Consonant-le Syllables

Read the final syllable made of a consonant plus le, as in table and puzzle.

A consonant-le syllable comes at the end of a word. It is made of a consonant, then l, then a silent e, like 'ble', 'dle', 'ple', or 'tle'. You read it by saying the consonant and then a quick 'ul' sound: 'ble' sounds like 'bul'. The rule for dividing is simple: count back three letters from the end and split there. In 'candle', the last three letters are d-l-e, so divide can-dle.

'Can' is closed, so the a is short. In 'title', count back three letters: t-l-e. Divide ti-tle. 'Ti' is open, so the i is long. Knowing the consonant-le piece lets you focus on the first syllable to decide whether its vowel is short or long.

• 1Consonant-le = a consonant + le at the end of a word.
• 2Count back three letters from the end to divide: can-dle.
• 3Then check if the first syllable is open or closed.