English words with an open syllable are examples. Types of syllables in English

The English vowel system at first glance seems very confusing. Of course, because there are only 6 letters in the alphabet, and 20 sounds! But everything is subject to certain rules, which are not so difficult to understand. The whole secret is in the syllables into which each word is divided.

Learning to read is impossible without knowing the basics of syllable division, which consists in the number of vowels in a word. So, for example, a syllable is: a-tom, i-tem. The letter l + e and r + e, where “e” is not pronounced, is also a separate part of the word: ta-ble, ti-tle.

Types of syllables in English divided into shock and unstressed.

Drums are formed into specific groups:

1st. Open

First of all, we mentally divide the word into syllables, then look at which letter it ends with:

- the vowel at the end indicates an open syllable, which means it is pronounced as in the alphabet (“a” - hey, “o” - oh): see, go, he.

- if the word ends with “e”, it is called dumb e, then the syllable is also open: pale, sake, like.

2nd. Closed

Almost all English syllables ending in a consonant can be classified as closed (with the exception of the letter “r”): bag, fun, plan.

3rd. Syllable with letter “r”

If after the stressed vowel there is an “r”, which is not pronounced, then the vowel becomes long: firm, sport, car.

4th. Syllable with the letter “r” + “e”

The letter “e” is silent, it is not pronounced, just like “r”. It is these letter combinations that are called diphthongs and triphthongs: parents, fire, pure.

Each vowel, depending on the open or closed syllable, is pronounced differently. All of them must be learned by heart and practiced through various phonetic exercises.

1st: Aa - - correspond to the Russian "hey", Ee - - is similar to the extended Russian "and", Yy - - to "ai", Ii - - "ai", Uu - - to the extended "yu", Oo - - pronounced like " OU" .

Aa - make, Ee - we, Ii - time, Yy - type, Uu - tube, Oo - note.

2nd: Aa - [æ] - the average of the sound of Russian letters "e and a", Ee - [e] - "e", Yy - [i] - "and", Ii - [i] - "and", -Uu - [ʌ] - "a", Oo - [ɔ] - reads like Russian "o".

Aa - cat, Ee - bed, Ii - sit, Yy - system, Uu - cup, Oo - not.

3rd: Aa - - correspond to the extended Russian "a", Ee - [e] - "e", Yy - [ə:] resembles something in between Russian "e and o", a little sound "e", Ii - [ə: ] - a mixture of “e and o”, a little from the sound “e”, Uu - [ə:] - “e and o”, Oo - [ɔ:] - extended “o”.

Aa - car, Eee - her, Ii - girl, uu - cure, Oo - more.

4th:: Aa - [ɛə] - sounds like Russian "ea", Ee - - "ie", Yy - - "th", Ii - - "ay", Uu - - "yue", Oo - [ɔ :] - long "o".

Aa - share, Ee - here, Ii - fire, Yy - tyrant, Oo - more.

Another type of syllable in English is unstressed syllable.

From the name it is clear that this is a syllable that does not fall under stress. Without stress, English vowels are read especially. So let's see:

Aa, oo, uu- read as sound [ə]: a gain, s o ntrol, diffic u lt.
Ee, Ii, Yy- read as sound [i]: b e come, d e cide, cit y.

But:
- e + n + consonant = [ə] student
- e + l, n at the end = [-] (disappears, not pronounced) seven
- i + final l \u003d [-] (disappears, not pronounced) pupil
- o + final n \u003d [-] (disappears, not pronounced): lesson

Lot? Yes? Training and more training. Gradually, you will easily notice open and closed syllables, develop phonetic intuition.

First, let's find out what is different open syllable in English from the closed one and using examples, let's see how to read letters correctly in a particular syllable.

Open syllable in English

If a word ends in a vowel, then it is an open syllable.

name - name

my - my

take - take

You have probably already noticed that in almost all cases, the vowel e at the end of the word is mute (unreadable). Let's now take a closer look at how to correctly read vowels in an open stressed syllable.

In an open syllable, all vowels are read as in the alphabet. The exception is the letter y . There are 6 vowels in the alphabet. Let's look at each of them in the table below.

English vowels and examples of their pronunciation in words

name - name
lake - lake
say - to say

As you have already noticed, the last vowel in the English word is not readable. She only says that the first vowel in the word should be read as in the alphabet.

be - to be
me - me
settle - bench

In most prepositions, we pronounce the last vowel, as in the example with the preposition be (to be) and me (me).

nice - to be
like - me
line - bench

no - no
nose - nose
go - go, go

mute - mute
tune - tune

my - my
skype - skype

The vowel y in the English word conveys the sound despite the fact that it has a transcription.

Closed syllable in English.

If a word ends in a consonant, then it is closed syllable.

pen - pen

good [ɡʊd] - good

sit - to sit

Let's analyze the rules for reading each vowel separately in closed syllable in English.

English vowels and examples of their pronunciation in a closed syllable

bad - bad
dad - dad
back - back
black - black
flat - flat

The letter Aa in a closed stressed syllable is read as a sound [æ]. This sound is similar to something between Russian A and E. In the examples, you can clearly hear how to pronounce this sound. Practice well before moving on to the next letter.

stop - stop
box - box
from - from, from
shop
hot - hot

Letter Oo in a closed stressed syllable is read as sound [ə]. This sound is similar to the Russian sound Oh, but in Russian, when we pronounce Oh, we stretch our lips forward, in English, when pronouncing the sound [ə], the lips do not stretch forward. The examples clearly audible how to pronounce this sound.

big - big
film - film
milk - milk
sit - to sit
fish - fish

The letter Ii in a closed stressed syllable is read as a sound [I]. This sound is similar to the Russian sound I. In the examples, you can clearly hear how to pronounce this sound.

best - the best
bed - bed
dress - dress
egg - egg
get - receive

The letter Ee in a closed stressed syllable is read as a sound [e]. This sound is similar to the Russian sound E. In the examples, you can clearly hear how to pronounce this sound.

cup - a cup
sun - the sun
run - to run
fun - fun
up - up

The letter Uu in a closed stressed syllable is read as a [ʌ] sound. This sound is similar to the Russian sound A, but in English it is more tense. The examples clearly audible how to pronounce this sound.

gym - gym
myth - myth
rhythm - rhythm

The letter Yy in a closed stressed syllable is read in the same way as the letter Ii. This sound is similar to the Russian sound I. In the examples, you can clearly hear how to pronounce this sound.

Useful

A diphthong is when one letter contains two sounds. For example, in the letter a, two sounds.

Open closed syllable in English: exercises

Now let's practice a little. Choose which of the sounds is present in the word.

red (red)

black (black)

Hello dear friends! Today I will tell you about the types of syllables in English. Some readers will now close the article and say that they do not want to go so deep into learning the language. No need to rush. Only at first glance it seems that the British read completely differently than they write. In fact, there is logic everywhere. Knowing it, you can learn to read confidently. So let's figure it out.

Why is transcription necessary?

Many people don’t teach it at school anymore and you don’t have to memorize these obscure symbols at all, but there is one secret. It is important to learn the division into syllables.

The rule is:

If there is a consonant behind the stressed vowel (except for r), then we give it to the next, unstressed one. As in the word stu / dent. When pronouncing, you emphasize u more clearly. The emphasis falls on her. Therefore, d goes to the second part. If there are two or more consonants after the stress, the stressed part of the word takes the first, and the unstressed part (pat / tern) takes the second.

Doubt? Open a dictionary. The upper comma in transcription indicates stress.

open and shut

Now you need to know how to determine the type of syllable. Many of you were taught at school, but few will say for sure what an open syllable means. It's the one that ends in a vowel.

Why is the letter r special?

Because she does not obey the general rules, but dictates her own. In the third type, it comes after the letter under stress and makes it long. Pay attention to fur (fёёё), fork (fook), serve (shoev). Syllable type 4 is similar to type 3, but there is an e after the r. As in care, mere, more.

Let's put all the information in a table:

Therefore, I recommend subscribing to my blog and get acquainted with other articles. You will also receive as a gift, completely free of charge, an excellent basic phrasebook in three languages, English, German and French. Its main advantage is that there is a Russian transcription, therefore, even without knowing the language, you can easily master colloquial phrases.

The pronunciation of words, in any language, is largely determined by the rules of syllable division. Having understood the basic provisions, you will not only learn the rules of competent transfer, but also begin to understand the language better.

The practical necessity of syllable division

A syllable is a phonetic-phonological unit. Simply put, it stands out only during pronunciation, but does not play any role in semantic word formation. Therefore, this unit is called pronunciation.

The easiest way for native Russian speakers to understand the rules for dividing words in English is with the help of an analogy. The fact is that the norms for highlighting syllables in both languages are similar. The main similarity of syllable division is the leading role of vowels, they are called syllable-forming.

A simple way to divide words is told in elementary school. The hand is brought to the chin, after which the word is pronounced. The number of touches of the chin of the hand determines the number of syllables.

Rules for syllable division in English

Depending on the sound the word ends with, open and closed syllables are distinguished. Open ones always end in vowels. In addition, when a syllable is formed by a long stressed vowel or diphthong, it will also be open.

Closed syllables always end in a consonant. If the syllable is formed by a short vowel, it will also be closed.

The main feature of syllable division is the need to separate the word not from the beginning, but from the end. The rules of syllable division of the English language become more understandable when studying specific examples.

1. As a rule, the number of syllables depends on the vowels used: po-ta-to.

2. The presence of already one vowel forms a syllable: a-bo-ut.

3. Two consonants on the border of a syllable are the basis for division into parts: po-et.

4. A word that has several vowels formed by a diphthong, i.e. one sound, has only one syllable: like, it cannot be divided into parts.

5. The appearance of a consonant at the syllable boundary leads to its separation into the second syllable: i-ma-gine, if several consonants appear at the junction, then the first one is attributed to one syllable, and the rest to another: ab-sent.

6. Syllables are formed by the combination -er, located after w: flow-er.

7. The appearance of the letter l on the border of syllables refers it to the next syllable, together with the adjacent consonant: ta-ble.

8. The consonant combinations ld and nd draw a syllable boundary in front of them: mi-ld, ki-nd.

Syllabification and its role:

1. Norms of correct transfer. It is thanks to the knowledge of the provisions of syllable division that one can competently divide words into parts that need to be highlighted in writing when transferring between lines.

2. Criteria for dividing a word into components. In English, there is no single norm for syllable division, therefore, morphological, phonetic or spelling principles of division can be used.

3. Language development. The ongoing processes of correlation of syllogomorphism set new parameters for dividing words.

We have outlined the basic rules for syllable division in the English language. In general, they are quite simple and do not present any particular difficulties for mastering. Although, everyone who seeks to improve their language and write correctly, it is necessary not only to learn them, but also to understand them.

A short and clear course on syllable division

Before we begin to understand what an open and closed syllable is, I would like to immediately warn you - in English, the reading rules have so many exceptions that it is better to just remember reading as many words as possible, and read the rest by analogy.

But at school they teach the rules and give grades ... To correctly apply the rules, first we will deal with syllables.

In English, as well as in Russian, words are divided into syllables. Very often, in order to correctly read a vowel in a syllable, it is necessary to determine the type of syllable - open or closed syllable.

Let's take the usual Russian word " book Let's divide it into syllables: BOOK. Both syllables end in a vowel, so both syllables OPEN.

Let's take the word trap", divide into syllables: TRAP. In this example, both syllables end in a consonant, so both CLOSED.

But determining the syllable of an English syllable is not as easy as in Russian. A typical English word contains 2, maximum 3 syllables, so finding a syllable is not difficult.

If you take a word name, then you might think that it has 2 syllables, but we all know that this is read, that is, there is one syllable. Let's take a closer look at why this is so.

open syllable
1. If there is no consonant in a syllable after a vowel.
For example: go, no, ago, my, hi, be, me.
2. If after the vowel immediately there is an "e" at the end of the word
For example: pie, lie, toe, blue, bye, dye.
3. If there is a consonant, but it is immediately followed by a “mute” vowel “e”, which is not readable.
For example: name, blade, take, these, mine, time, type.
3. After a stressed vowel - consonant + le
For example: table, noble.

Remember!!! In an open syllable, vowels are read same way, as they are called in .

Closed syllable
If a syllable has one or more consonants after a vowel (except for the letter r).
For example: bad, cat, vet, strip, stop, camp, battle, end, center, pink.