The root word is the core meaning of the word without any prefixes or suffixes. For example, the root word of "beautiful" is "beauty".
Step 2: Identify the prefixes and suffixes
Prefixes are added to the beginning of the root word, and suffixes are added to the end. For example, in the word "beautiful," the prefix is "be-" and the suffix is "-ful."
Step 3: Divide the word into syllables
Syllables are groups of letters that are pronounced together. To divide a word into syllables, you need to identify where the natural breaks occur in the word. For example, the word "beautiful" can be divided into three syllables: "beau-ti-ful."
Here are some rules to help you divide words into syllables:
- A single vowel sound is usually a syllable. For example, the word "cat" has one vowel sound, so it is one syllable.
- A consonant followed by a vowel sound is usually a syllable. For example, the word "dog" has two vowel sounds, so it is two syllables.
- A vowel sound followed by a consonant cluster is usually a syllable. For example, the word "stop" has two vowel sounds, so it is two syllables.
- If there are two consonants between two vowels, the first consonant usually goes with the first vowel and the second consonant goes with the second vowel. For example, the word "mother" has two vowel sounds, so it is two syllables.
- When in doubt, pronounce the word aloud slowly and listen for the natural breaks in the word.
Practice:
Here are some words to practice dividing into syllables:
- beautiful
- computer
- dictionary
- elephant
- fantastic
- giraffe
- hippopotamus
- kangaroo
- lollipop
- marvelous
Answers:
- beau-ti-ful
- com-put-er
- dic-tion-a-ry
- e-le-phant
- fan-tas-tic
- gi-raffe
- hip-po-pot-a-mus
- kan-ga-roo
- lol-li-pop
- mar-vel-ous