The reaction of aqueous acids with the CF3CH2O- adduct, Ph(OCH2CF3)(2)CC(Ph)=NO2-, of alpha-nitro-beta(2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy)stilbene leads virtually exclusively to the corresponding acetal, Ph(OCH2CF3)(2)CCH(Ph)NO2, by carbon protonation, whereas reaction of acid with the CH3O- adduct, Ph(OCH3)(2)CC(Ph)=NO2-, of beta-methoxy-alpha-nitrostilbene leads virtually exclusively to recovery of the beta-methoxy-alpha-nitrostilbene by acid catalyzed CH3O- expulsion. In the case of Ph(OCH3)(OCH2CF3)CC(Ph)=NO2-, reaction with HCl produces a mixture of the corresponding acetal, Ph(OCH3, OCH2CF3)CCH(Ph)NO2, beta-methoxy-alpha-nitrostilbene and alpha-nitro-beta-(2,2,2-trifluoroethoxy)stilbene. Rate constants for these processes as well as for the deprotonation of the various acetals by OH- and amines are reported. The large difference in the kinetic behavior of the various adducts as a function of the alkoxy groups is attributed to a combination of factors. They include the strong dependence of acid catalysis on leaving group basicity, the much stronger push by the methoxy compared to the trifluoroethoxy group, and the manifestation of the nitroalkane anomaly according to which a more basic nitronate ion is protonated more slowly than a less basic one.