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Write in Spanish

Spelling, punctuation, organization; they all are facets on writing in a language. Here you'll find a complete guide to putting your words on paper or the keyboard.
Spanish Cell Phone Abbreviations
List of some of the most common abbreviations used in cell phone text in Spanish.
Using Your Keyboard To Make Spanish Accents and Punctuation in Windows
If you're writing in Spanish, here are instructions for typing accents and Spanish punctuation using the Windows XP or Windows Vista. This page describes how to install the international keyboard software that is part of Windows.
Dividing Spanish Words at the End of a Line
Here are the rules for dividing Spanish words at the end of a line.
Spanish Abbreviations
List of the common Spanish abbreviations.
Writing Business and Personal Letters in Spanish
An overview of the greetings and salutations used in personal and business letters in Spanish.
Using Hyphens in Spanish
Hyphens are used much less in Spanish than in English. If you're learning Spanish, this will explain to how this important punctuation is used.
Rules of Capitalization
In general, Spanish uses capital letters less often than does English. Its rules are much like those of the other Romance languages, with capital letters reserved primarily for proper nouns and the start of sentences.
Punctuation
Spanish and English are very similar in the way they are punctuated, but there are some subtle differences.
Punctuation
Spanish punctuation is so much like English's that some textbooks and reference books don't even discuss it. But there are a few significant differences.
Quiz on Written Spanish
Do you know the rules for writing Spanish? If so, you'll probably do well on this quiz.
The Spanish Alphabet
The Spanish alphabet is very similar to the alphabets of most other western European languages.
Differences in Spanish and English Spelling
When writing Spanish, you may be tempted to duplicate the spelling of English cognates. This might work — to a point. Here are the key differences in the spelling of the two languages.
Angular Quotation Marks
Spanish has three types of punctuation used to indicate quotation marks. One of them not familiar to English speakers is the angular quote mark.
Stress and Accent Marks
Learn which syllable of Spanish word receives the stress and how that can be modified through the use of diacritical marks known as accents.
Spanish Homophones
List of Spanish homophones and homonyms, words that sound alike and can easily be confused, along with their definitions.
Questions Learners Ask
This is a collection of questions that Spanish students have directed at this site.
Written Spanish: A Quiz
How well do you know the rules of written Spanish? Find out by taking this quiz.
Capitalization
Spanish uses significantly fewer capital letters than does English. Whenever Spanish capitalizes a word, the corresponding word in English is capitalized, but the opposite is far from true.
What Is the Longest Word in Spanish?
What is the longest word in Spanish? On this matter, at least, the famous book of world records is wrong.
'Porque,' 'Por Qué,' 'Por Que' and 'Porqué'
The four é are often a source of confusion. This lesson explains which one to use where.
Making Words Plural
If you know how to make nouns plural in English, you're close to knowing how to do so in Spanish.
Definition of 'Transliteration'
When one language adopts words from another language, transliteration can be part of the process.
Why 'EE. UU.' for 'Estados Unidos'?
Why is the abbreviation for Estados Unidos in Spanish EE. UU instead of E. U.?
Definition of 'Diacritical Mark'
They are also known as accents, tildes and diereses or umlauts.
Using Angular Quotes
Some publishers of Spanish-language materials prefer to use angular quotes rather than the quote marks you're used to seeing.
Definition of 'Orthographic Accent'
Unlike other accent marks, orthographic accents don't affect pronunciation. But they are vital in proper writing.
Changing 'O' and 'Y' before Certain Sounds - Learn Spanish Language
Two of the most common conjunctions — y (meaning "and") and o (meaning "or") — can change spelling and pronunciation based on the word that follows.
Strong Vowels and Weak Vowels
Spanish vowels can be classifed as strong or weak, something that's important to know when syllables matter.
Orthographic Accents in Indirect Questions
Learn more about when orthographic accents are used in Spanish. Although you may have learned they are used only in questions, there are some types of statements that use them as well.
Type Accented Letters in Windows
If you need to type accented letters and are using Windows, here's one way to create the letteers.
Accent on Accents
Explanation of when written accents and umlauts are used in Spanish.

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