The classification of words according to their tonicity is one of the fundamental themes of Portuguese grammar. Words can be oxytone, paroxytone or proparoxytone, depending on which syllable receives the greatest force in pronunciation.
Oxytone words are those whose last syllable is the tonic, that is, the one that has the greatest intensity when spoken. Examples include "café", "tambor" and "jacaré". Many oxytone words ending in a, e, o, followed or not by "s", receive a graphic accent, as in "parabéns" and "paixão".
Paroxytone words, on the other hand, have the penultimate syllable as tonic, being the most common category in Portuguese. Examples are "lápis", "fácil", "tênis" and "caminho". Some of them receive an accent to indicate tonicity, such as those ending in l, n, r, x, i, is, um, uns, among others.
Finally, proparoxytone words are those whose penultimate syllable is stressed, such as "médico", "lógico", "público" and "símbolo". An important rule is that all proparoxytone words are accented.
Understanding this classification helps with the correct accentuation of words and proper pronunciation, in addition to facilitating the learning of Portuguese spelling.
Did you know?