This document provides information about syllables including definitions, examples of words with different numbers of syllables, and rules for dividing words into syllables. It includes practice exercises where the reader is asked to read aloud words divided into syllables. The document covers topics such as prefixes, suffixes, consonant patterns, and vowel sounds to help determine syllable breaks. Practice words include ones with 2-5 syllables. The goal is to help readers learn to accurately divide words into syllables.

1. SYLLABLES
1
By Melissa Vile

2. Syl – la - ble
A syllable is the smallest sound part of a word
that you can break down into a sound part.
Examples
a. win 1 syllable word
b. suc-ceed 2 syllable word
c. ter-rif-ic 3 syllable word
d. ac-com-plish-ment 4 syllable word
e. u-ni-ver-si-ty 5 syllable word
f. ac-count-a-bil-i-ty 6 syllable word
Every vowel is a syllable
(vowels together are usually one syllable)
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3. Counting Syllables
If you don’t know a word you are reading: count the vowels. The number of vowels
should equal the number of syllables in a word.
1. The vowel /Y/ is one syllable, when it sounds like a vowel.
2. The vowel /E/ is not a syllable when it is silent.
3. Vowel combinations are considered one syllable:
• diphthong (two vowels together: ee, ea)
• triphthong (three vowels together: iou)
4. Consonants + /LE/ or /LES/ are usually one syllable.
3

4. Sounding Out a Word with Syllables
RULE EXAMPLE
1. Divide after a prefix re-wind
2. Divided syllables before a suffix teach-er
3. Divide between doubled consonants fur-ry
4. Divide between two middle
consonants pump-kin
5. Divide before consonant + le hum-ble
6. If the consonants are surrounded by a:
• long vowel – divide before the consonant a-corn
• short vowel – divide after the consonant plan-et
7. Divide between compound words sun-shine
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1

5. Try to read each word by sounding it out. The next page has the answers.
Two Syllable Words
1. teacher rabbit paper cartoon hamster
2. table pencil slipper window apple
3. monkey rocket pumpkin doctor glasses
Three Syllable Words
4. bicycle broccoli butterfly spaghetti
5. microwave hamburger computer elephant
6. strawberry basketball umbrella potato
5
Practice 1

6. Two Syllable Words
1. tea-cher rab-bit pa-per car-toon ham-ster
2. ta-ble pen-cil slip-per win-dow ap-ple
3. mon-key roc-ket pump-kin doc-tor glass-es
Three Syllable Words
4. bi-cy-cle broc-co-li but-ter-fly spa-ghet-ti
5. mi-cro-wave ham-bur-ger com-put-er el-e-phant
6. straw-ber-ry bas-ket-ball um-brel-la po-ta-to
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Practice 1: Answer Key

7. Try to read each word by sounding it out. The next page has the answers.
Two Syllable Words
1. morning always almost behind inside
2. careful outside contain became laundry
3. graphic temper flavor native women
Three Syllable Words
4. episode hurricane tornado wonderful
5. harmony monitor camera introduce
6. illustrate hospital forbidden sensitive
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Practice 2

8. Two Syllable Words
1. morn-ing al-ways al-most be-hind in-side
2. care-ful out-side con-tain be-came laun-dry
3. graph-ic tem-per fla-vor na-tive wom-en
Three Syllable Words
4. ep-i-sode hur-ri-cane tor-na-do won-der-ful
5. har-mo-ny mon-i-tor cam-er-a in-tro-duce
6. il-lus-trate hos-pi-tal for-bid-den sen-si-tive
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Practice 2: Answer Key

9. Try to read each word by sounding it out. The next page has the answers.
Four Syllable Words
1. anybody impossible questionable invisible
2. vegetable apologize television temperature
3. elevator thermometer motorcycle congratulate
Five Syllable Words
4. personality refrigerator alphabetical mathematical
5. disagreeable electricity cafeteria unforgettable
6. anniversary university imagination apologetic
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Practice 3

10. Four Syllable Words
1. an-y-bod-y im-pos-si-ble ques-tion-a-ble in-vis-i-ble
2. veg-e-ta-ble a-pol-o-gize tel-e-vi-sion tem-per-a-ture
3. el-e-va-tor ther-mom-e-ter mo-tor-cy-cle con-grat-u-late
Five Syllable Words
4. per-son-al-i-ty re-frig-er-a-tor al-pha-bet-i-cal math-e-mat-i-cal
5. dis-a-gree-a-ble e-lec-tric-i-ty caf-e-te-ri-a un-for-get-ta-ble
6. an-ni-ver-sa-ry u-ni-ver-si-ty im-ag-i-na-tion a-pol-o-get-ic
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Practice 3: Answer Key

11. Try to read each word by sounding it out. The next page has the answers.
Four Syllable Words
1. emergency permanently independence American
2. informative fundamental successfully irregular
3. understanding apparently material centimeter
Five Syllable Words
4. elementary indestructible syllabication
5. photosynthesis personality organization
6. multiplication individual similarity
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Practice 4

12. Four Syllable Words
1. e-mer-gen-cy per-ma-nent-ly in-de-pend-ence A-mer-i-can
2. in-for-ma-tive fun-da-men-tal suc-cess-ful-ly ir-reg-u-lar
3. un-der-stand-ing ap-par-ent-ly ma-te-ri-al cen-ti-me-ter
Five Syllable Words
4. el-e-men-ta-ry in-de-struct-i-ble syl-lab-i-ca-tion
5. pho-to-syn-the-sis per-son-al-i-ty or-gan-i-za-tion
6. mul-ti-pli-ca-tion in-di-vid-u-al sim-i-lar-i-ty
12
Practice 4: Answer Key

13. Syllables: Practice
13
El-vis Pres-ley
In 1959 a sing-er named El-vis Pres-ley re-leased a new song called Heart-break
Ho-tel. He start-ed what is now known as rock-and-roll mu-sic. Pres-ley’s mu-sic was so pop-
u-lar he be-came the first Am-er-i-can ‘rock star’ and was called the ‘The King of Rock and
Roll’. His mu-sic shaped cul-ture a-round the U-nit-ed States and the world.
Pres-ley’s mu-sic was a mix-ture of rock-a-bil-ly and blues. He al-so
moved his hips a-round when he per-formed. To-day this might seem ac-cept-a-ble, but in
1959 it was scan-dal-ous.
El-vis Pres-ley gained fame and for-tune dur-ing his life-time. His house, Grace-
land, is a fa-mous tour-ist at-trac-tion in Mem-phis, Ten-nes-see. Mil-lions of tour-ists vis-it
each year to see his ex-trav-a-gant life-style, the huge grounds and in-spi-ra-tions that lead to
his suc-cess.
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14. 11
12
Elvis Presley
Graceland
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Elvis Presley’s Estate: Graceland

15. Dis-ney World
In 1971 Walt Dis-ney, creator of Mick-ey Mouse, o-pened Dis-ney World, near Or-
lan-do, Flor-i-da. It is now one of the most vis-it-ed
va-ca-tion des-ti-na-tions in the world with 52 mil-lion peo-ple year-ly.
His i-de-a seemed cra-zy at the time. He had o-pened Dis-ney-land in Cal-i-for-nia
in 1955. It was ver-y suc-cess-ful with five themed parks and 160 a-cres of land, but he had
big-ger plans. He bought o-ver 27,000
a-cres (110 k2) of land to cre-ate Dis-ney World. To-day, it has: 27 themed ho-tels, nine non-
Dis-ney ho-tels, four theme parks, two wa-ter parks,
sev-er-al golf cours-es, a camp-ing re-sort, and more.
Walt Dis-ney could be com-pared to Steve Jobs, of Ap-ple. They both en-vi-sioned
op-por-tu-ni-ties which were thought to be cra-zy and end-ed up chang-ing life for us as we
know it.
Syllables: Practice
15
5, 6

16. 13
Disney World
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17. El-lis Is-land
From 1892-1954 over 12 mil-lion im-mi-grants be-came cit-i-zens of the U-nit-ed
States by pass-ing through El-lis Is-land. The El-lis Is-land Im-mi-grant Sta-tion is a three sto-ry
build-ing a-cross from the Stat-ue of Lib-er-ty in New York. It is the larg-est and most fa-mous
im-mi-gra-tion cen-ters in the U-ni-ted States today, and a quar-ter of A-mer-i-can cit-i-zens can
trace their his-to-ry through their an-ces-tors sig-na-ture in an of-fi-cial book at this one point of
en-try.
To ac-quire cit-i-zen-ship, im-mi-grants had to trav-el by boat, pass a health ex-am-i-na-
tion, a lit-er-a-cy test, an in-ter-view, and had to have at least $20 in A-mer-i-can cur-re-ncy. (an e-
quiv-a-lent of $600 in 2015) Man-y peo-ple were sent back to their na-tive coun-tries or put in
the El-lis Is-land hos-pi-tal for ob-ser-va-tion.
Due to lan-guage bar-ri-ers, many last names were changed. Also, two-thirds of the im-
mi-grants were from south-ern, east-ern, or cen-tral Eu-rope. (most-ly white) After 1914, A-sians
were al-lowed more ac-cess.
El-lis Is-land is now a mu-se-um ded-i-cat-ed to the his-to-ry and pres-er-va-tion of its
cit-i-zens. You can vi-sit it by fer-ry from the New York Har-bor.
Syllables: Practice
17
7, 8

18. 13
Ellis Island
18

19. Syllables: Practice
I pledge al-le-giance to the flag of the U-nit-ed States of A-
mer-i-ca and to the Re-pub-lic for which it stands, one Na-tion
un-der God, in-di-vis-i-ble, with lib-er-ty and jus-tice for all.
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The Pledge of Allegiance
2

20. Syllables: Practice
“We the peo-ple of the U-ni-ted Stat-es, in
or-der to form a more per-fect un-ion, es-tab-lish jus-tice, in-
sure do-mes-tic tran-quil –i-ty, pro-vide for the com-mon de-
fen-se, pro-mote the
gen-er-al wel-fare, and se-cure the bless-ings of lib-er-ty to
our-selv-es and our pos-ter-i-ty, do
or-dain and es-tab-lish this Con-sti-tu-tion for the U-ni-ted
States of A-mer-i-ca.”
(US 1776)
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The U.S. Con-sti-tu-tion

21. Syllables: Practice
“When in the course of hu-man e-vents it be-comes nec-es-sar-
y for one peo-ple to dis-solve the
po-li-ti-cal bands which have con-nect-ed them with an-oth-er and
to as-sume a-mong the pow-ers of the earth, the sep-a-rate and e-
qual sta-tion to which the Laws of Na-ture and of Na-ture-’s God
en-ti-tle them, a de-cent re-spect to the o-pin-ions of man-kind
re-qui-res that they should de-clare the caus-es which
im-pel them to the sep-a-ra-tion.”
(US 1776)
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The Dec-la-ra-tion of In-de-pend-ence

22. 22
1. "Syllable Division Rules." HowManySyllables.com. How Many Syllables, n.d. Web. 06 March 2017.
2. Bellamy, Francis. The Pledge of Allegiance. Art Evans Productions, 1971.
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Accessed 17 Mar. 2017. Picture
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