Today we will explain the difference between the Spanish words: solo and sólo. To help you avoid any confusion, El Rincón del Tánde Spanish school provides below a short and clear explanation. Take a look at it and learn new things about Spanish grammar ?
When you study Spanish, it is very likely to face some challenges in dealing with those Spanish words that sound exactly the same but have difference in meaning.
Therefore, today we deal with one of the most frequently asked questions: What is the difference between “solo and sólo”?
To begin with, the two Spanish word are spelled the same if it were not for the diacritical accent (tilde diacrítica) that marks a difference in meaning.
In fact, in Spanish grammar, sólo is an ADVERB and means “only”, “just”, “solely”, “merely”.
Examples:
- Quiero sólo saber si estás bien = I just want to know if you are fine
- Estaré en Roma sólo una semana = I will be in Rome only one week
- Se trata sólo de una pequeña falta ortográfica = This is merely a small misspelling
Whereas, SOLO without the accent mark, is an ADJECTIVE and means “alone”, “lonely”, “single”.
The adjective solo indicates the someone feels lonely or that performs an action on his/her own, without company or without assistance, support.
As an adjective, it must agree in gender and number with the noun that it modifies.
- Sola (feminine singular) – Solas (feminine plural)
- Solo (masculine singular) – Solos (masculine plural)
Examples:
- A María le gusta viajar sola = Maria likes travelling alone
- Lucas pintó las paredes de su piso solo = Lucas painted the walls of his house alone
- Me sentí sola el pasado verano en París = I felt lonely last summer in Paris
IMPORTANT!
The difference between these two Spanish words in spelling (diacritical mark or not) is due to an old spelling rule that required to use the accent mark in order to differentiate the adverb from the adjective.
In 2010 the rule changed and the Real Academia Española specified that, according to the general spelling rules, the adverb solo must be spelled without the accent mark. Therefore, there is no need to use the diacritical mark to differentiate the adverb from the adjective as ambiguity of meaning can be easily avoided by the sentence and/or linguistic and extra linguistic context.
Also, the Academy states that in the event that ambiguity can be hardly avoided, it is still possible to find other solution than using the accent. For instance, replacing the adverb solo with synonyms (últimamente, solamente) or make the meaning clear through punctuation or other linguistic elements.
Therefore, according to the new rule, the most correct way to use the adverb is without accent.
- Quiero solo saber si estás bien
- Estaré en Roma solo una semana
- Se trata solo de una pequeña falta ortográfica
Lastly, in Spanish, solo is also a NOUN. Solo as a noun means a music piece performed by only one person.
- Julia tocó un solo de piano = Julia played a piano solo
Besides, we can find it as an adjective, indicating a type of coffee (café solo).
The English equivalent is “black coffee”.
- Dos té verde y un café solo, por favor = Two green teas and one black coffee, please.
We hope that our blog about the Spanish words sólo and solo has been useful to you ?
Our Spanish school in Valencia encourages you to keep improving your Spanish and make the most of your Spanish lessons.
Have a good day!
