But because they are so rare in English, native English speakers may not have learned how to add those marks to documents, emails, or other writings on their Macs.įor access to more common diacritical marks, you just need to hold down the key for the letter you want to use until a small numbered menu appears on-screen.

Special characters (also known as diacritical marks) may be more common in certain languages, but there are plenty of circumstances in which English speakers may need to use them. Here’s the situation: you’re typing a report for work, and you suddenly have to write the phrase “Jones née Berkowitz.” Or you are adding a phrase in Spanish and need to use the word “años.” How do you add the special characters to the letters?