There are words in Spanish which have different meanings when written with or without a written accent.
Màs vs Mas
Spanish más with a written accent
The word más with a written accent means more. You have probably come across this word many times. Let’s see some sentences with más:
Pedro siempre ha sido más generoso que su hermano.Pedro has always been more generous than his brother.
Necesito media hora más para terminar el examen.I need another half hour to finish the exam. [lit: half an hour more]
– ¿Quieres otro café? – No, no quiero más, gracias.– Do you want another coffee? – No, I don’t want [any] more, thanks.
Notice how in the examples above más is used in comparative sentences and as an adjective or pronoun. Remember to always write an accent in these cases.
Spanish mas with no written accent
In Spanish the word mas with no written accent means but. It is a formal version of pero (but). Let’s see some sentences with mas:
Recibimos una invitación para la ceremonia mas no asistimos.We received an invitation to the ceremony but we didn’t attend.
Yo les ofrecí mi ayuda mas no quisieron aceptarla.I offered them my help nevertheless they refused to accept it.
Es noviembre mas las temperaturas son muy moderadas.It is November however the temperatures are very moderate.
See how in all the examples above, mas has no written accent and can be translated as but/however/nevertheless – it is a conjunction joining two parts of a sentence that are in opposition. The conjunction mas is formal and is not widely used, you might see it in writing but it would be unusual to hear it used in speech. It is a lot more common to use the pero or the slightly more formal sin embargo or no obstante.
Tù vs Tu
Tú is a subject pronoun, you informal, the familiar usage as opposed to usted, (sing/ formal.) Tu is a possessive adjective, your, informal, su your (formal).
El vs Èl
Él with a written accent is a personal pronoun, the third person masculine singular and it means “he”. So, we’ll see it functioning as a subject or object in a sentence.
Por ejemplo: él habla español [he studies Spanish] – María estudia español con él [María studies Spanish with him]
El without the written accent is the specific article for masculine singular and it means “the”. It’s function in a sentence is to modify a masculine singular noun.
Por ejemplo: el carro es azul [the car is blue] – John es el ganador [John is the winner]
Both are pronounced the same. In writing you can see the difference because of that written accent and in speech you can tell the difference in meaning based on the context. El ganador cannot be ‘he winner’, and él ganó cannot be ‘the won’.
Este vs Estè
este [éste]=it can mean this (demonstrative adjective) or this one (demonstrative pronoun) when referring to masculine objects (este libro=this book) (deme este. Give me this one.)
esta/ésta=same argument, but referring to feminine objects
está=he/she/it is (3rd person, singular, present tense, indicative mood)
está=2nd person formal, singular (usted)=you are
esté=he/ she/it is (3rd person, singular, present tense, subjunctive mood)
esté=2nd person, formal, singular (usted)=you are