Rules of dividing syllables of a word

1. Basics of Syllable
What is a syllable?
A syllable is a sequence of speech sounds (formed from vowels and consonants)
organized into a single unit. It act as the building blocks of a spoken word,
determining the pace and rhythm of how the word is pronounced.
Structure of a syllable
The 3 structural elements of a syllable are:
o the nucleus,
o the onset, and
o the coda
 a nucleus always contains a vowel and form from a vowel sound.
It is the core of the syllable having its individual ‘beat’ within a word. Syllables
always contain a nucleus.
 an onset contains consonant sound(s) before the nucleus of a word
 a coda consists consonant sound(s) after the nucleus at the end of the syllable.
Example: the word open (/ˈoʊpən/) contains two syllables: “o-” and “-pen”
The first syllable only contains a nucleus (the vowel sound /oʊ/); because it does
not end with a consonant sound, it is what’s known as an open syllable.
The second syllable contains an onset (consonant sound /p/), a nucleus (reduced
vowel sound /ə/), and a coda (the consonant sound/n/). it is what’ s known as a
closed syllable.
“number of syllables in a word will be determined by the number of vowel
sounds forming their nuclei”
Types of syllables
Although syllables all perform the same basic function—marking the verbal
‘beats’ of a spoken word but, not all syllables are structured the same way. In fact,
there are six types of syllables that are identified in English based on a word’s
spelling and the type of sound the syllable’s nucleus creates. The two most basic
categories are open and closed syllables, but we also distinguish

2.  Silent E syllables
 Vowel-combination syllables
 Vowel-R syllables and
 Syllabic consonants.
By dividing syllables into these six categories, we can identify a number of
patterns that help us use a word’s spelling to determine its pronunciation, and
vice versa.
Open syllables
An open syllable (also known as a free syllable) is one that has a single vowel
letter for its nucleus and does not contain a coda—that is, it does not have a
consonant sound after the vowel. An open syllable is a vowel sound on its
own(nucleus) with or without an onset (one or more consonant sounds) that
precedes the nucleus.
An open syllable cannot be followed by a doubled consonant; it can only be
followed by a single consonant or a consonant cluster that acts as the onset of the
next syllable. This is because a doubled consonant appearing mid-word will
always be divided between syllables, with the first consonant forming the coda of
a closed syllable and the second consonant forming the onset of the next syllable.
Closed syllables
A closed syllable is a single vowel is followed by a coda, which consists of one or
more consonant sounds at the end of the syllable (except the consonant R.
vowels followed by R form a specific syllable category, which we’ll look at
separately).
Closed syllables often have an onset as well (forming what’s known as the CVC or
consonant-vowel-consonant pattern). This is not always the case, though,
especially when a closed syllable is at the beginning of a word.
Closed syllables most often have short vowels forming their nuclei, but they may
also have another long vowel sounds that do not “say the name” of the vowel
letter. Like those of open syllables, the vowels of closed syllables may be reduced
to weak vowel sounds if the closed syllable is unstressed.

3. A closed syllable is a syllable with one vowel followed by one or more consonants.
There may or may not be a consonant, consonant blend, or consonant digraph in
front of the vowel. The vowel makes the short sound and is marked with a breve
(căt). Some examples of closed syllables are: Dog, cat, ask, ship, stop
Rules of Dividing Syllables (Syllabication)
o Every syllable must have at least one vowel. A syllable may have only
one letter if that letter is a vowel. I, a, o/pen
o The number of vowel sounds in a word equals the number of syllables.
1. A one syllable word is never divided (safe, car, plane).
2. a compound word divides between the words that make up the compound
word.
(rail • road, air • port, play • ground, foot • ball, tooth • brush). sand/box
base/ball sun/shine.)
Prefixes and suffixes
Word having Prefix, divides into the prefix and the base word.
(re • fresh, dis • count, mis • fit, un • tie, re/paint)
When be, de, ex, and re are at the beginning of a word, they make a
syllable of their own. (be • came, de • fend, ex • hale, re • main)
Word having a Suffix with a vowel sound in it divides into the base word and the
suffix. (help • ing, leav • ing, kind • ness, thank • ful, jump/ing, un/help/ful)
Word having ‘ed’ suffix: ‘Ed’ often stay as one syllable with the root word and
often make a new syllable. ‘ed’ forms a syllable ONLY when it preceded by d or t
(Taped, tapped, paint/ed, start/ed, found/ed)

4. When two or more consonants come between two vowels in a word, the
word is usually divided between the first two consonants.
(don • key, sis • ter, but • ter, hun • gry, sum/mer, thun/der, pub/lic, hap •
pen, bas • ket, let • ter, sup • per, din • ner)
Sometimes there are more than two consonants between vowels. Keep
consonant blends and diagraphs together. Consonant blends and digraphs are
never separated. (rest • ing, bush • el, reach • ing, con/struct, eth/nic, jug/gle)
Consonant Digraph has 2 consonants together that make one sound. (sh,
th, wh, ch, ck)
When a word has a ‘ck’ or an ‘x’ in it, the word is usually divided after
the ‘ck’ or ‘x’. (nick • el, tax • i)
When a single consonant stands between two vowels you have to decide if the
first syllable is opened(longer) or closed(shorter). vc/v or v/cv. (it’s usually open)
o if the first vowel is open/long, it is usually divided before the consonant
(ba • sin, fe • ver, ma • jor, Po/lish, lo/cate)
o if the first vowel is closed/short, it is usually divided after the consonant
(lev • er, cab • in, hab • it, pol/ish, rel/ish)
When two vowels come together in a word, and are sounded separately, divide
the word between the two vowels. ( ra • di • o, di • et, i • de • a).
Vowel team syllable/double vowel syllable. when two vowels come together and
make one sound. Some examples: boot, need, sauce, snow, sail, coin
When a vowel is sounded alone in a word, it forms a syllable itself
(grad • u • ate, a • pron, u • nit)

5. When a word ends in le, preceded by a consonant, the word is divided before that
consonant. The final “e” is silent and the syllable sounds like a blend. (pur/ple,
fum/ble, mid/dle, Drib/ble, ca/ble, muz/zle, puz/zle ap/ple, trem/ble, tum/ble)
When ‘ture’ and ‘tion’ are at the end or a word, they make their own syllable
(lo • tion, pos • ture)
The ‘vowel-consonant-e’(v-c-e) syllable has one vowel followed by a consonant,
then an “e”. The final “e” makes the vowel(v) say its name, or the long sound, and
the “e” is silent. The vowel is marked with a macron (cāke). examples of ‘v-c-e’
syllables are: Bike, throne, June, whine, grade, smile
‘e’ has several jobs in English from giving ‘long sound’ to making ‘g’ and
‘c’ sound
Of course, there are exceptions to this syllable rule. No English word ends with
the letter “v”, so there is always an “e” after “v” at the end of a word. The vowel
can be short or long.
The open syllable ends with one vowel. That vowel is long (or says its name) and
is marked with a macron. shē, hi, we, flu
“y” at the end of a syllable also acts as a vowel.
In a one syllable word, a final “y” usually makes the long “i” sound. shy, cry
In two syllable words, ‘y’ usually makes the long “e” sound. Fun/ny, ba/by,
can/dy
In the vowel-r syllable, there is one vowel followed by an “r”.
The vowel in this syllable makes a different sound – neither long or short. We say the “r” is
“bossy” or “controls” the vowel. This is a fairly easy syllable to learn to read (er, ir, ur all say
“er” as in “fern”, “or” says “or” as in “fork” and “ar” says “ar” as in “barn) but it can be difficult
to learn to spell. Some examples of the vowel-r syllable are: Car, burn, girl, her, short
Students often sees a vowel-r syllable as a closed syllable. They must be careful to see ‘r’ after vowel.
Multiple syllable words often have several syllable types and use more than one of the above
syllable division rules. Schwa often affects vowel sounds in these words.
mul/ti/ple, dif/fer/ent, pro/tag/o/nist, ab/so/lute/ly