It can be so confusing when you see a word in Spanish and one minute it has an accent and the next it doesn’t. There is a reason for this change! The version with the accent has a different meaning to the version without the accent.
Here’s a list of the popular pairs that we will take a look at:
- tú vs tu
- qué vs que
- él vs el
- mí vs mi
- sí vs si
- sé vs se
- dé vs de
- aún vs aun
- está vs ésta vs esta
Read on to learn the differences (along with examples) and then see if you can master the interactive practice activities.
Tú= You VS Tu = Your
| You are really clever. Tú eres muy listo. |
| I have washed your shirt He lavado tu camisa |
¿Qué?= What? VS Que = That
| What do you want? ¿Qué quieres? |
| I think that it is a fly. Pienso que es una mosca. |
Note: If you want to say ‘what‘ and it is not the question ‘What?’ then you need to use ‘lo que‘. I.e.
| What I need is a rest. Lo que necesito es un descanso. |
Él = He VS El = the
| He needs a job. Él necesita un trabajo. |
| The screw was in my pocket. El tornillo estaba en mi bolsillo. |
Mí = Me VS Mi = My
| Are you speaking to me? ¿Me estás hablando a mí? |
| My jacket was in the wardrobe. Mi chaqueta estaba en el armario. |
Sí = Yes VS Si = If
| Yes, I will go out. Sí, saldré. |
| If I can do it, I will (do it). Si puedo hacerlo, lo haré |
Sé = I know / Be! VS Se = oneself/himself/herself/themselves
| I know, the truth. Sé la verdad. |
| Be good! ¡Sé bueno! |
| To shower oneself Ducharse She washed herself last night. Se lavó anoche. |
Dé = Give (from the verb ‘Dar’) VS De = Of/From
Dé is derived from the word Dar (to give).
| Give me the ball. Déme la pelota. (Used with ‘usted’, not ‘tú’) |
| I don’t think that he gives discounts. No pienso que dé descuentos. (Subjunctive of ‘dar’) |
De can mean of and from:
| The toy is made of wood. El juguete es hecho de madera. They are from Italy. Son de Italia. |
Está (he/she/it is) vs Esta (this) vs Ésta (this one)
| For the verb estar, use “está“: My house is here. Mi casa está aquí. |
| When used as an adjective (next to a noun/thing), use “esta“: This house is mine. Esta casa es la mía. |
| When used as a pronoun (no noun/thing after it), use “ésta“: This (one) is my house. Ésta es mi casa. |
Aún (still) VS Aun (even)
| That film still makes me sad. Aún me pone triste esa película. |
| Everybody is coming, even the students. Todos vienen, aun los estudiantes. |
In conclusion
It can be tricky to get to grips with these words but practice makes perfect!
I’ve given you the different meanings along with examples so why not visit Simple Spanish Tips, where you’ll find interactive practice activities for these tricky words plus many more grammar activities. Have a go and see how you do against the leader board.
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