
• They comen

Ir verbs in Spanish

• I – vivo
• You – vive
• He – vive
• She – vive
• We – vivimos
• You-all – viven
• They – viven

What the present tense means in Spanish?

Present tense (indicative) in Spanish means three things.

• I speak Spanish.
• I do speak Spanish.
• I am speaking Spanish.

This tense is the most important tense in Spanish, it is like the English simple and continuous tense in one. In fact, if you know this one and only tense you could in write novels in the  Hispanic language.

More Spanish regular verb grammar

• 1st Conjugation. Hablar (to speak)
• Present Part. Hablando (speaking)
• Past Part. Hablado (spoken)

The present simple tense

Again lets look at the verb to speak.

• Yo hablo (I speak)
• Nosotros (m.) hablamos (we speak)
• Nosotras (f.) hablamos (we speak)
• Tú hablas[informal] (You speak)
• Vosotros (m.) habláis (you speak)
• Vosotras (f.) habláis (you speak)

• Él or Ella habla (he or she speaks)
• Ellos (m.) hablan (they speak)
• Ellas (f.) hablan (they speak)
• Usted habla (you speak)[formal].
• Ustedes hablan (you speak).[formal]

Spanish verb  Temer (to fear)

• Present Part. Temiendo.
• Past Part. Temido.
• Presesnt Tense, Indicivtive Mood.

• Yo temo
• Nosotros (m.) temenos
• Nosotras (f.) temenos
• Tú temes
• Vosotros (m.) teméis
• Vosotras (f.) teméis
• Él teme
• Ellos (m.) temen
• Ella teme
• Ellas (f.) temen
• V. teme
• Vs. temen

Partir (to depart, to set out)

• Present Part. Partiendo.
• Past Part. Partido.
• Present Tense, Indic. Mood.

• Yo parto
• Nosotros (m.) partimos
• Nosotras (f.) partimos
• Tú partes
• Vosotros (m.) partís
• Vosotras (f.) partís
• Él parte
• Ellos (m.) parten
• Ella parte
• Ellas (f.) parten
• V. parte
• Vs. parten

Hispanic regular verb game – word search

When to use articles in Spanish

Think about the English grammar rules on articles and they are basically the same in the Hispanic language.

You do not use articles in Spanish when you are speaking about something very generally.  Like ‘I eat Mexican tacos’ translated in Spanish to (Puedo comer tacos mexicanos.)  Note thin this sentence there is no Spanish article because you are talking in general.

Also notice that plurals often to not take articles in Spanish, but it depends how use speak about the noun.

Here is an example of when you do use the definite article in Spanish.  The Mexican taco on the table. El taco de México sobre la mesa. Use the definite article ‘el’ in Spanish because it is a real concrete taco that we both can see and eat.

She is a Spanish girl. – Ella es una chica española. Uses the indefinite article ‘una’ because she is a Spanish girl in general, rather then a specific girl.

Compare the above with this  – ‘The Spanish girl in my room.’ – La niña española en mi cuarto. See how the more concrete or definite nouns take ‘the’ instead of ‘a’?  These Spanish rules of grammar are similar to English rules regarding articles.

These are the Spanish definite articles.

What are the definite in Spanish

The definite noun Articles in the Spanish language are
El and La. What is a definite article?  For people who do not study linguistics, a definite article is like in English ‘the’.  That is it used for a concrete nouns.  Something that is known to the speaker for being famous or was mentioned before.

El is used before a masculine singular noun.
La  is used before a feminine singular noun.

What about neuter nouns in Spanish? Unlike many European languages there are no
neuter nouns in the Spanish language. This makes it easier.

Below are some examples of masculine and feminine singular nouns in Spaiish which take the definite articles:

El hombre (the man) – La mujer (the woman)
El recibo (the receipt) – La cuenta (the account)
El libro (the book) – La pluma (the pen)
Note that in Spanish a feminine ending is the letter ‘a’ while a masculine ending is ‘e’ or ‘o’. Generally masculine nouns are more common but this is a huge generalization.

Los is used before a masculine plural noun.
Las is used before a feminine  plural noun.

Here are some examples below of  Spanish definite articles in the plural.

Los muchachos (the boys) – Las señoras (the ladies)
Los géneros (the goods) – Las facturas (the invoices)
Los lápices (the pencils) – Las cartas (the letters).

Notice the Spanish endings of the nouns in the plural for masculine nouns ‘os’.
The feminine endings for nouns have a ‘as’ ending.

What about the neuter definite article in Spanish I have herd about? You said there is no neuter form? Well here is what there is  – there is kind of a “neuter form” which is Lo. It
its not used before a noun but rather it us used before other parts of speech for an abstract idea, as Yo amo lo bello (I love the beautiful,
viz., all that which is beautiful), Lo sublime (the sublime, viz., all
that which is sublime).

Un and Una are the Spanish indefinite articles.

The Indefinite Article in Spanish

Un is used before a masculine singular noun.
Una is used before a feminine singular noun.

Here are some simple examples of this grammar of the indefinite  articles in the Hispanic language.

Un amigo (a friend) – Una amiga (a lady – friend)
Un padre (a father) – Una madre (a mother)

The indefinite article is just like it sounds like.  It is used when we refer to something that is not known or has not been mentioned.  This is similar to English.  Think about when you us the word ‘a’ – you use it when you are speaking about something which the listener has not herd before or is used in general.

The Indefinite Article has no plural, but the Spanish plural forms
“unos” (masc.) and “unas” (fem.) translate the English words “some” or
“any,” as Unos hermanos (some brothers), Unas hermanas (some sisters),
Unos tinteros (some inkstands), Unas mesas (some tables). (The Spanish
words “Algunos,” “Algunas,” are also used for the same purpose.)

Let me know what you think about my treatment of Spanish grammar and its organization.  If you have any ideas on how it could be presented clearer let me know.  Or if you have any other suggestions on Spanish articles and their presentation here.

Really all the vegetables that come from the Latin world like Tomatoes, peppers and tomatoes were not in Europe until Columbus.  Many European countries consider them their own. However, it is not true, this were Native American and then Hispanic vegetables.

Types of Hispanic vegetables

Other Hispanic vegetables include:

• yucca
• chayhotes
• squash
• chiles
• quelites
• nopales
• jicama
• tender cactus
• tomatillos
• peas
• hearts of palm
• artichokes
• Olives
• asparagus
• Jalapeno
• Poblano

The Spanish world is also home of green salad, because it is sunny and easy to grow.

Artichokes are considered Hispanic vegetables

La Preferida and Goya are two large Hispanic vegetable companies also Vigos and Kuners.  I would love to buy stock in Goya but it is a private company.

I have a cooking blog also and today I wrote about Mexican porgies believe it or not. I am into trying to take Spanish food and vegetables and mixing it with other cuisines.  I have not gotten any complaints.  I think like to try exotic things.  Anything from Latin America is considered spicy and exotic in my mind.

Corn and beans as the Hispanic vegetable

I do not know if these are really vegetables or simply proteins but  Corn is high in the Amino acid Arginine  beans have Lysine they balance each other out and make a complete protein.

From this you can make almost anything, including pastes or main dishes.

Food from Spain in Europe

Since I’m living in Europe, and the winters are quite cold here we get most of our winter vegetables from Spain.  Spain has a longer growing season than where I am and eastern Europe.  In the early spring we get Spanish vegetables that are only available in the summer.

The problem and is vegetables from Spain are relatively expensive if they are exotic.  However the ordinary ones such as tomatoes and potatoes are relatively cheap.  The big competitor to Spanish fashion bowls in Europe is a delay.

Italian fashion polls have a different taste because of the volcanic soil.  The vegetables grown in central Spain around Madrid on the other hand have the more exotic nature.

Why I do not eat Mexican vegetables

When you’re talking about Hispanic vegetables in America you’re really talking about vegetables from Mexico and Peurto Rico.  The problem is I have greater trust in Spanish agriculture than I do in Mexican farming.  Not that there’s anything wrong with Mexico, rather a large American food companies get their hands in the corporate farming in Mexico and I question the level of pesticides and chemicals they use in the food.  In contrast in Spain I think it’s more natural as the EU has tighter regulations on produce.

If anyone has any more information to convey about Hispanic vegetables please let me know, I want to build this post up a little more.

Comparing English and Spanish punctuation marks

Question marks and exclamation marks are the only real differences between the language punctuation in Spanish and English when it comes to the actual signs. Periods and commas are used the same.

Question and exclamation marks

The rule is this, in Spanish you use question and exclamation marks at both the the beginning and end of a word.

For Spanish puncuation question marks are used at the start and finish of the sentence.

For example:

• ¿Qué quiere V.? (what do you want?)
• ¡Cuántos sufrimientos! (how much suffering!)

Look at the beginning of the word. Note that at the beginning
the question and exclamation marks are up side down.

Spanish punctuate with an inverted exclamation mark

I have personally always found this curious, but if this is they way they punctuate in Spain and Mexico than when in Rome do as the Romans.

When to use capital letters in Spanish

Use capital letters the same was as in English, however, there are a couple of exceptions.

Capital letters in the Spanish language are used different compared to English.

• Adjectives of nationality are written with small letters. Look at the following example:

Un libro inglés (an English book).

• Days of the week generally (and sometimes the months of the year)
  are written with small letters. Look at the following examples:

I do not like Mondays. – No me gustan los Lunes.
Yesterday was Tuesday. – Ayer fue el martes.
Today is Wednesday. – Hoy es miércoles.
Tomorrow will be Thursday. – Mañana será el jueves.
On Friday I wear a Hawaiian shirt. -El viernes me pongo una camisa hawaiana.
On Saturday I sleep. – El sábado me duermo.
On Sunday I go to church. – El domingo voy a la iglesia.

For months in Spanish it is similar they do not take capital letters in contrast to English:

Hace frío en enero. – It is cold in January.
El mes de junio es hermoso. – The month of June is beautiful.
Otoño empieza en septiembre. – Autumn begins in September.
La Navidad es en diciembre. – Christmas is in December.

Compare the Spanish punctuation to the English punctuation above.  These are your main differences between the two languages’ punctuation.

Summary of punctuation differences between English and Spanish languages

1. Exclamation and question marks are the beginning and end of a sentence and at the start they are inverted.
2. Adjectives of nationalities are not capitalizes.
3. Days of the week are not capitalizes.
4. Months are not capitalized.

Actual signs or marks for punctuation in the Hispanic language

. punto — period
, coma — comma
¿ ? — principio y fin de interrogación — question marks
¡ ! — principio y fin de exclamación o admiración — exclamation points
; — punto y coma — semicolon
: dos puntos — colon
” — comillas — quotation marks – Note in Latin America, including Mexico they use « » while in Spain they use “” “”
‘ — comillas simples — single quotation marks
( ) — paréntesis — parenthesis
— raya — dash

You do not have to get too complicate with grammatical linguistics.  I believe simpler is better. That is it for how to punctuate in Spanish and the use of specific punctuation marks.

Here is a Spanish Firefox addon. Barra de Español is a Firefox toolbar people who are studying  the Spanish language. This is the best and only Spanish language Firefox add on or extension you will really ever need.

Not only does it have character support but it has references to news and native language online Spanish site. I think the programmer did a good job with it as it is non-commercial and user friendly.  I dislike using something only to find it is a tool for marketing rather than learning.  This is not the case with this Spanish Firefox tool.  It is mostly educational and a little fun.

Spanish language add-on for Firefox

These are the functions for this tool:

• Handles Spanish special characters and accents
• Has a dictionary
• Spanish TV sites
• Useful Spanish language sites

I think the best thing is it allows you to type in Spanish those funny Spanish letters.  I use Spanish accents haphazardly but if you can set this add-ons, which is free from the Mozilla site you can make it more of a habit, to use Spanish characters.

Why I use Firefox addons for language learning

I am a big fan of Firefox as it is fast and you can do everything online without having to install 20 software programs.  Rather you have some very light add-ons and this increases your productivity.

One lesson I learned from Using Firefox add-ons, do not use every Firefox extension and add-on you can find and download and install it, or at least do not have them activated as this will slow down  your browser. You can disable them until you need them.

Sure there are all these translator tools and dictionary tools and other Spanish language tools, but you do not need all that.  What you need is this.  One good tool to use for your Firefox browser that will enhance but not over whelm your browsing experience. That being said:

Here are a couple more if you want to experiment with some more.

Another Spanish language add on you might want to consider.  It is a Spanish dictionary.

Firefox Spanish dictionary -Straight forward add-on that give you an online Spanish language dictionary.

Hispanic language search with Firefox – This allows you to search the world (not just a country) in the Spanish language without changing your browser default settings.

Just install the ones you will use in the next week.  If there is one you might use simply deactivate it and when you need it activate it.  I try to keep everything on my computer light and lean.   I un-install most programs and just keep the basics.

Spanish language online

I sometimes browse the web with the Spanish language as my default.  Using seeing thinks like ‘file’ or ‘edit’ in Spanish helps.   You might be frustrated for a while but its not a bad way to get a few more Spanish words in you brain by surfing the web with Firefox set to Spanish.

Let me know if surfing the web in Spanish helps you learn Spanish, or if you have any other ideas regarding Spanish Firefox add-ons.

Why another page online about Spanish accents?  Because most pages you see online are written in formal linguistic language . These pages give you too much information and therefore do not teach you.  Your brains scans it, your eyes glaze over and you do not have anything to take away. There is a difference between dumping information on you and teaching you Spanish.

My intention is to give a short simple but useful page on Spanish accent marks where you will remember two things. Why we usually use the accents on your keyboard and when we use them.

The most important Spanish accent mark

The most important accent in Spanish is ´. The full list of Spanish special marks include áéíñóúü¿¡. To set these on your computer it is easy. You need to change the language setting in Windows under control panel and languages.

However, and when I am typing e-mails I ignore these Spanish special characters.  I know linguists will cringe, but it is understood when I type using English characters and Spanish words.

Spanish accents - How many special Spanish language signs can you see in the above text?

In the above text do you see a lot of letters with accent marks over them? Maybe a couple but Spanish can function without them if you are typing a fast e-mail.

The most important and perhaps only accent in Spanish you need to know is this ´. If you know how to use this accent mark in Spanish than you are 99% there.

When to use the Spanish language accent mark

1. Stress – more emphasis in pronunciation when it has this mark – mostly a small set of high frequency words I list below.
2. Questions.
3. Demonstrative pronouns.

Basically a Spanish accent mark changes the pronunciation. It is stressed more than a none marked letter. Lets look at some of the uses of ´ in specific examples. Memorizes the examples of  stress words and questions below and you will have mostly mastered what you need to know.

The following is a list of times when it is use these accents

This accent mark is used to distinguish between two meanings of the same word. This means an accent mark really makes a simple letter another letter. A simple accent mark in Spanish is a spelling thing. Learn Spanish words and you will not need to know the rules on accents.  With an accent the word changes- here are some examples – Here are the most common words with accents:

• El (the) compared to Él (he)
• De (of) compared to Que él dé (that he may give)
• Se (3rd person reflexive pronoun, “himself,” etc.) compared to Yo sé (I know)
• Más (more) compared to Mas (but)
• mi, my; mí, me;
• si, if; sí, yes
• solo, only (adjective), single, alone; sólo, only (adverb), solely
• te, you (as an object); té, tea
• tu, your; tú, you

In some words an accent is used when used interrogatively

Here are the most common question words with diacritical marks in Spanish commonly found in the following words:

• Quién? (who?)
• Qué? (what?)
• Cuál? (which?)
• Cúyo? (whose?)
• Dónde? (where?)

Demonstrative pronouns

These marks are used to make a distinction between demonstrative pronouns, which are usually accented, from demonstrative adjectives, which do not have accent marks. This can be covered in a lessons on demonstrative pronouns.

Other less important Spanish accent rules

Ignore the following if your brain is beyond the point of absorbing more, I will just mention them.

• On I and U when they occur together with A, E or O, the I
  or U not belonging to the same syllable.
• Or Spanish sometimes uses umlauts(ü) or diereses.  When this is used the u is pronounced.
• Where the pronunciation stress is in a word, for example the last or second to last  syllable, Again just learn the words and your will not need to worry about this too much.

However, my point in this post is not to give you all the rules of using a Spanish diacritical symbols.  It will only confuse you with grammar and linguistic excess.

Aprender español puede ser sencillo – To learn Spanish keep it simple.

Rather to simple give you the general rule. That is you use the Hispanic accents for stress and for questions. The most important in any Latino language is ´.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments or your experiences with typing and using the Spanish alphabet with these accents. You will get to know these with simply reading in Spanish and learning Spanish words, rather than learning the rules on accents.