Are you confused about how to divide words into syllables? Or maybe you’re not sure exactly how to teach your students the syllable division rules. It can be tricky, but with a few simple rules, you’ll be able to do it like a pro. In this blog post, we will discuss the most common ways to divide words into syllables, as well as provide some tips for making the process easier. So if you’re ready to learn more about breaking words into syllables, keep reading!
Why Syllable Division Is Helpful
By knowing how to split words into syllables, students can chunk up bigger words into more manageable pieces. This helps them read longer and more difficult words, as well as unfamiliar words.
Dividing words into syllables also helps you figure out what the vowel sound will be. When students come across unfamiliar words, breaking them up into syllables can help them predict what the vowel sound will be based on the patterns they see in the words.
Syllabication Rules
There are several rules, or better yet patterns since there are always some exceptions, that can help with syllable division. Remember that there are 6 syllable types, but some words are only 1 syllable. Refer to my guide on the 6 syllable types for more on each.
The main thing to keep in mind when dividing words into syllables is that every syllable must have a vowel sound! We hear a vowel sound in every syllable, and sometimes it takes more than one vowel to make a vowel sound.
Here are the different rules to break words into syllables:
Rule 1: VC/CV – Split 2 consonants that are between vowels.
Whenever 2 consonants come together in a word, divide between them: VC/CV
The exceptions to this are to keep consonant digraphs (i.e. ch, ph, ck) and consonant blends (i.e. bl, st, fr) together.
Check out my VCCV Syllable Division Worksheets if you’re looking for a ready made teaching resource.
Rule 2: C+le – The ending -le usually takes the consonant before it to make one syllable.
When a word ends with a consonant and -le, divide it before the consonant so that the last syllable is C+le.
The silent e in C+le words helps add that vowel sound we need in every consonant. It’s one of the many jobs of silent e.
Check out my C+le Syllable Division Worksheets if you’re looking for a ready made teaching resource.
Rule 3: V/CV & VC/V – Split before or after a consonant that comes between 2 vowels.
When only one consonant comes between vowels, divide after the first vowel: V/CV. This makes the first syllable an open syllable, and it will have a long sound.
Pronounce the word with an open syllable. If this doesn’t make a word that sounds familiar, then divide after the consonant: VC/V. This makes the first syllable closed, so the vowel will say its short sound.
Because this one is not as predictable I teach it after VCCV and C+le. I typically start with V/CV only, then I teach VC/V. After this, I mix them up and teach students to be flexible, showing them how to try it as V/Cv first, then VC/V after.
Check out my VC-V and V-CV syllable division worksheets if you’re looking for ready made teaching resources.
Rule 4: V/V – Split 2 vowels next to each other that do not work as a team.
If a vowel combination is in reverse, divide between the vowels: V/V. In this case, each vowel will have a sound.
It’s so important for students to know common vowel teams so they don’t split those up! If students are still learning basic vowel teams, wait to teach this syllable division pattern. Words like “beach” and “boat” have vowel teams that do not get split. These vowel teams work together to represent one vowel sound.
Rule 5: VC/CCV & VCC/CV – Split before or after the second consonant when 3 consonants come together.
When three consonants come together, divide after the first consonant: VC/CCV. If this doesn’t make a word that sounds familiar, divide after the second constant: VCC/CV.
These words often contain blends and digraphs, which if you recall, do not get broken up. When you see 3 or more consonants together, look for blends and digraphs to help determine where to split the word.
Rule 6: Divide after a prefix and before a suffix.
When you see a prefix, divide the word right after it. When you see a suffix, divide right before it. There are a few exceptions to suffixes creating their own syllable, but this will be apparent after the student has split up the word and tried to pronounce it.
The exception to this rule is the suffix -ed. Sometimes this does not create an extra vowel sound, such as in the words jumped and sailed. Regardless, once the suffix is identified and the word is pronounced, you’ll know if it’s a syllable or not.
Strategies To Teach Syllabication Rules
Teach students to use vowels to identify syllables
Since one vowel sound = one syllable, the first thing students should do is identify the vowels. I always have my students draw a dot above each vowel. After that, I have them label every vowel and consonant by writing a V or C under each letter. Then they have to check if it’s a vowel team or silent e. At this point, they know exactly how many syllables a word has, even if they’re not sure where to split it yet.
Below is an example using the word student.
Teach students to look for patterns
At this point, students can look for patterns in the consonant and vowels. Students should look for vowel teams and magic e’s, digraphs and blends, then look for syllable patterns: VC, CV, VCCV, VCe, C+le, VCV, VV, Vr.
Teach base word families, prefixes, and suffixes
Students should also check for any base words, prefixes, and/or suffixes. Each base word or affix usually is its own syllable, but in some cases, they are not. Students can split these and try reading the word.
Teaching affixes daily and working with word family groups is a great way to address this area. Through consistent exposure and practice, students internalize these word parts and more quickly divide words into syllables.
Teach the different spelling patterns for each sound
It’s helpful if students know the options for spelling certain sounds, such as all the ways to pronounce the suffix -ed. This way when they are breaking up the word into syllable and sounding it out, they can accurately read a word.
A sound wall is a great way to teach all the spelling patterns for each sound. You can display each spelling pattern as students learn it and keep it up all year long as a reference. Read more about sound walls here.
Syllable Activities For Teaching Syllable Separation
Start off with teaching the 6 syllable types, one at a time. I created a bundle of all my syllable division worksheets which you can check out below.
You can also download these syllable types reference posters by signing up for my email list below.
Diagram multisyllabic words
Whenever I am teaching syllabication, students must always follow the same procedure to diagram each word:
- Spot and dot the vowels
- Label the consonants and vowels underneath
- Look for patterns, affixes, and base words
- Split according to the rules
- Mark the vowels as long or short
- Read the word aloud
Below is an example, the same picture I used above to show how to mark the vowels. You can see the student placed a dot above both vowels, labeled each consonant and vowel, found blends, found where to split the word, then marked the vowels as long and short.
Cut words into syllables
The very first activity after teaching the syllable division pattern is to cut words up because the visual really helps struggling learners. I write a few words on index cards, have students diagram the words, then cut them along the division line. We later use these to sort syllables.
Sort syllables
There are tons of syllable sorting activities you can download and prepare, but I like to use the cut up syllables from the previous activity to sort syllables. You can sort into all the syllables types or just choose 2 to focus on as pictured below.
I also use a syllable and vowel pattern chart to sort syllables as I teach them. Each student has their own copy of this and fills it in as we learn each syllable.
Syllable search
This is an easy activity you can do with any text, but a targeted decodable text is ideal. Simply ask students to read a passage and highlight all the words that have the target syllable. From here, students can create a list of the words they found and split them.
Conclusion
Syllable division rules help readers break words into smaller parts making reading the word easier on their brains. This means that they don’t have to work as hard when trying to figure out what word you’re saying or spelling because each syllable has its own meaning and breaks up the task of decoding letters in order one at a time for your brain. Try these activities next time you teach syllable division.
Sources:
- How To Teach Spelling by Laura Toby Rudginsky and Elizabeth C. Haskell
- Phonics and Spelling Through Phoneme-Grapheme Mapping by Katheryn E. S. Grace
- Structured Literacy Interventions: Teaching Students with Reading Difficulties, Grades K-6 by Louise Spear-Swerling
- Speech to Print: Language Essentials for Teachers by Louisa Cook Moats
Want to remember this? Save Syllable Division Rules: How To Divide Words Into Syllables to your favorite Pinterest board!
Delilah Orpi is the founder of Thrive Literacy Corner. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Special Education, a Master’s degree in TESOL, and is a member of the International Dyslexia Association. She is an experienced educator and literacy specialist trained in Orton Gillingham and Lindamood Bell. Delilah creates literacy resources for educators and parents and writes to create awareness about dyslexia and effective literacy instruction based on the science of reading.
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All words have at least one syllable. A syllable is a vowel sound that’s connected or unconnected to consonants that form a unit of pronunciation. For example, the word «banana» is broken up into three parts, or syllables, for each piece of sound you pronounce before you momentarily pause: ba-[pause]-na-[pause]-na. Knowing how to divide words into syllables can greatly help with your spelling and reading skills as well as your ability to pronounce words correctly.
List of Words
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1
Clap your hands as you say a word. Try to form a steady beat for every individual sound you make.[1]
- For example, ba (clap) — na (clap) -na (clap). This word has three claps, one for every syllable.
- Words have a natural emphasis when you say them regularly. The word «banana» sounds like banana because it stresses the middle syllable. Coordinate your claps with the natural stresses and emphases of a word.
- Start with bigger words that you know have more than one syllable, like «hippopotamus.» The more syllables there are, the longer and more rhythmic your beat will be, making it easier to divide the word.
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2
Use a metronome or Newton’s cradle to make a beat. Say a part of the word every time you hear a «click» noise.
- Try to be silent at the same times the metronome or Newton’s cradle is silent. Only say a syllable when you hear a click sound. This will help you split up a word into its smallest audible segments.
- This might be easier than clapping because your focus is mostly on saying words and not so much on creating a rhythm. You can also use your hands to tally the syllables in particularly long words.
- If using a metronome, pick a fast but steady tempo. Most hit songs fall into the 120 beats-per-minute (BPM) range,[2]
suggesting that maybe most people appreciate sound at this speed. Try setting your tempo to 120 bpm and saying words on tempo.
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1
Write a word down on a piece of paper. Use big letters and leave some room between letters to separate syllables.
- Write the word in a blue. You will later be drawing vertical lines to separate syllables, which you can color in red. This will provide visual contrast and help you picture how words are broken up.
- Look at where the vowels fall in your word. Every syllable will have a vowel, but may not always have a consonant.[3]
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2
Identify any prefix in a word. Prefixes are sets of letters added to the beginning of a word to give it a specific meaning.[4]
- For example, the word «play» is different than the word «replay.» «Play» means to show something once; «replay» means to show something again.
- Many prefixes are usually one syllable, for example rewind, predetermine, and postmortem.
- Some prefixes have more than 1 syllable. If your prefix has more than one vowel and the vowels are separated by consonants, it is more than one syllable. For example, «anti» is a prefix with two syllables. «Ant» is one syllable and «i» is the other.
- Prefixes with more than one vowel that are not separated by consonants most likely are only 1 syllable. For example, «eu» in «eulogy» is only 1 syllable.
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3
Draw a line after the prefix of the word. Separate the prefix from the remaining letters in your word.
- For example, «re | wind.» Now you can start to see how your word is made up of smaller chunks of letters.
- For prefixes with more than one vowel, look at the where the vowels fall. If your prefix has more than one vowel and has consonants between them, draw a line after the first consonant that follows your first vowel. For example: «an | ti.»
- Many words don’t have prefixes. If your word doesn’t have a prefix, don’t worry about this step.
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4
Identify any suffix of a word. Suffixes are like prefixes, but they are added to the end of the word to make them mean something different.[5]
- For example: «calculate» means something different than «calculator. Calculate is when you find the amount of something; calculator is a tool for helping you find that amount.
- Like prefixes, suffixes are usually one syllable but can sometimes be more than 1. Common suffixes include «s,» «ed,» and «ing,» as in «computers,» «computed,» and «computing.»
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5
Draw a line before the suffix of a word. If your word has both a prefix and suffix, you should have two lines drawn in your word so far.
- For example: «re | wind | ing.»
- If your suffix has more than one vowel, follow the same rule as with prefixes. If vowels have consonants between them, draw a line after the first consonant that follows your first vowel. For example: flex | ib | le.
- Some words don’t have prefixes or suffixes. If your word does not have a suffix, do not draw a line.
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6
Divide any compound words. If there are two separate words have been put together, draw a line between them.[6]
- For example: «tree | house» or «water | slide.»
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7
Draw lines in the remaining chunks according to vowel placement. If you have a section of letters with multiple vowels that are separated by consonants, divide it so that there is at least one vowel in each segment.
- For example, «comput | ing» would be broken up into «com | put | ing.»
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8
Say your word. Pause every time you get to a line. This should help you audibly separate your word into smaller chunks.
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Question
How do I break down the word escoger?
es-co-ger
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Question
Why is it ther-mom-e-ter and not ther-mo-me-ter?
The usual practice is to divide syllables after a consonant that follows a «short» vowel. In this case, the second «m» follows the «short o,» and so the division comes after the «m». Another example is «habit,» in which the division comes after the consonant «b» because the «a» is «short» (hab-it). However, in the word «basin,» the «a» is «long,» so the division comes before the consonant «s» (ba-sin).
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Question
How do I divide the word «queue»?
Sherringford
Community Answer
The word «queue» is one syllable. Although it looks wrong, you can’t divide it any more than it already is.
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Video
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Read the word out loud. This will help you syllabicate words on paper as well as say words correctly that you are unfamiliar with when reading. When in doubt on where to split a word into syllables, follow the common practice that an open-ended vowel, or a vowel at the end of a portion of sound, will say its long sound. A vowel that is closed off with a consonant will say its short sound.
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Place the back of your hand under your chin for an easy way to determine syllables. Speak. Every time your jaw moves, it is a new syllable.
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Government, for example, is 3 syllables.
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References
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Article SummaryX
Learning how to divide words into syllables can help your spelling and reading skills as well as your ability to pronounce words correctly. To find the syllables in a word, try clapping your hands on each individual sound as you say the word. For example, if you’re working with the word “banana,” you’d clap on “ba,” “na,” and “na.” If you’re more of a visual learner, try writing the word down and drawing verticle lines to separate the syllables. Another way to identify syllables is to identify compound words and draw a line separating them. For instance, for the word «treehouse,» draw a line between «tree» and «house.» To learn how to use vowels to find syllable breaks, keep reading!
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How Many Syllables
Syllable Rules >> Syllabification Examples
Syllable Division Rules
- Separate prefixes and suffixes from root words.
- examples: pre-view, work-ing, re-do, end-less, & out-ing
- Are two (or more) consonants next to each other?
- Divide between the 1st and 2nd consonants.
- examples: buf-fet, des-sert, ob-ject, ber-ry, & pil-grim
- Never split 2 consonants that make only 1 sound when pronounced together and aren’t the same letter (i.e., ‘ff’).
- examples: th, sh, ph, th, ch, & wh
- Is the consonant surrounded by vowels?
- Does the vowel have a long sound? (Like the ‘i’ in line)
- Divide before the consonant.
- examples: ba-by, re-sult, i-vy, fro-zen, & Cu-pid
- Does the vowel have a short sound? (Like the ‘i’ in mill)
- Divide after the consonant.
- examples: met-al, riv-er, mod-el, val-ue, & rav-age
- Does the word end with ‘ckle’?
- Divide right before the ‘le.’
- examples: tack-le, freck-le, tick-le, & buck-le
- Does the word end with ‘le’ (not ‘ckle’)?
- Is the letter before the ‘le’ a consonant?
- Divide 1 letter before the ‘le.’
- examples: ap-ple, rum-ble, fa-ble, & ta-ble
- Is the letter before the ‘le’ a vowel?
- Do nothing.
- examples: ale, scale, sale, file, & tile
Fun Fact
Oology = the study of eggs
is the shortest “-ology” word.
Syllable Rules >> Counting Syllables Examples
Examples
- little: lit — tle
- petal: pet — al
- turtle: tur — tle
- ankle: an — kle
- riddle: rid — dle
- arrow: ar — row
- nickel: nick — el
- cotton: cot — ton
- student: stu — dent
- teacher: teach — er
- children: chil — dren
- pottery: pot — ter — y
- learning: learn — ing
- textbook: text — book
- watching: watch — ing
- screaming: scream — ing
- misbehaving: mis — be — hav — ing
Syllable division rules show us how to break up a multi-syllable word into its syllable parts. There are six main syllable division “rules” to guide us.
How is Syllable Division done?
- It all starts with the vowels. Find the vowels in the word. It helps to underline or highlight them.
- Find the patten of the consonants and vowels (VCV, VCCV, VCCCV, VCCCCV, C+le, VV).
- Use the syllable division rule (shown below) to divide the word into its syllable parts.
Why Should we Teach Syllable Division?
Learning the rules of syllable division provides our students with an effective strategy for chunking up those bigger words into more manageable parts. I see it as another “tool” for their “tool belt” that leads to more accuracy while reading.
Understanding syllable division also helps students to determine what the vowel sound will be. As I learn more, I see this works best when incorporated with morphology (think prefixes, suffixes, and roots). When I first learned syllable division, I only learned syllable division without the consideration of morphemes (which are the smallest units of meaning in our language). I now teach my students to look for familiar prefixes, suffixes, and even roots (for older kids) first. If there aren’t any, then begin syllable division.
To get to that point though, we need to teach them those syllable division rules and give them enough practice with them so that it becomes more automatic. All the while, I’m teaching new prefixes and suffixes to them so those can also become more familiar. I think the two actually go together well. But I digress! Back to syllable division!
The first thing to know is that every syllable must have a written vowel. The very definition of a syllable is an uninterrupted unit of speech with one vowel sound.
Here are the syllable division rules on one page:
Here is a picture from my classroom:
As I mentioned above, first thing to know about syllable division is that it’s all about vowels!
Every syllable needs a vowel, so we can determine (usually) how many syllables there are based on the number of vowels.
- Vowel teams and diphthongs count as one syllable even if there are two vowels because they work together to make one sound.
- Same with silent e. The e doesn’t make a sound so it doesn’t get it’s own syllable.
- The exception of course is the syllable type consonant -le. This syllable is found in words like little, bubble, table. You cannot hear the e, but it does get its own syllable. It buddies with the l before it and the consonant before the l. More about that later, though!
Syllable Division Rules
The following slides show the main syllable division rules.
Rule #1: Two consonants between the vowels: VCCV Pattern
The first syllable division rule is VC/VC, which stands for vowel-consonant-consonant-vowel. Train your students to find the vowels in the word. They are our starting point. In words with the VCCV pattern, there are two consonants between the two vowels. Usually, we split between those consonants.
See the step by step directions with blue and yellow letters below. (Before teaching this, you should teach your students about open and closed syllable types. For the word basket, split between the s and k. The first syllable is bas and the second syllable is ket. Each syllable has a vowel.
Of course there are always exceptions.
- One exception is when there are R or L blends, like in the word secret. We keep R and L blends together, so instead of splitting between those consonants, we keep them together and move them to the second syllable.
- We also keep digraphs and units (ing, ink, ang, ank, ost, olt, ind, ild, olt) together. Never split those!
Rule #2 & 3: One Consonant between the Vowels: VCV Pattern
There are two options here! This slide shows both ways.
More commonly, you would split VCV syllables the before that consonant. This leaves your first syllable open, so the vowel would be long.
- In the word silent, the letter l is the middle consonant between the vowels. We move that to be with the 2nd syllable: si-lent.
- In the word bonus, the letter n is the middle consonant between the vowels. We move that to be with the second syllable, leaving the first syllable open (because it ends with a vowel) bo-nus
Sometimes though, we do the opposite. Sometimes, we split VCV syllables after the consonant. In this case, we close that first syllable, leaving that vowel short.
- In the word robin, the middle consonant b moves with the 1st syllable making rob-in. The first syllable rob is closed by the b.
- In the word visit, the middle consonant s moves with the 1st syllable making vis-it. The first syllable vis is closed by the v.
Rule #4: Three consonants between the vowels.
In the case of three consonants between the vowels, we usually split after the first consonant.
- In the word conflict, the letter nfl are between the vowels. The first consonant n goes with the first syllable and the other two (fl) go to the 2nd syllable: con-flict.
See below that there are the usual exceptions.
- We never split digraphs, blends, or units.
- Also, a word this big can often be a compound word. Instead, you would split between the two words.
Rule #5: Four Consonants Between the Vowels
This is super similar to the last one. Split after the first consonant, unless it is a compound word. There are not as many of these words, and honestly when you’re getting into words this big, I tend to shift my focus to morphology.
Rule #6: Consonant -le
On paper, I’ve always had this as #6, but I actually found myself teaching this one after #3 because it came up earlier since it is so common. A great example is the word little.
Following this rule, we see the -le at the end and count one back to make lit-tle. Consonant +le in this word is t+le.
This is the syllable type where there is no vowel sound. You only hear the consonant and the /l/ or /ul/.
Rule #7: V/V
When there are two vowels next to each other, but they are not vowel teams or diphthongs (more than one letter making one sound together), then you split between the vowels. These two vowels do not share a sound. I think this is the hardest for my students to decode usually. I wait to teach this one because it can be very confusing!
That first vowel is always long and that second one usually sounds like a schwa.
Compound Words
I’ve already mentioned this a few times as an exception to the other rules, but it’s really a rule all on its own. If the word is a compound words, don’t worry about the other rules, just split between those two words.
Affixes: Prefixes and Suffixes
I almost put this one first because it’s so important, but I didn’t want to confuse. It is super helpful for students to get in the habit of always looking for prefixes and suffixes. This starts in kindergarten with the suffix -s!
I teach my students to always “chunk out” the prefixes and suffixes and to focus on the base word first. This requires direct instruction with all the different prefixes and suffixes.
In first grade, they commonly will see -s, -es, -ing, -ed, -er, -est, re and un. 2nd graders regularly see -ly, -ment, -ful, -less, -able, pre-, dis-, mis-, and so many more!
In some cases, suffixes like -ed don’t necessarily make a new syllable (jumped, camped, etc), while in others (rented, busted) it does make another syllable. But that’s even more reason to teach them about prefixes and suffixes! Our students will cover the -ed in jumped, then see only one vowel and one syllable. After reading jump, they will then uncover -ed and decide how to pronounce it “jumpt, jump-ed, or jumpd”.
You can learn more about this HERE.
3 Syllable Words:
When dividing a word with more than two syllables, first check for affixes (prefixes and suffixes). Then start at the left with the first two vowels, divide those syllables, then move to the right.
If you’re interested in just these syllable division posters and some practice pages with all syllable types, you can find them HERE. The practice pages come in two formats: tabbed notebook (shown below) and also regular full-page worksheets.
Resources for Syllable Division
Here is a sneak peak of a few of the practice pages.
And because I’m so indecisive and have created and recreated so many posters over the years, I included all sets of visuals shown in this post. You can just choose your favorite and print!
However, if you already own my Syllable Division with Open and Closed Syllables, I also added these posters to that pack! You can find that HERE.
(If you’re wondering what the difference is, this pack above has a lot more practice pages, but just focuses on open and closed syllables because it is part of my systematic units and has detailed lesson plans. The new, smaller pack above that has just the posters and 40 practice pages for all syllable division rules. It includes open and closed syllables then has another section with all the other syllable types. It is not part of the systematic units and does not have the detailed lesson plans.)
Here are a couple of syllable activities that I’ve done:
For these two, I put the first syllable in one color and the 2nd on another color. Students read the syllables and matched them to make real words.
This next activity was a review activity after learning all syllable types. I wrote words on note cards. I gave each student one at a time. They read the card to the group and then together we determined which pattern it followed. (Students would copy the word on their white board first and do the syllable division individually.) We sorted them into the correct column. The next day I used colored transparencies to chunk a certain syllable. For each word, I would ask for the first or second syllable. Students would say the syllable and then we would highlight that part.
What are Syllable Types?
This post is all about the syllable division rules. But you also will want to know the syllable types. As I mentioned above, I have a pack that focuses on syllable division with only open and closed syllables, which are two of the 7 syllable types. Want to read about the other syllable types? Click HERE to read more about syllable types.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia defines a syllable as «the minimum pronunciation (articulatory) unit of speech, consisting of one or more sounds that form a close phonetic unity on the basis of a single exhalation impulse.» This definition belongs to the outstanding Russian linguist V. Vinogradov. Despite the complexity of the definition, it is quite simple to divide the words of the Russian language into syllables.
It is necessary
Ability to make phonetic transcription of a word
Instructions
Step 1
Remember that syllable splitting is associated with the phonetic shell of the word, so first make a transcription (restore the sound of the word). For example, «window» — [ak-no], «turtle» — [chi-r’i-pa-ha], light — [sv’ie-tlo].
Step 2
Syllables are divided into closed (at the end of a consonant) and open (at the end of a vowel), and also highlight covered and uncovered syllables, depending on which sound the syllables begin with. For example, in the word «tumba» there are two syllables [tum-ba], both of them are covered, because begin with consonants, and in the word «food» [yi-da] the first syllable is uncovered, tk. starts with a vowel sound.
Step 3
Remember that syllable splitting is associated with the phonetic shell of the word, so first make a transcription (restore the sound of the word). For example, «window» — [ak-no], «turtle» — [chi-r’i-pa-ha], light — [sv’ie-tlo].
Step 4
There are complex cases of dividing words into syllables — how to divide into syllables if a word contains several consonants next to each other? The linguist Krivonosov in the methodological development of «Linguistics of the Text» reports that «the structure of the Russian word tends to an open syllable,» therefore, «the border between syllables should be drawn according to the vowel: Nevsky [n’e-fsk’iy], with-friend-zhs- state [sa-dru-zhy-stva | «.
Step 5
Syllables are divided into closed (at the end of a consonant) and open (at the end of a vowel), and also highlight covered and uncovered syllables, depending on which sound the syllables begin with. For example, in the word «tumba» there are two syllables [tum-ba], both of them are covered, because begin with consonants, and in the word «food» [yi-da] the first syllable is uncovered, tk. starts with a vowel sound.
Step 6
There are complex cases of dividing words into syllables — how to divide into syllables if a word contains several consonants next to each other? The linguist Krivonosov in the methodological development of «Linguistics of the Text» reports that «the structure of the Russian word tends to an open syllable,» therefore, «the border between syllables should be drawn according to the vowel: Nevsky [n’e-fsk’iy], with-friend-zhs- state [sa-dru-zhy-stva | «.