AI Tutor
In the word boat, the letters o and a stick together to make one sound. But what happens in a word like poet?
When you say poet, you hear two separate vowel sounds: /pō/ and /Δ•t/. That means these two vowels belong in two completely different syllables.
How do you know when two vowels need to be cut apart instead of read together?

The V/V Syllable Rule

In a V/V pattern (vowel-vowel pattern), two adjacent vowels each make their own distinct sound, so you divide directly between them.
Because the cut leaves the first syllable ending in a vowel without a consonant closing it in, it forms an open syllable, which usually makes its long vowel sound.
This rule works for two-syllable words like flu/id and di/et β€” but what about longer words with three or more syllables?

Decoding Longer V/V Words

When decoding complex words like meteor, look for all the vowel sounds first: the first e, the middle e, and the o.
Since e-o is not a standard vowel team, split right between them: me / te / or. Each open syllable says its long sound: /mΔ“/ - /tΔ“/ - /or/.