30 examples of INCREASING and DECREASING diphthongs

A diphthong It is a phenomenon of the Spanish language that is formed when two vowels are located in the same syllable of a word. They can be open or closed vowels and the combination of these will give way to different types of diphthongs: increasing diphthongs and decreasing diphthongs.

It should be remembered that if the two vowels are united in the word, but do not belong to the same syllable, that is to say to the same stroke of voice, we will say that these vowels they are forming a hiatus. It is also necessary to remember that an interleaved h will not undo a diphthong.

In this lesson from a TEACHER we want to teach you the examples of increasing and decreasing diphthongs and give you an example so that you can see it clearly.

Index

1. Growing diphthong and examples
2. Decreasing diphthong - with examples
3. Increasing and decreasing diphthongs exercises
4. Exercise solutions

The increasing diphthongs are all those that are formed by two vowels that are in the same syllable and the first one is closed or weak, that is to say: i, u. The second vowel must be

To remember that they are called crescents, you can use the trick that they pass from a weaker vowel to a stronger one, in other words, it is a diphthong that is growing. For example: account. We can divide the word count into these syllables count.

Examples of increasing diphthongs

There are 6 types of increasing diphthongs depending on the vowels used to form it, but we will always go from a closed to an open vowel:

• Increasing diphthong "ia": bean, change, Libya, phobia, etc.
• Increasing diphthong "ie": land, winter, environment, Diego, etc.
• Increasing diphthong "io": warm, blond, cloudy, proverb, etc.
• Increasing diphthong "ua": rennet, quarter, aquarium, Ecuador, etc.
• Increasing diphthong "EU": well, grandmother, leather, cave, etc.
• Increasing diphthong "uo": oblique, watery, old, residual, etc.

The decreasing diphthongs they work the other way around than the increasing ones, previously explained. They are all those that are formed by two vowels that are in the same syllable and the first one is open or strong, that is to say: a, e, o. The second vowel must be closed or weak, that is: i, u.

You will do well to remember what the decreasing diphthongs are with this simple trick. What start with a strong vowel and taper to a weak vowel you can remember that the diphthong is decreasing and from here remember the name. For example: fiefdom. We can divide the word feudo two syllables in this way feu-do.

Examples of decreasing diphthongs

There are 6 types of decreasing diphthongs depending on the vowels used to form it, but we will always go from an open to a closed vowel:

• Decreasing diphthong "ai": landscape, I fall, warden, dance, etc.
• Decreasing diphthong "au": channel, unsuspecting, collecting, baptism, etc.
• Decreasing diphthong "ei": comb, oil, bacon, shaving, etc.
• Decreasing diphthong "eu": fiefdom, debtor, neutral, neuron, etc.
• Decreasing diphthong "I heard": beret, match, boycott, android, etc.
• Decreasing diphthong "ou": souvenir, gourmet, boutique, American, etc.

The best way to know if you have learned a concept correctly is to test yourself through an exercise. Here we propose a increasing and decreasing diphthongs exercise of which you can find the solutions below. We recommend that you can do it yourself and that you only look at the solutions at the time of correcting.

What type of diphthong is it?

We propose a list of words so that you can specify next what kind of diphthong is it, if increasing or decreasing and with what vowels it is formed. We give you the first as an example so that you can see it clearly:

• Millennium: Increasing diphthong formed by the vowels "io"
• Meeting
• Beret
• Current
• Ancient
• Oil
• Gap
• Delight
• To shave
• Decaffeinated
• Increase

Here we show you the solutions to the previous exercise so that you can check if you have understood well the concept of the increasing and decreasing diphthong:

• Millennium: Increasing diphthong formed by the vowels "io"
• Beret: Decreasing diphthong formed by the vowels "iu"
• Current: Increasing diphthong formed by the vowels "ua"
• Ancient: Increasing diphthong formed by the vowels "uo"
• Oil: Decreasing diphthong formed by the vowels "ei"
• Gap: Increasing diphthong formed by the vowels "ue"
• Delight: Decreasing diphthong formed by the vowels "ei"
• Meeting: Increasing diphthong formed by the vowels "io"
• To shave: Decreasing diphthong formed by the vowels "ei"
• Decaffeinated: Decreasing diphthong formed by the vowels "ei"
• Increase: Decreasing diphthong formed by the vowels "au"

If you are interested in continuing to learn about topics related to the increasing and decreasing diphthong, do not hesitate to consult the grammar and linguistics section

If you want to read more articles similar to Increasing and decreasing diphthong: examples, we recommend that you enter our category of Grammar and Linguistics.

• Martínez-Paricio, V., & Torres-Tamarit, F. (2013, March). Increasing or decreasing diphthongs? A comparative analysis of the high vowel sequences in Spanish and Catalan. In Proceedings of the XXVI International Congress of Linguistics and Romance Philology (pp. 683-694). From Gruyter.
• Ceular Fuentes de la Rosa, C. (1982). Phonological and phonetic analysis of Spanish and English diphthongs: didactic implications. High school magazine.