Overview
Although it is always better to avoid dividing words, English has rules about dividing words by syllables if necessary. Words of one syllable cannot be divided. Words are often divided using prefixes, suffixes, and syllables.
Words Not to Divide
It is always better to avoid dividing words, because when part of a word is on one line and the rest of the word is on another line, it makes the word harder to read. In formal writing, such as business letters, essays, and resumes, words are not divided to avoid misunderstanding. Words of one syllable, such as through, friend, and stopped, are never divided. Similarly, words on more than one syllable are not divided if it would result in just one or two letters on a line, such as radio, omit, about, elect, and enough. Titles, acronyms, abbreviations, and proper names are not divided.
Words of More than One Syllable
Words of more than one syllable are divided at the syllable, unless the division results in just one or two letters on a line, such as Eng-lish for English, and pave-ment for pavement. The hyphen is with the first part of the word if the word is at the end of the line. For example, if the word were coercion, it would divide as coer- on one line and then cion on the other line.
Prefixes and Suffixes
Whenever possible, divide words so that the prefix is separated from the stem of the word or the suffix is separated from the stem of the word, such as mis-pronounce, sub-sidize, hop-ing, or dear-est. Do not divide suffixes such as cion in coercion, cial in special, tion in administra-tion, or gious in conta-gious. Words such as consider-able, prefer-ence, and crea-tive can be divided that way. Always consult a dictionary when in doubt.
Double Consonants
Words are often divided between double consonants, such as ban-ner, puz-zle, hun-gry, and forgot-ten. However, if the stem ends in a double consonant, the word is not divided between them, such as assess-ment, bill-ing, and full-est.
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