A word may have one or more syllables. In the table below, the written words have been divided into syllables with a hyphen symbol –, and by a full-stop symbol . in the IPA transcription. Read the words. It will help to clap your hands or count on your fingers for each syllable.
Number of Syllables
Example words
get
make time
1 /gԑt/
/meɪk/ /tʌɪm/
num-ber pro-blem win-dow
2 /nʌm.bə/
/prɒ.bləm/ /wɪn.dəʊ/
com-pa-ny im-por-tant un-der-stand
3
/kʌm.pə.ni/ /ɪm.pɔː.tənt/ /ʌn.də.stand/
In English a syllable usually has a vowel at its centre. For example the /ԑ/ in get /gԑt/. The vowel can also be a diphthong (i.e. two vowels together), like the /eɪ/ in make /meɪk/.
A syllable can have multiple consonants surrounding the central vowel. All of the following words have one syllable:
oh toe /əʊ təʊ
stow own owns stones stəʊ əʊn əʊnz stəʊnz/
Sometimes a syllable may have a consonant at its centre rather than a vowel. This only happens with the consonants /l/ and /n/ in English, like in bottle /bɒ.tl/ and button /bʌ.tn/.
Remember that the way we write words is not necessarily the way we pronounce them. For example, the word business looks like it has three syllables from the spelling: bu-si-ness, but we actually pronounce it with two syllables: /bɪz.nɪs/. There are examples of similar words below. Write the English word next to the corresponding pronunciation.