Every Written Syllable Needs at Least One Vowel Letter

There is a Written Vowel Letter in Every Syllable transcript

Every spoken syllable has one vowel sound with or without consonants attached.

In English, every written syllable must include at least one vowel letter. When there is no strong vowel sound in the final syllable, silent E is added. This situation often arises when there is an /l/ or /r/ sound at the end of a word:

Genre, oeuvre, acre, giggle, bubble, table, circle, reversible, noble, multiple, soluble

This is a good time to make sure that your students know how to count syllables by humming. Yes, humming the words will allow students to count syllables accurately and quietly. For example, ‘syllable’ becomes hum-hum-hum. ‘Alphabetize’ becomes hum-hum-hum-hum. And ‘unicycle’ becomes hum-hum-hum-hum. Humming words can also help determine which syllables are stressed and which are unstressed.

Encourage your students to describe the role of the silent E in words like those listed above.

Is it being used to make the previous vowel long? No, it is the only vowel in the syllable.

Have them look closely at words like table, cable, and stable. In these words, the first vowel is long because it is the last letter in an open syllable. If this is confusing to your students use this time to review the various types of syllables with them.

Is the silent E in words like ‘triple’ making a two letter content word longer? No.

Is the silent E preventing a word from ending in I, J, U, or V? No.

Is it there to change the pronunciation of the previous phonogram? No.

Does it clarify spelling by showing that the /s/ or /z/ sound belongs to the root and not to a suffix? No.

The role of the final silent E in words like double, trouble, and invincible is to ensure that every syllable in written English contains at least one vowel letter.

This is the text of  lesson notes for Twelve Blue Moose: Reasons for Final Silent E ~ asynchronous, online professional development course for K-12 teachers.