Why is the "u" in the word "tu" not always accented?

I've only just begun Rocket Spanish today (Lesson 1.1 in Module 1), but have already seen that the "u" in the word "tu" is sometimes accented, and sometimes not.  I'm curious as to why.

Hola y bienvenida CeliaA5,

Tú is the informal pronoun "you",  tu is the possessive adjective "your".

Saludos,

Ricardo

 

Ricardo, thank you so much!!  That makes perfect sense to me now!

Deeply appreciated!

Celia

De nada Celia.

Ricardo

 

Eeek!  Ricardo, if you're still there, I have another question regarding the accent mark.

In lesson 1.3, "Ayuda" is shown with no accent over the "u."  However, in "ayudame," there IS an accent shown over the "u."  

I'm flummoxed once again.

If you would help again, I'd be grateful.

Muchas gracias!

Celia

Hola Celia,

The accent is there to maintain the stress on the  "u" in pronunciation. Without it the stress would fall on the " a" in the next to last syllable, which would be the  normal stress  for words ending in a vowel. Hope this helps and keep at it, it will be rewarding. ¡Buena suerte!

Saludos,

Ricardo

Ricardo,

Thank you so much!  I truly appreciate your taking the time to help me.

You've cleared it up for me once again!

Have a wonderful day!

Celia

De nada Celia,

Don't hesitate to ask, glad to help. 

Ricardo

Well, since you are so kind (and I truly hope I am not imposing too much), I do have another question.  This one is regarding the use of definite articles.

In English, one would say, "I need some pencils for school."  However, in the lesson I'm working on today, I see that in Spanish, that sentence is shown as "Necesito unos lapices para la escuela."  (Pardon the omission of the accent mark in "lapices."  I haven't yet installed the proper keyboard on my laptop.)  

So, in my mind, the literal English translation of that sentence would be, "I need some pencils for the school."   Why is the definite article "la" included in the sentence?  Is that simply a difference in the way our languages are constructed?

Thanks again, Ricardo - - I can't tell you how much I appreciate you!

Celia

Hola Celia,

Definite articles are often used in Spanish where they  would be omitted in English . Por ejemplo (for example) days of the week, the seasons, body parts when the possessor is obvious,  me duele la espalda translation: " my back hurts"  "the" back not "my" back. So yes it's  one of many  differences between the languages. La escuela  just sounds natural to me at this point and it and much more will come to be that way for you too. Just my opinion and approach, beware of literal translations as they can trip you up.  No imposition at all and again don't hesitate to ask.

Saludos,
Ricardo

Thank you so much again, Ricardo.  I truly appreciate all your patience and assistance.  :)

I'm sure you're right - - after a time, it will come to sound natural to me, too.  I'll just keep practicing, and keep the faith that one day I'll be fluent!

Thanks again - - you're the best!

C