Solve the Mystery of Words
and Syllables
Syllable types and cutting
patterns are the clues I need
to decode unfamiliar words.
They are great for spelling too!
Joan Condren
All words are made up of syllables. Some words
are just one syllable, and some have many syllables.
The syllable types and cutting patterns give you
the tools you need to break up unfamiliar words
into parts that you can easily pronounce. Then you
can put the parts together to say the word.
Every syllable has just one vowel sound even
though sometimes you have more than one vowel.
A syllable is a word or part of a word with one
vowel sound.
On the following pages you will find all the
syllable types and cutting patterns.
Follow these steps to break words into syllables.
Bracket off any prefixes and suffixes
Find and mark all the talking vowels
Loop to join the vowels
Mark the consonants in between the
vowels
Break the word into syllables using the
cutting patterns
Mark the vowel sound for each syllable
type
Closed syllable - A closed syllable has only one vowel and ends
in a consonant.
cat, lish, ment
Open syllable – An open syllable ends in one vowel. The vowel
is usually long.
she, glo, I, ta/ble
Silent-e syllable - A silent-e syllable has one vowel followed
by a consonant followed by an e. The e is silent and the vowel
that precedes it is long.
time, plete, stroke,
Vowel Team syllable - A vowel team syllable contains a vowel
team. The first vowel often makes a long sound while the
second is silent.
team, rain, play
Sometimes the vowels working together make a new sound.
boot
book
ouch
R – controlled syllable – An r controlled syllable is one with
an r – controlled vowel. A vowel followed by an r has a
distorted sound. It is not short or long. star, for, her, sir
Consonant le syllable – The consonant le syllable is at the
end of a word. You count back three from the end. It could
begin with b, g, z, f, p, or c all followed by le. The sound is
always similar to the short u sound.
simple, dazzle
puzzle,
jungle,
Syllable Types
Magic e
Open
r control
Closed
Vowel Team
Cle
Syllable Cutting Patterns
VC/CV
VCCCV
V/CV
VC/V
v/v
Closed Syllable
 A word or part of a word
 Has one vowel
 The vowel is short
 The vowel is followed by a consonant
sit
himself
up
Open Syllable
Has one vowel
Followed by a consonant
The vowel is usually long .
me
si/lent
hi
Magic
e Syllable
silent
VCe
The final silent e
At the end of the syllable
Makes the vowel before it long
time
made
complete
Vowel
Syllable
Two vowels work together to make one sound
Often the sound is the long sound of the first
vowel.
team
pie
raincoat
Sometimes they make a new sound.
ray
boot
found
new
boil
R Controlled Syllable
When an r follows a vowel
It controls the sound of the vowel.
The vowel sound is not short or long.
star
winter
girl
curl
Consonant le Syllable
A Cle syllable is a final syllable
Go to the end of the word,
and count back three to find the start.
It can start with many letters.
ble, cle, gle, ple, sle, zle
It has a slurred vowel sound called a schwa.
mumble
jungle
bicycle
people
hassle
puzzle