How is 'started' written in syllables?

Question

I believe it to be 'start-ed'.However, looking at a few online posts, others think it should be 'star-ted.'What would you do?

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

It is broken into syllables by its grammatical parts: the base verb, and then the inflected ending.
The pronunciation is variable.

Rick Terry · Answer

Syllable structure has little or nothing to do with morpheme boundaries. The maximal onset principle states that where possible intervocalic consonants should be assigned to an onset and not a coda. Which gives'rise to an analysis with the syllable boundary as follows: st??$t?d

If you need a further test: Only in syllable initial position do English stops have an aspirated release: st??$t??d

AlpheccaStars · Answer

See the Grammar Note under the definition of syllable: (my italics)
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/syllable?r=66

Breaking a written word into syllables—as in a dictionary entry, where the purpose is to clarify the structure of the word and assist in understanding and pronunciation, or in a book, for the purpose of end-of-line hyphenation—involves additional considerations. While based primarily on sound, the syllable divisions in spelled-out forms are also influenced by long-established spelling conventions, the etymology of the word, and the lack of an exact correspondence between spelling and pronunciation. For example, in writing, multisyllabic words with double consonants are conventionally divided between the consonants, even though the consonant is pronounced only once: sudden is divided as sud·den, though pronounced sudd ' n. But the word adding —formed by combining the word add with the suffix -ing, is divided as add·ing to show its constituent parts. And a word like exact (pronounced ig ' zakt) cannot be divided purely phonetically, because the letter x itself would have to be split; it is traditionally divided as ex·act. This means that even when divisions in the spelled form and the pronunciation do not match, they are both correct.

End of line hyphenation of "started" would never be "star-ted". If you look under the entry for "start" you will find the related word:
un-start-ed
which has the syllable marks as shown by hyphens.

Ryansamturner · Answer

AlpheccaStars See the Grammar Note under the definition of syllable: (my italics)http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/syllable?r=66 Breaking a written word into syllables—as in a dictionary entry, where the purpose is to clarify the structure of the word and assist in understanding and pronunciation, or in a book, for the purpose of end-of-line hyphenation—involves additional considerations. While based primarily on sound, the syllable divisions in spelled-out forms are also influenced by long-established spelling conventions, the etymology of the word, and the lack of an exact correspondence between spelling and pronunciation. For example, in writing, multisyllabic words with double consonants are conventionally divided between the consonants, even though the consonant is pronounced only once: sudden is divided as sud·den, though pronounced sudd ' n. But the word adding —formed by combining the word add with the suffix -ing, is divided as add·ing to show its constituent parts. And a word like exact (pronounced ig ' zakt) cannot be divided purely phonetically, because the letter x itself would have to be split; it is traditionally divided as ex·act. This means that even when divisions in the spelled form and the pronunciation do not match, they are both correct.End of line hyphenation of "started" would never be "star-ted". If you look under the entry for "start" you will find the related word: un-start-edwhich has the syllable marks as shown by hyphens.

Hi,

Thanks for this. The reason I asked the question is to do with a book which I am writing, and I need to get all the end line hyphenations correct.

I did think 'start-ed' was correct, but I just wanted to check. It appears that a lot of words ending with 'ed' only have one syllable and therefore cannot be hyphenated, but 'started' was one that I queried.

Can I ask about another word. 'Stolen'. I believe this is 'sto-len', but looking at some dictionary entries, it doesn't give a line break alternative.......

AlpheccaStars · Answer

If you are using Word (or OpenOffice), you can have the program hyphenate words for you. How to do it is here:
http://www.officetooltips.com/word/tips/using_automatic_hyphenation.html

Stolen in Word is hyphenated as sto-len.
The reason why the hyphen is here is because a syllable includes a vowel sound. One letter ("n" in this case) is never set off by itself. "Stole" is the root. So it is hyphenated on natural phonetic boundaries.

How is 'started' written in syllables?

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