A syllable is each of the voice strokes in which a word is separated. In a more academic language we could say that a syllable is each of the phonological units into which a word is divided. Another definition could be the following: monosyllable words are those that cannot be divided into syllables because they only have one.
There are words with three or more syllables (trisyllables), two (bisyllables) or one (monosyllables). In the latter case, these are words with a single stroke of voice, such as two, thousand, sal, sol, col, de, sin or por. Most monosyllables are short, but this is not always the case (for example, friais and guieis are monosyllables and have six letters each). On the other hand, there are very short words that have several syllables (for example oía is trisyllable).
Accentuation in monosyllables and some illustrative examples
In most cases these words do not have an accent. However, this general rule has some exceptions. The criterion of the exception is the following: that the word that makes up the monosyllable has more than one meaning. In this way, to differentiate one word from another, one has an accent and another does not.
The monosyllable "de" used as a proposition does not have an accent, but it does have an accent when it comes to the verb to give (for example, "the ring belongs to my cousin" and "I wait for him to give it to me").
If "he" is an article, it goes without an accent, but not if it is a personal pronoun ("the friend is nice" and "I want it to be for him").
When "more" is a conjunction it is not accented ("I knew it, but I'm not interested"). On the other hand, if it is an adverb, it does have an accent ("my bike is the fastest").
When "se" is a pronoun, it does not have an accent, but it does for the verb saber ("I communicated it to you this morning" and "I don't know").
In the case of the monosyllable "yes", it has an accent when it is an affirmative adverb ("I do like the idea") and it does not have it when it is a conjunction ("if it's cold I won't leave the house").
The binomial te or tea presents the following criteria: if it is a personal pronoun, it is not accentuated, but it does have an accent if it refers to the infusion of tea.
Interjections and onomatopoeia are normally monosyllabic
Both interjections and onomatopoeia are words whose function is to imitate a sound or some type of emotion. Among the monosyllable interjections we can mention the following: hey, oh, oh! or huh? Some onomatopoeias with one syllable would be the following: crac (crack), zas (hit) or toc (call).
The expression "speak with monosyllables"
It is said that someone speaks in monosyllables when their answers are very short and concise, simply a yes, a no, a ok or ok. This expression is normally used in a negative sense, since whoever communicates in this way is expressing a lack of interest in the conversation.
Photos: Fotolia - Zlatan Durakovic / DOC Rabe
