The Power of Monosyllables

Using monosyllables appropriately to improve communication

 

 

A monosyllable is a word consisting of only one syllable. When a person speaks in monosyllables, they speak very little. From this, one can conclude either that they are very shy or that they do not want to have a conversation. On the other hand, in poetry monosyllabic words can make a poem more powerful and the use of one syllable words can produce an underlying rhythmic beat that the audience will hear when one reads aloud, adding flavour to the verses and making the full poem more meaningful.

Monosyllables are very important words. We used them on a daily basis as part of our vocabulary and we can even construct sentences just using monosyllables. For example: Voy al sur en el tren que es gris.

The Spanish Royal Academy of Language establishes that words with a single syllable are never graphically accented, except in cases of diacritical accents. This article discusses three types of monosyllable words in Spanish: Monosyllabic words with diacritical accent or tilde, monosyllabic interjections, and monosyllabic onomatopoeias.

Monosyllables with diacritical accent

Monosyllables in Spanish do not have diacritical accents or tilde, except those words that are pronounced like another, but have a different origin or very distant meaning.

Being aware of this is very useful as it will show that you are able to master the language. Also, you will be able to understand the correct meaning of the sentences when using them. The following list explains the uses of the most common monosyllables with diacritical accents in Spanish.     

sí	Adverb and pronoun	Claro que sí: Yes, of course. Ella lo quiere para sí: She wants it for herself.
si	Conjunction	Si fuera rico viajaría mucho: If I was rich I would travel a lot.
mí	Personal pronoun	El libro es para mí: The book is for me.
mi	Possessive	Mi coche es azul: My car is blue.
tú	Personal pronoun	Tú hablas español: You speak Spanish.
tu	Possessive	Tu madre es alta: Your mother is tall.
él	Personal pronoun	Él come pescado: He eats fish.
el	Determined article	El perro es blanco: The dog is white.
sé	Conjugation of the verb “saber: to know”	No lo sé todavía: I do not know it yet.
se	Personal pronoun	Mi amiga se llama Ana: My friend is called Ana.
dé	Imperative of the verb “dar: to give”	Es bueno que el chico dé una explicación: It is good that the boy gives an explanation.
de	Preposition	Yo soy de Madrid: I am from Madrid.
té	Herbal tea	Me gusta el té con limón: I like tea with lemon.
te	Personal pronoun	Yo te amo mucho: I love you very much.
más	Advert for quantity	Sam es más interesante que Pat: Sam is more interesting than Pat.
mas	It is an equivalence of but (pero)	Su salud mejoró mucho, mas sigue débil: His/her health improved a lot, but he/she is still weak.
cuál	Interrogative pronoun	¿Cuál es tu casa? Which one is your house?
cual	Relative pronoun or comparative adverb	El chico no aprobó el examen, lo cual es muy triste: The boy did not pass the exam, which is very sad. El chico se levantó cual ave fénix: The boy rose like a phoenix.
cuán	Adverb	Cuán moderna es esta casa: How modern is this house.
cuan	Relative adverb for use in comparisons	Pedro es tan desordenado cuan trabajador: Pedro is as messy as he is hardworking.
qué	Interrogative or exclamatory pronoun	¿Qué hora es? What time is it? ¡Qué guay! How cool!
que	Relative pronoun	Tengo un gato que es negro: I have a cat which is black.
quién	Interrogative or exclamatory pronoun	¿Quién es tu padre? Who is your father?
quien	Relative pronoun	No hay quien me pueda detener: There is no one who can stop me.
aún	Adverb of time that is equivalent to still	Aún estás a tiempo de ganar el concurso: You still have time to win the contest.
aun	Adverb that is equivalent to until, even, although and also.	No invité a ninguno de mis amigos a la fiesta, ni aun a los más cercanos: I did not invite any of my Friends to the party, not even the closest ones.

As mentioned previously, correct handling of these monosyllables is significant since the word changes its meaning depending on what you want to express, and hence the importance of the tilde when we communicate in writing. Using them correctly demonstrates deep knowledge of the language and impeccable use of it. 

Monosyllabic interjections

Interjections are words that serve to express emotions, feelings, or reactions. Interjections are very useful to connect with others, furthermore, when they are used appropriately, they can be very handy to improve our understanding and communication with others.

Interjections are usually stated in an exclamatory tone when you want to capture the listener’s attention. They can also be used to indicate mood or to describe an action. Here is a list of the most common ones.

 

¡Ah!	It is used to express a certain level of astonishment or also to indicate that something has been understood or that you have realised something.	No tengo dinero. ¡Ah! ¡Qué problema! I have no money. Ah! What a problem!
¡Ay!	It expresses a latent feeling in any circumstance	¡Ay! ¡Qué alegría verte! Oh! What a joy to see you!
¡Eh!	It is used to draw attention, to ask, to respond or warn someone about something.	¡Eh! ¡Por ese lado no! Hey! Not on that side!
¿Eh?	This is an interrogative form. It expresses doubt as to having understood what was heard. It also indicates a request to repeat something that was not well heard.	¿Qué has dicho? ¿Eh? What have you said? Hey?
¡Ea!	It is used to draw attention to whoever it is addressed to.	¡Ea! ¡Qué chica tan alta! Hey! What a tall girl!
¡Ey!	It is used to capture a person’s attention.	¡Ey! ¡Ten cuidado con esa máquina! Hey! Be careful with that machine!
¡Uf!	It is used to indicate annoyance. Also to denote tiredness and feeling overwhelmed.	¡Uf! ¡Por fin llegamos a casa! Phew! We finally arrived home!
¡Uh!	It is used to show disappointment or disdain.	¡Uh! ¡Que habitación tan sucia! Oooh! What a dirty room!
¡Bah!	It is used to express contempt or lack of interest regarding something specific.	¡Bah! ¡Esa conferencia fue un fiasco! Bah! That conference was a fiasco!

Monosyllabic onomatopoeias

These types of monosyllabic words are used to represent different natural sounds. People use them to imitate the sounds, using a single syllable. It is a creative way to recreate a real sound of a thing or an action to which they refer, and they can be visual or auditory. Here are some examples.

Bum	To indicate the sound of the heart and to indicate that something drops.	Mi corazón hizo bum bum al verlo. My heart went boom boom when I saw it/him. Puso el teléfono en la mesa, bum, lo dejó caer al suelo. He/She putt he phone on the table. Boom! He/she dropped it to the floor.
Crac	To indicate that something breaks	El vaso hizo crac al contacto con la mesa. The glass cracked on contact with the table.
Muac	The sound of a kiss	Nos vemos mañana. ¡Muac, muac! See you tomorrow. mwah, mwah!
Ring	The sound of a phone	Toqué la campana para ser atendido inmediatamente, ¡ring, ring! I rang the bell to be attended to immediately, ring, ring!
Pom	The sound of the drums	Los golpes del tambor sonaban de manera muy fuerte, ¡Pom, pom! The drumbeats sounded very loud, pom, pom!
Puf	To indicate disgust for something	Qué olor tan fuerte. ¡Puf! What a strong smell. Poof!
Toc	To indicate a knock on the door	Alguien llamó a la puerta. ¡Toc, toc! Somebody knocked on the door. Knock, knock!
Zas	To indicate a sudden blow. Also, indicates abruptness with which something is done, or the speed with which something happens.	Apenas lo supieron, ¡zas!, vinieron hasta aquí. As soon as they found out, bam! they came here.

In order for students to learn how to use them, it is important that they incorporate different monosyllabic words into their daily use of the language. The interjections are quite powerful when speaking to native speakers as using them will improve your communication. At the same time, using monosyllables with diacritical accent appropriately will show that you are able to master Spanish when producing a piece of writing. 

  Bibliography:

•            Smartick. "Monosílabos: Qué Son y Ejemplos." Available at: https://www.smartick.es/blog/lectura/monosilabos/  
• Ejemplos.co. "Homónimos: Definición y Ejemplos." Available at: https://www.ejemplos.co/homonimos/  
• Mundo Primaria. "Palabras Monosílabas: Ejemplos y Características." Available at: https://www.mundoprimaria.com/palabras/palabras-monosilabas  
• SpanishviaSkype. "Diacritical Accent in Spanish: The Same but Different." Available at: https://spanishviaskype.com/diacritical-accent-in-spanish-the-same-but-different/  
• Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana. "Diferencias entre Monosílabos Diacríticos: Sí, Si; Tú, Tu." Available at: https://www.upb.edu.co/es/central-blogs/ortografia/diferencias-monos%C3%ADlabos-diacr%C3%ADticos-si-si-si-si  
• El Tiempo. "Ortografía: Qué Monosílabos No se Tildan y Cuáles Sí." Available at: https://www.eltiempo.com/cultura/musica-y-libros/ortografia-que-monosilabos-no-se-tildan-y-cuales-si-779378  
• El Tiempo. "Monosílabos con Acento Diacrítico." Available at: https://www.eltiempo.com/archivo/documento/MAM-531632