Transcript syllable
GROUNDWORK FOR COLLEGE READING WITH PHONICS Fourth Edition John Langan © 2008 Townsend Press Part I, Chapter Three: Phonics III: Syllables THIS CHAPTER IN A NUTSHELL • This chapter reminds you what a syllable is. • It then provides five rules that help you break words into syllables: 1 Divide between two consonants. 2 Divide before a single consonant. 3 Divide before a consonant + le. 4 Divide after prefixes and before suffixes. 5 Divide between the words in a compound word. SYLLABLES A syllable is a word or part of a word that has only one vowel sound. • The word rip has just one vowel sound, so it has only one syllable. • The word sunscreen is pronounced in two parts, each with its own vowel sound: sun and screen. It has two syllables. SYLLABLES Words with More Than One Vowel in a Syllable 1 Words with a silent final e • A word or syllable that has a silent final e has two vowels but only one vowel sound. • For example, the word tune has two vowels but only one vowel sound. It is a one-syllable word. SYLLABLES Words with More Than One Vowel in a Syllable 2 Words with two vowels together in which one vowel is silent • Some words or syllables have two vowels together but only one vowel sound. • For example, the word heat has two vowels, but only one vowel sound. It is a one-syllable word. RULES FOR DIVIDING WORDS INTO SYLLABLES Dividing between Two Consonants Rule 1: When two consonants come between two vowels, divide between the consonants. This rule is also known as the VC/CV (vowel-consonant/consonantvowel) pattern. Examples: donkey: don-key happen: hap-pen silver: sil-ver RULES FOR DIVIDING WORDS INTO SYLLABLES Dividing between Three Consonants If a word has three consonants in a row, divide between the first consonant and the consonant blend. Examples: applaud: ap-plaud monster: mon-ster surprise: sur-prise RULES FOR DIVIDING WORDS INTO SYLLABLES Dividing before a Single Consonant Rule 2: When a single consonant comes between two vowel sounds, divide before the consonant. This rule is also known as the V/CV (vowel/consonant-vowel) pattern. Examples: even: e-ven minus: mi-nus pony: po-ny RULES FOR DIVIDING WORDS INTO SYLLABLES Dividing before a Consonant + le Rule 3: If a word ends in a consonant followed by le, the consonant and le form the last syllable. Examples: handle: han-dle cable: ca-ble simple: sim-ple RULES FOR DIVIDING WORDS INTO SYLLABLES Dividing after Prefixes and before Suffixes Rule 4: Prefixes and suffixes are usually separate syllables. Prefixes are word parts that are added at the beginnings of words. Here are some common prefixes: adin- comnon- conpre- dere- dissub- exun- Examples: prefix: pre-fix unfair: un-fair review: re-view RULES FOR DIVIDING WORDS INTO SYLLABLES Dividing after Prefixes and before Suffixes Rule 4: Prefixes and suffixes are usually separate syllables. Suffixes are word parts that are added at the ends of words. Here are some common suffixes: -able -less -en -ly -er -ment -ful -ness -ing -sion -ist -tion Examples: player: play-er statement: state-ment needless: need-less RULES FOR DIVIDING WORDS INTO SYLLABLES Dividing between Words in a Compound Word Rule 5: Compound words are always divided between the words they contain. A compound word is a combination of two words. Examples: railroad: rail-road bloodstream: blood-stream redhead: red-head CHAPTER REVIEW In this chapter, you learned the following: • A syllable is a word or part of a word that has only one vowel sound. So to figure out the number of syllables in a word, count the number of vowel sounds. Some vowels are silent, including the following: —Silent e: rose —The second letter of certain vowel pairs: pair, play, heat, breed, pie, soap, toe • Five rules can help you divide words into syllables: —Rule 1 (VC/CV): When two consonants come between two vowels, divide between the consonants: sil-ver. If a word has three consonants in a row, divide between the first consonant and the consonant blend: mon-ster. —Rule 2 (V/CV): When a single consonant comes between two vowel sounds, divide before the consonant: po-ny. —Rule 3: If a word ends in a consonant followed by le, the consonant and le form the last syllable: han-dle. —Rule 4: Prefixes and suffixes are usually separate syllables: un-fair, play-er. —Rule 5: Compound words are always divided between the words they contain: gold-fish.