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How do I know if I have to use the one with accent and not the one without accent? Could you provide examples?

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And don't forget ésta and éste! :) – jrdioko Feb 16 '12 at 17:23
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I've never heard of "ésta" and "éste". Also is grammatically incorrect because is a grave word. – Alfredo Osorio Feb 16 '12 at 18:10
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@AlfredoO no, it's not grammatically incorrect to say ésta/éste. es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anfibolog%C3%ADa – Icarus Feb 16 '12 at 19:51
@AlfredoO: I believe the accent on the first e used to be required for demonstrative pronouns when the e was lowercase, but it sounds like RAE changed that so it's only necessary in case of ambiguity. Maybe that's worth another question though. – jrdioko Feb 17 '12 at 17:12

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up vote 4 down vote accepted

It's just a matter of stress. If the stressed syllable is the first one, you don't write the accent. If it's the last one, you do.
You know, the rule states that "if the stress is in the last syllable and it ends in vowel, n or s, you must write the accent".

Besides, está and esté are forms of the verb estar, whereas esta and este are demonstratives or pronouns.

Some examples:

  • Esta mesa está aquí.
  • Es mejor que este jarrón esté aquí.
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Specially the answer to the question is on the sentence that starts with Besides,... – Petruza Feb 18 '12 at 12:09

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