Two Vowels Side by Side (V/V)

Divide between two vowels that make separate sounds, as in lion and diet.

Usually two vowels side by side form a team. But sometimes each vowel keeps its own sound, and then you divide between them. This pattern is V/V. Look at 'lion'. If i and o were a team, you would get one syllable, but you hear two: li-on. The first syllable 'li' is open, so its i is long. Other V/V words include 'di-et', 'po-em', 'cre-ate', and 'flu-id'. How can you tell? Try the word both ways.

Say 'poem' as one syllable; it does not sound like a word. Split it po-em and it works. Two vowels that are not a common team, such as io, ia, or ue in the middle of a word, are good clues to try V/V.

• 1Some side-by-side vowels make two separate sounds.
• 2Divide between them: li-on, po-em.
• 3Unusual pairs like io and ia are a clue to split.