Читать книгу Plain English - Marian Wharton - Страница 44

Every vowel or every vowel combination pronounced as one vowel sound indicates a syllable (excepting final e in such words as fate, late, rode, etc.) Take the word combination, for example. In this word we have four syllables, thus: Com-bi-na-tion.

A syllable is that part of a word which can be uttered distinctly by a single effort of the voice. Remember that each syllable must contain a vowel or a vowel combination like oi or ou, which is pronounced as one vowel. Sometimes the vowel alone makes the syllable as in a-lone, e-qual, etc. The final e in words like late, and fate is not sounded. It is silent, we say.

All words ending in silent e have the long vowel sound, with a very few exceptions. Words without the final e have the short vowel sound as for example: fate, fat; mate, mat; hide, hid; rode, rod.

In dividing words into syllables the consonant is written with the preceding vowel when that vowel is short. If the vowel is long the consonant is written with the next syllable, as for example, de-fine and def-i-ni-tion. In de-fine the e is long therefore f, the consonant following, is written with the next syllable, fine. In def-i-ni-tion the e has the short sound, therefore the f is written with the e in the syllable, def.

When there are two consonants following the vowel, divide between the consonants, as for example, in-ven-tion, foun-da-tion, etc. Never divide a digraph, that is, two consonants which are sounded together as one sound, as for example, moth-er, catch-er, te-leg-ra-pher, etc.

In writing words containing double consonants like dd, ll, ss, divide the word into syllables between the double consonants, as for example, per-mit-ted, ad-mis-sion, sad-dest, etc.

Monday

Important

Accommodate

Person

Correspond

Action

Tuesday

Difference

Notice

Indicate

Remember

Irregular

Wednesday

Mistake

Conversation

Correctly

President

Ordinary

Thursday

Participle

Passive

Various

Phrase

Quotation

Friday

Imagine

Confidence

Humanity

Faith

Future

Saturday

Whisper

Thought

Ability

Knowledge

Genius