Page 13 - Basic English Grammar Student Textbook short
P. 13
There are 26 letters in the English alphabet. (Note the halfway point below.)
A B C D E F G H I JK L M * N O P QR S T U V W X Y Z
Alphabetizing
In the following groups of words, place a 1 by the word that comes first alphabetically; 2 for the second, and so
on. Notice in Group 2, all the words begin with the letter “s.” You must look at the second letter to determine
which word comes first. What if the second letter is the same? The third letter?
Group 1 Group 2
cart subject
apple sentence
verb synonym
pronoun string
noun stray
GUIDE WORDS
Guide words are located at the top of each page and indicate the first and last entry words on the page. Which
of the following words would have the following two dictionary guide words? stern studio
story sentence synonym student sting string studious stink
Using your class dictionary, what are the guide words for the following entry words?
1. le a rn
2. a p o l o g i ze
3. r iv e r
4. s hy
5. r i d ic u le
Syllables
A syllable is a unit of pronunciation having one vowel sound, with or without surrounding consonants, forming
the whole or part of a word. This sound is typically produced with a single pulse of air from the lungs. Fire has
one syllable; water has two syllables; inferno has three syllables.
IMPORTANT: Rules for dividing a word on a line
Hyphens are used to divide words at the end of a line when the word cannot fit on the remainder of the line. A
word can only be divided between syllables. Follow these rules when dividing at the end of a line. (Use the
dictionary as needed if you are unsure where a syllable break is.)
Incorrect Incorrect Correct
sup sp- sup-
-port orts port
1. Do not divide one-syllable words. (walked, not walk-ed; sports, not sp-orts)
2. There should be at least two letters plus the hyphen on the first line and three letters on the second.
Therefore, do not divide after a single letter. (against, not a-gainst); do not carry over a single-letter syllable.
(shiny, not shin-y); do not carry over a two-letter syllable if it can be avoided. (empty, not emp-ty)
3. Divide only between pronounceable syllables. (prej-udice, not pre-judice)
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