Rules of Syllabication

Syllabication rules Rule#1 Every syllable has one vowel
sound.
Rule#2 The number of vowel sounds in a word equals the
number of syllables. home
Rule #3 A one syllable word is never divided. stop
Rule#4 Consonant blends and digraphs are never separated.
rest·ing bush·el reach·ing
Rule #5 When a word has a “ck” or an “x” in it, the word is
usually divided after the “ck” or “x”. nick·el tax·is
Rule #6 A compound word is divided between the two words
that make the compound word. in·side
Rule #7 When two or more consonants come between two
vowels in a word, it is usually divided between the first two
consonants. sis·ter
Rule #8 When a single consonant comes between two vowels
in a word, it is usually divided after the consonant if the
vowel is short. drag·on
Rule #9 When a single consonant comes between two vowels
in a word, it is usually divided before the consonant if the
vowel is long. ba·sin
Rule #10 When two vowels come together in a word, and are
sounded separately, divided the word between the two
vowels. pro·nun·ci·a·tion
Rule #11 When a vowel is sound alone in a word, it forms a
syllable itself. grad·u·ate
Rule #12 A word that has a prefix is divided between the
root word and the prefix. dis·count
Rule #13 When be, de, ex and re are at the beginning of a
word, they make a syllable of their own. be·come
Rule #14 A world that has a suffix is divided between the
root word and the suffix. kind·ness
Rule #15 When a word ends in le, preceded by a consonant,
the word is divided before that consonant. pur·ple
Rule #16 When -ed comes at the end of a word, it forms a
syllable only when preceded by “d” or “t”. fund·ed
Rule#17 When a word or syllable ends in al or el, these
letters usually form the last syllable. usu·al
Rule #18 When ture and tion are at the end of a word, they
make their own syllable. pos·ture lo·tion
Rule #19 When a word ends in ly, divide the word before the
ending. es·pe·cial·ly rough·ly
Rule #20 When a word ends in the noun suffix ant preceded
by a consonant or digraph, divide the word before that
consonant or digraph. as·sis·tan