Six Syllable Types

The syllable type is determined by what comes after the vowel in the syllable.  Over ninety percent of English words adhere to the six syllable type sound-spelling pattern. Closed A closed syllable ends in a consonant. The vowel has a short vowel sound, as in the word cat. Each word ends in one vowel and at least one consonant. Closed syllables are the most frequent syllable type in English. Examples: "short" sound a (as in apple, rat) e (as in Ed,  sell) i (as in itch,  it) o (as in odd,  dock) u (as in up,  stump) Open An open syllable ends in a vowel. The vowel has a long vowel sound, as in the first syllable of apron. In an open syllable, the vowel ends the syllable. The accented syllable is long. Examples: “long” sound a (as in “fa-ble”) e (as in “she”) i (as in “hi”) o (as in “so”) u (as in  “u-nit”) Vowel, consonant, silent e In a VCE word, the syllable is usually found at the end of a word. The final e is silent and the vowel is long, as in the word came. The word ends in one vowel, at least one consonant, and a final e. The e is silent; the vowel is long. Examples: “long” sound a (as in made, lake, grade) i (as in five, vice, smile) o (as in hope, bone) Vowel diagraphs and diphthongs The vowel digraph syllable has two adjacent vowels that make one sound. The vowel diphthong syllable has two adjacent vowels that blend together. The vowel sound is represented by two or more vowel letters. Most, but not all, of these vowel sounds are “long” vowel sounds.  Multiple spelling options make symbol memory important for the correct spelling of vowel teams. Examples: “long” sound ai (as in “brain, lay) ee (as in beef, clean) ‘short’ sound ea (as in wear, sweater, bread) ‘diphthong’ (a gliding vowel)  oy, oi/ow, ou,  boil, boy, cow, loud r - controled vowel The word contains a vowel followed by the letter r. One r follows one vowel. The vowel makes an unexpected sound, as in the word car. Examples: An "r" comes after the vowel. -ar  warm -or   sort, pert, fur -er (spelled  ir, er or ur) fir Consonant + le The word contains three letters: consonant + l + e. Examples include the second syllable in the words pickle, handle, puzzle, and middle. Pronunciation and spelling never changes for an unaccented syllable in the final position of a word.