How can I separate words in English ?

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ESL forum > Ask for help > How can I separate words in English ?

How can I separate words in English ?

malouk

Sorry, Ivona but Libertybell is right. the be- in believe is a preffix while - lieve comes from

from Proto-Indo-European base etymology *leubh- "to like, desire" . Check an etymology dictionary like http://www.etymonline.com/

as to the way to divide words I would agree with Douglas according to syllables and his way sounds great to teach youngsters

19 Feb 2009

Jayho

mmm ... interesting

I checked the Australian National Nictionary (Macquarie) and unbelievably one of the 110,000 words in it is lieve - described as an adverb and referring to lief.

So then, in disbelief, I looked up lief and it said

lief adverb 1. Also lieve. gladly; willingly. - adjective Archaic 2. willing. 3. beloved; dear. (ME leef)

Well, still not quite believing this I checked my fave online etymolgy site and it said, amongst other things, A most useful word, now, alas, all but extinct. !!!

So, once again I have learnt something new - believe/belief has a prefix, although commonly unknown. I wish I had known this two days ago when I was teaching word building.

We never stop learning.

19 Feb 2009

Ivona

Wow, you �ve been very busy this morning! And i wasn �t around!
Without even intending it consciously, i made you learn sth new today! I lit the candle! Do i get extra points for that and get to keep the crown longer?? Smile

Smile

Anyway, to lovely Libertybelle, i didn �t say BE- isn �t a prefix. Just said that i didn �t see it as one in the word �believe �. Thanks to the diligent researchers, my eyes were opened. It �s just that i remembered my morphology days at university when our professor said that in disappointment only -ment was the suffix and that dis- wasn �t the prefix because the meaning is totally different from the supposed root appoint.

(Gz, i hope i �m telling you about THE word that was in Q then ... Embarrassed

Embarrassed

)

Good work people!

19 Feb 2009

Zora

Actually... Ivona your teacher might have been wrong about the word "disappointment"... and here is my reasoning why:

Appoint - means to designate to fill an office or a position..

Disappoint - means "fail to meet" // OR // "to prevent the fulfilment of" SO NOW - I am sort of willing to bet that this comes from the olden days, when one was appointed to a military post, then because of disobeying/or not living up to expectations - that person was "disappointed" from the post...

SO

Disappointment - would come from the feeling of loss or shame of such a demotion... so today we use it like we do - meaning "a feeling of dissatisfaction that results when your expectations are not realized..."

Anyways, that is MY reasoning behind the word and nobody can tell different!! LOL

LOL

*covers ears and sings* Lalala... I can �t hear you!! Clown

Clown

19 Feb 2009

Dear All,

Syllabication is always a difficult issue to teach. Recently I had to write something about that. There are some rules that may help you:

1. To find the number of syllables count the vowels in the word.

2. Subtract any silent vowels (like the silent "e" at the end of a word or the second vowel when two vowels are together in a syllable)

3. subtract one vowel from every diphtong.

4. the number of vowels sounds left is the same as the number of syllables.

Example: came - this word has two vowels, but the "e" is silent. Therefore, it has one syllable.

5. Divide between two middle consonants: let-ter

6. divide any compound words, prefixes, suffixes and roots which have vowel sounds:

Example: un-happy / care-ful / hope-less / stop-ping / dis-count

7. One syllable words are never divided: ball / stop

Well, there are some more rules. But I hope this may help all of you. If your need any further information, let me know. Regards from Ursula, from Brazil.

19 Feb 2009

Jayho

Yes Zora, you �re right - I checked my loyal etymology site and it says

1434, from M.Fr. desappointer "undo the appointment, remove from office," from des- "dis" + appointer "appoint." Modern sense of "to frustrate expectations" (1494) is from secondary meaning of "fail to keep an appointment." 

It �s amazing how I learn so much from these blogs.

In regards to syllabication, my primary spelling book outlines three basic rules for young learners that are a good starting point for ESL/EFL adults if you wish to use this approach:

Rule 1:

Where there are double consonants e.g. yel / low, sum / mer, rib / bon

Rule 2:

When there is one consonant between two vowels e.g. mu / sic, lo / cal, pi /rate

Rule 3:

When a world ends in �le � e.g. nee / dle, sim / ple, cas / tle

19 Feb 2009

Zora

I was right! That is so... Amazing... LOL

LOL

I just looked at the word logically and went from there!!

23 Feb 2009

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