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LETTER SOUNDS
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Consonants are letters that are not vowels. Specifically, consonants are speech sounds (phonemes) made by partially or
completely blocking the vocal air stream, and letters (graphemes) that represents such sounds.
When y is not acting as a vowel, it is a consonant. Most consonants have only one sound, but a few have multiple sounds.
For instance, c can make both the /k/ and the /s/ sound.
A comprehensive list of consonant sounds follows:
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b makes the /b/ sound as in bat; also, when b follows m in the same syllable, it is silent as in lamb.
c makes the /k/ sound as in cat and the /s/ sound as in cease—see Spelling With C and G.
d makes the /d/ sound as in dog.
f makes the /f/ sound as in fat.
g makes the /g/ sound as in get, and the /j/ sound as in gem—see Spelling With C and G.
h makes the /h/ sound as in hat; also, sometimes h is silent, as in honesty.
j makes the /j/ sound as in jam.
k makes the /k/ sound as in kite.
l makes the /l/ sound as in lap, and the /lə/ sound as in glad and cycle.
m makes the /m/ sound as in mad.
n makes the /n/ sound as in nap.
p makes the /p/ sound as in park.
r makes the /r/ sound as in race. When r follows a vowel, it makes a special sound: see R-Controlled Vowels.
s makes the /s/ sound as in sit, and the /z/ sound as in has.
t makes the /t/ sound as in tap; also, sometimes t is silent, as in whistle.
v makes the /v/ sound as in van.
w makes the /w/ sound as in wet. w placed before a single vowel will usually modify its sound, as in wash.
x makes the /ks/ sound as in box, the /gs/ sound as in exact, and the /z/ sound as in xylophone.
y makes the /y/ sound as in yet. y can also act as a vowel.
z makes the /z/ sound as in zip.
Note that the consonant q is almost always followed by the vowel u. The u in this case takes on the /w/ sound, so qu
together make the /kw/ sound. In some French-derived words, -que makes the /k/ sound as in torque and plaque.
Vowel Sounds
A vowel is a sound made by the relatively free movement of air through the mouth, usually forming the main sound of a
syllable. The vowels are a, e, i, o, and u.
Each vowel has two sounds: a long sound and a short sound. The long sound is the same as its name. Every vowel
also makes a third sound: the schwa. This is the sound of a vowel that is unstressed in an unstressed syllable. There are
also some more advanced vowel sounds besides the long, short, and schwa. For instance, the a in father is different than
the a in cat.
When a single vowel letter is in the middle of a word (or syllable), it usually says its short sound (e.g., got, bed.) But there
are many exceptions to this rule, such as irregular vowels. When a single vowel letter is in the end of a word (or syllable),
it usually says its long sound (or its name), as in go and be. When two vowels go hand in hand in the same word (or
syllable), the first vowel is usually long, and the second vowel is usually silent. e.g., bake makes the ay sound (long a) and
the e is silent; goal makes the oh sound (long o) and the a is silent. But there are many exceptions to this rule, such as
irregular vowels.
The following is a list of vowel sounds, shown along with their diacritical marks:
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Long a (ā) sound as in ape, snail, ache, explain, and reindeer
Long e (ē) sound as in eat, agony, needle, pianist, and electricity
Long i (ī) sound as in eye, cry, tightrope, tile, and violin
Long o (ō) sound as in oh, domino, ghost, pillow, and stethoscope
Long u (ū) sound as in you, salute, toothbrush, goose, boot, and costume
Short a (ă) sound as in at, taxi, anniversary, laboratory, and tackle
Short e (ĕ) sound as in elm, elevator, jellyfish, pentagon, and dentist
Short i (ĭ) sound as in it, gift, inflate, spinach, and cereal
Short o (ŏ) sound as in hop, camouflage, garage, chop, father, paw, and binoculars
Short u (ŭ) sound as in up, cut and subtract
Schwa (ə) sound as in about, item, gallop, and circus
The letter y sometimes substitutes for i and is a vowel when it does so. Likewise, the vowel w sometimes substitutes for u
and is considered a vowel when it does so. However, y sometimes appears as the only vowel in a syllable, such as in gym
and why, whereas w never appears as a vowel all by itself. When w acts as a vowel, it always follows a (as in paw), e (as
in new), or o (as in grow).
VOWEL COMBINATIONS
A vowel combination is a combination of two or three vowels, or of a vowel and at least one consonant, that is
associated with one or more specific single sounds. For example, ea has the sounds /long e/ and /long a/; ay has the
sound /long a/, and igh has the sound /long i/. These vowel combinations are sometimes called digraphs, diphthongs,
trigraphs, and triphthongs.
Vowel combinations occur in three different forms in written English:
1. Vowels often appear in clusters within a single syllable. This is the most common form.
2. Vowels often appear in combination with a particular consonant or consonants which, together, represent a sound
unit that is different from what you would expect if you didn't know the specific combination. For example, the o in
old has the /long o/ sound, but if you didn't already know that already, you would think that the o in cold was short.
3. Another common combination in English is one or two vowels followed by gh. The gh is usually silent. It is usually
easier to decode the whole unit (igh, eigh) than to process the vowel and the gh separately.
A Vowel Combinations
ai/ay
Together, ai or ay make a /long a/ sound.
Example words: aim, rain, braid, paint, ray, say, stay, tail, twain, praise, stain, and main
Other a vowel combinations
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ay as in day, say, play, spray, and tray
au as in fault, gaunt, fraud, launch, pause, and sauce
aw as in saw, paw, claw, dawn, and crawl
augh as in caught, taught, daughter, naughty, haughty, and slaughter
wa /wô/ as in want, wash, swamp, squash, squat
wa /wă/ as in wax, wag, swam, and quack
all as in ball, tall, hall, and small
ald as in bald, scald, and alder
alk as in talk, walk, chalk, and stalk
alm as in alms, calm, palm, and psalm
alt as in halt, malt, and salt
E Vowel Combinations
ee and ea
Together, ee or ea make a /long e/ sound. Sometimes, ea together makes a /short e/ sound or a /long a/ sound instead.
Example words (ee): peek, see, queen, sleep, cheese, street, meet, and team
Example words (ea /long e/): eat, sea, each, leaf, peach, mean, team, ease, and please
Example words (ea /short e/): dead, head, spread, health, and meant
Example words (ea /long a/): break, great, steak, and yea
Other e vowel combinations
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eu/ew as in sleuth, deuce, few, new, and shrewd
ei/ey/eigh /long a/ as in veil, beige, they, whey, eight, and weigh
ei/ey/eigh /long e/ as in seize, key, money, valley
ei/ey/eigh /long i/ as in heist, eye, geyser, height
I Vowel Combinations
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ie /long e/ as in brief, field, grieve, and piece
ie/ye /long i/ as in die, tie, dye, and rye
igh as in high, thigh, night, flight, and wright
ign as in sign, align, assign, and benign
ind as in bind, kind, mind, grind, and behind
O Vowel Combinations
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oo as in boo, food, smooth, and moose
oo as in book, look, good, and stood
oa /long o/ as in oat, loam, groan, loathe, and loaves
oe /long o/ as in doe, and hoe
oi/oy /y/ as in oil, coin, voice, boy, and ploy
old/olk/olt /long o/ as in gold, scold, folk, yolk, bolt, and volt
oll/ost /long o/ as in roll, knoll, scroll, ghost, most, and post
oll/ost /short o/ as in doll, loll, cost, lost, and frost
ou/ow as in out, round, bounce, how, down, and browse
ou/ow /long o/ as in soul, poultry, own, glow, snow, and owe
ou as in you, soup, group, and rouge
U Vowel Combinations
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ue /long u/ as in cue, due, hue, rue, sue, blue, clue, flue, glue, and true
ui /long u/ as in suit, fruit, cruise, juice, and sluice
DIAGRAPHS
A digraph is a single sound, or phoneme, which is represented by two letters. A trigraph is a phoneme which consists of
three letters. However, many people will simply use the term 'digraph' generally to describe both combinations. In
digraphs, consonants join together to form a kind of consonant team, which makes a special sound. For instance, p and h
combine to form ph, which makes the /f/ sound as in phonemic.
When two or more consonants appear together and you hear each sound that each consonant would normally make, the
consonant team is called a consonant blend. For instance, the word blend has two consonant blends: bl, for which you
hear the sounds for both b and l, and nd, for which you hear the sounds for both n and d.
Digraphs
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ch, which makes the /ch/ sound as in watch, chick, chimpanzee, and champion
ck, which makes the /k/ sound as in chick
ff, which makes the /f/ sound as in cliff
gh, which makes the /g/ sound as in ghost and ghastly
gn, which makes the /n/ sound as in gnome and gnarled
kn, which makes the /n/ sound as in knife and knight
ll, which makes the /l/ sound as in wall
mb, which makes the /m/ sound as in lamb and thumb
ng, which makes the /ng/ sound as in fang, boomerang, and fingerprint
nk, which makes the /nk/ sound as in ink, sink and rink
ph, which makes the /f/ sound as in digraph, phone, and phonics
qu, which makes the /kw/ sound as in quick
sh, which makes the /sh/ sound as in shore, shipwreck, shark, and shield
ss, which makes the /s/ sound as in floss
th, which makes the /th/ sound as in athlete, toothbrush, bathtub, thin, and thunderstorm
th, which makes the /th/ sound as in this, there, and that
wh, which makes the /hw/ sound as in where and which
wr, which makes the /wr/ sound as in write
zz, which makes the /z/ sound as in fuzz and buzz
Trigraphs
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chr, which makes the /chr/ sound as in chrome and chromosome
dge, which makes the /g/ sound as in dodge and partridge
tch, which makes the /tch/ sound as in catch, match
BLENDS
When two or more letters appear together and you hear each sound that each consonant would normally make, the
combination is called a blend. For instance, the word blend has two consonant blends: bl, for which you hear the sounds
for both b and l, and nd, for which you hear the sounds for both n and d.
Two-Letter Blends
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bl, which blends the /b/ and the /l/ sounds together to make the /bl/ sound as in blend and blight
br, which blends the /b/ and the /r/ sounds together to make the /br/ sound as in break and brown
cl, which blends the /c/ and the /l/ sounds together to make the /cl/ sound as in cluster and class
cr, which blends the /c/ and the /r/ sounds together to make the /cr/ sound as in crash and cross
dr, which blends the /d/ and the /r/ sounds together to make the /dr/ sound as in drive and drab
fl, which blends the /f/ and the /l/ sounds together to make the /fl/ sound as in flu and flake
fr, which blends the /f/ and the /r/ sounds together to make the /fr/ sound as in freedom and frost
gl, which blends the /g/ and the /l/ sounds together to make the /gl/ sound as in glad and glory
gr, which blends the /g/ and the /r/ sounds together to make the /gr/ sound as in green and gravy
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nd, which blends the /n/ and the /d/ sounds together to make the /nd/ sound as in blend and send
pl, which blends the /p/ and the /l/ sounds together to make the /pl/ sound as in play and plow
pr, which blends the /p/ and the /r/ sounds together to make the /pr/ sound as in prime and prowl
sl, which blends the /s/ and the /l/ sounds together to make the /sl/ sound as in slogan and sloppy
sm, which blends the /s/ and the /m/ sounds together to make the /sm/ sound as in small and smart
sn, which blends the /s/ and the /n/ sounds together to make the /sn/ sound as in snail and snore
sp, which blends the /s/ and the /p/ sounds together to make the /sp/ sound as in special and spackel
st, which blends the /s/ and the /t/ sounds together to make the /st/ sound as in stop and start
Three-Letter Blends
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shr, which blends the /sh/ digraph and the /r/ sound together to make the /shr/ sound as in shroud
spl, which blends the /sp/ blend and the /l/ sound together to make the /spl/ sound as in splash and splendid
spr, which blends the /sp/ blend and the /r/ sound together to make the /spr/ sound as in spring and spray
squ, which blends the /s/ sound and the /sq/ digraph together to make the /squ/ sound as in squid and squelch
str, which blends the /st/ blend and the /r/ sound together to make the /str/ sound as in struggle and strap
thr, which blends the /th/ digraph and the /r/ sound together to make the /thr/ sound as in throw
DIPTHONGS
A diphthong is a complex sound made by gliding from one vowel sound to another within the same syllable, as in boy
and out. Technically, a diphthong is such a sound that consists of two vowels, and a triphthong is such a sound that
consists of three vowels. However, many people will refer to both combinations generally using the term 'diphthong.'
COMPLEX VOWEL SOUNDS
Besides long vowel sounds, short vowel sounds, and the schwa sound, there are some other special sounds in English
that are represented by vowels. They are as follows:
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/aw/ sound as in awful and awe
/oi/ sound as in boil, poison, toilet, and annoy
/ou/ sound as in lighthouse, cow, flower, and fountain
/oo/ (ʊ) sound as in took, pulley, platypus, pull, and football
Note that "oo" makes two different sounds in different words, having the ʊ sound as in hook, or the ū sound as in boot.
R CONTROLLED VOWELS
When a vowel is followed by an r, it makes a special sound. These are called r-controlled vowels, or r-colored vowels.
These phonemes are as follows:
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/ar/ sound as in car, guitar, Arthur
/âr/ sound as in care, bear, mare, scare, aquarium
/îr/ sound as in pier
/ir/ sound as in turnip, spider, certificate, and beaver
/or/ sound as in manor, observatory, author, brought, and orchard
/er/ sound as in butter, cutter, and mother
Usually, /ar/ always sounds like the ar in car, and /or/ always sounds like the or in for. The ir, er, and ur, sound the same
as in bird, her, and fur. These all make a /ər/ sound.
IRREGULAR VOWELS
Sometimes, the basic rules of phonics do not apply. Each of these instances must be memorized. Common examples
include, but are not limited, to:
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IGH as in "high" or "sight"
-NG as in "sing," "song," "sung"
OST as in "most" (but not "lost" or "cost") uses the long sound instead of the normal short sound.
OW has two different sounds as in "low" and "cow." (or, "sow" and "sow.")
ED has three different sounds as in "lifted," "played," and "walked"
OI does not follow the two vowels rule, e.g., "moist" or "boil."
Double O has two different sounds, as in "book" and "loose."
OUS as in "nervous."
AU as in "fault" or "haul."
-SION, -TION, and -CION are all pronounced "shun."
OUGH has at least seven different sounds, as in "bough," "cough," "hough," "tough," "thorough," "thought," and
"through."
FORMING WORDS
A word consists of a series of letters. Every word must have at least one vowel in it. Each syllable is made by blending
the sounds of each component, that is, reading the word by adding one sound at a time, as in -e, -ed, bed. The following
are some rules for spelling and pronouncing words.
1. c followed by e, i or y usually has the soft sound of s. Examples: cyst, central, and city.
2. "G" followed by "e, i or y" usually has the soft sound of "j". Example: "gem", "gym", and "gist".
3. When two consonants a joined together and form one new sound, they are a consonant digraph. They count as
one sound and one letter and are never separated. Examples: "ch,sh,th,ph and wh".
4. When a syllable ends in a consonant and has only one vowel, that vowel is short. Examples: "fat, bed, fish, spot,
luck".
5. When a syllable ends in a silent "e", the silent "e" is a signal that the vowel in front of it is long. Examples: "make,
gene, kite, rope, and use".
6. When a syllable has two vowels together, the first vowel is usually long and the second is silent. Examples: "pain,
eat, boat, res/cue, say, grow". Diphthongs don't follow this rule.
7. When a syllable ends in any vowel and is the only vowel, that vowel is usually long. Examples: "pa/per, me, I,
o/pen, u/nit, and my".
8. When a vowel is followed by an "r" in the same syllable, that vowel is "r-controlled". It is not long nor short. "Rcontrolled "er,ir,and ur" often sound the same (like "er"). Examples: "term, sir, fir, fur, far, for, su/gar, or/der".
Words may have prefixes or suffixes added to them, which will modify their meaning. For example, the root word use
and the suffix -able combine to create the word usable.
PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES
Most English words used today were not originally English. These words were adapted from other language, such as
Latin and Greek. It can be helpful to know some of these roots of English vocabulary. It may be possible to guess the
meaning of an unknown word when one knows the meaning of its root. Knowing prefixes and suffixes can also help.
An English word can consist of three parts: the root, a prefix, and a suffix. The root is the part of the word that contains
the basic meaning, or definition of the word. The prefix is a word element placed in front of the root, which changes the
word's meaning or makes a new word. A suffix is a word element placed after the root, which changes the word's
meaning as well as its function.
When adding a suffix to a one-syllable word, if the root word ends in only one consonant and has only one vowel before it,
and if the suffix begins with a vowel, then the consonant ending the root word will be doubled. For example, when adding ing to can, we double the n to end up with canning. The rule for multisyllable words is the same, but applies only when the
last syllable of the root is accented, like in beginner and concurring, but not in begins or forgetful.
For words ending in silent e, when the suffix begins with a vowel, that silent e is usually dropped before adding the suffix.
For example, in take and -ing, we drop the silent e off of take, then add the suffix, and end up with taking.
When adding a suffix to a word ending in y, if there is a vowel before the y, just add the suffix. For example, obey + -ed
becomes obeyed. If there is a consonant before the y, we will usually change the y to an i before adding any suffix (except
-ing and -ish.) For example, angry + ly becomes angrily, and baby + -ign becomes babying.
Common Prefixes
Prefix
Meaning
Example
pre-
before
They will show a sneak preview of the movie.
un-
not
The cafeteria will be unavailable tomorrow morning.
dis-
not
Mark disagreed with John's philosophy.
re-
again
Are you going to renew your subscription?
mis-
not
He has mismanaged the company.
im-
not
With hard work and determination, nothing is impossible.
bi-
two
Henry recently received his first pair of bifocals.
de-
not
Many ecologists are concerned about the deforestation of our world's rain
forests.
Common Suffixes
Suffixes
Meaning
Example
-er
doer
I work as a computer programmer.
-able
able
These glass bottles are recyclable.
-ous
full of
Driving on the freeway can be dangerous.
-ness
state of being At night, the earth is covered in darkness.
-ful
full of
The witness gave an honest and truthful testimony.
-ly or -y like
James whistled happily on his way home from school.
-ment
Mary sighed with contentment.
state of
COMPOUND WORDS
A compound word is a word composed of two or more words that are spelled normally and retain their usual meanings.
It is easy to recognize the short, known words within compound words, and each of those short words is accented, which
makes them less confusing to a beginning reader. For these reasons, compound words are often the first set of
multisyllable words taught to a beginning reader.
Examples of Compound Words
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backpack (back + pack)
newspaper (news + paper)
knapsack (knap + sack)
lipstick (lip + stick)
mouthwash (mouth + wash)
sunlight (sun + light)
raindrop (rain + drop)
sandpaper (sand + paper)
groundhog (ground + hog)
afternoon (after + noon)
motorcar (motor + car)
eyebrow (eye + brow)
butterfly (butter + fly) — This is one example in which the original words do not convey their usual meanings well.
SYLLABLE DIVISION
A syllable is a basic unit of written and spoken language. It is a unit consisting of uninterrupted sound that can be used to
make up words. For example, the word hotel has two syllables: ho and tel. These will be marked here as in ho/tel.
Counting Syllables
To find the number of syllables in a word, use the following steps:
1. 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 syllabl.e)
3. Subtract one vowel from every diphthong (diphthongs only count as one vowel sound.)
4. The number of vowels sounds left is the same as the number of syllables.
The number of syllables that you hear when you pronounce a word is the same as the number of vowels sounds heard.
For example:
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The word came has 2 vowels, but the e is silent, leaving one vowel sound andone syllable.
The word outside has 4 vowels, but the e is silent and the ou is a diphthong which counts as only one sound, so
this word has only two vowel sounds and therefore, two syllables.
Six Kinds of Syllables
There are six different kinds of syllables in English:
1. Closed Syllables: A closed syllable has one and only one vowel, and it ends in a consonant. Examples include
in, ask, truck, sock, stretch, twelfth, and on.
2. Open Syllables: An open syllable has one and only one vowel, and that vowel occurs at the end of the syllable.
Examples include no, she, I, a, and spry.
3. Silent-E Syllables: A silent-e syllable ends in an e, has one and only one consonant before that e, and has one
and only one vowel before that consonant. Examples include ate, ice, tune, slope, strobe, and these.
4. Vowel Combination Syllables: A vowel combination syllable has a cluster of two or three vowels or a vowelconsonant unit with a sound or sounds particular to that unit. Examples include rain, day, see, veil, pie, piece,
noise, toy, cue, and true.
5. Vowel-R Syllables: A vowel-r syllable is one which includes one and only one vowel followed by an r, or one
vowel followed by an r which is followed by a silent e, or a vowel combination followed by an r. Examples include
car, or, care, ire, air, and deer.
6. Consonant-L-E Syllables: In these syllables, a consonant is followed by le. The vowel sound in these syllables is
the schwa sound that occurs before the l. Examples include -ble, -cle, -dle, -fle, and -gle.
Dividing Words Into Syllables
There are four ways to split up a word into its syllables:
1. Divide between two middle consonants.
Split up words that have two middle consonants. For example:
hap/pen, bas/ket, let/ter, sup/per, din/ner, and Den/nis. The only exceptions are the consonant digraphs. Never split up
consonant digraphs as they really represent only one sound. The exceptions are "th", "sh", "ph", "th", "ch", and "wh".
2. Usually divide before a single middle consonant.
When there is only one syllable, you usually divide in front of it, as in:
"o/pen", "i/tem", "e/vil", and "re/port". The only exceptions are those times when the first syllable has an obvious short
sound, as in "cab/in".
3. Divide before the consonant before an "-le" syllable.
When you have a word that has the old-style spelling in which the "-le" sounds like "-el", divide before the consonant
before the "-le". For example: "a/ble", "fum/ble", "rub/ble" "mum/ble" and "thi/stle". The only exception to this are "ckle"
words like "tick/le".
4. Divide off any compound words, prefixes, suffixes and roots which have vowel sounds.
Split off the parts of compound words like "sports/car" and "house/boat". Divide off prefixes such at "un/happy", "pre/paid",
or "re/write". Also divide off suffixes as in the words "farm/er", "teach/er", "hope/less" and "care/ful". In the word
"stop/ping", the suffix is actually "-ping" because this word follows the rule that when you add "-ing" to a word with one
syllable, you double the last consonant and add the "-ing".
ACCENT RULES
When a word has more than one syllable, one of the syllables is always a little louder than the others. The syllable with
the louder stress is the accented syllable. The unstressed syllable usually takes the schwa sound.
It may seem that the placement of accents in words is often random or accidental, but these are some rules that usually
work.
1. Accents are often on the first syllable. Examples: ba'/sic, pro'/gram.
2. In words that have suffixes or prefixes, the accent is usually on the main root word. Examples: box'/es, un/tie'.
3. If de-, re-, ex-, in-, po-, pro-, or a- is the first syllable in a word, it is usually not accented. Examples: de/lay',
ex/plore'.
4. Two vowel letters together in the last syllable of a word often indicates an accented last syllable. Examples:
com/plain', con/ceal'.
5. When there are two like consonant letters within a word, the syllable before the double consonants is usually
accented. Examples: be/gin'/ner, let'/ter.
6. The accent is usually on the syllable before the suffixes -ion, ity, -ic, -ical, -ian, -ial, or -ious, and on the second
syllable before the suffix -ate. Examples: af/fec/ta'/tion, dif/fer/en'/ti/ate.
7. In words of three or more syllables, one of the first two syllables is usually accented. Examples: ac'/ci/dent,
de/ter'/mine.
SIGHT WORDS
Many words do not follow these rules, and are called sight words. Because they do not follow the normal rules, these
must be memorized. Examples include the, are, and you. They are also sometimes called 'irregular words' or 'outlaw
words'.
Here are some more examples:
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the, to, do, and who — These should have long vowel sounds because they are open syllables, like me and go.
what, was, and whom — These should have short vowel sounds because they are closed syllables, like sat and
cot.
again, against, says and said — These should have long a sounds because of the ai vowel combination, like say
and pain.
been — This should have a long e sound, like seen.
In many words, the o says /short u/ instead of /short o/ or /long o/, as in of, from, son, month, front, some, love, other,
money, and among.
SPELLING WITH C AND G
The letter c makes two sounds—the /k/ sound and the /s/ sound. The sound of c is controlled by the letter following it.
When c is followed by a consonant (except h), it makes the /k/ sound. When followed by the vowels a, o, or u, it also
makes the /k/ sound. However, when followed by the vowels e, i, or y, it makes the /s/ sound. When c makes the /k/
sound, that is called its hard sound, and when it makes the /s/ sound, that is called its soft sound.
The letter g is similar, sometimes making its hard sound /g/, and other times making its soft sound /j/. However, it doesn't
follow the rule as often as c. Some notable exceptions include give, get, gear, girl, and gill.
Spelling With C
When c is followed by e, i or y, it says /s/ as in cent. Otherwise, it says /k/ as in cat.
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Examples of the /s/ sound: centre, ceiling, circle, and cycle.
Examples of the /k/ sound: cottage, cave, cream, curious, and clever.
Spelling With G
When g is followed by i, e or y, it says /j/ as in gym. Otherwise, it says /g/ as in gold.
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Examples of the /j/ sound: gentle, giant, and gymnastic.
Examples of the /g/ sound: gallon, gold, guide, glass, and grow.
Exceptions: get, got, begin, girl, give, gear, geese, gift, girth, geyser, and giddy
Y AS A CONSONANT AND VOWEL
Sometimes, the letter y is a consonant, and other times it is a vowel. The rule for telling the two apart is simple: The
letter y is a consonant when it is the first letter of a syllable that has more than one letter. If y is anywhere else in
the syllable, it is a vowel.
Examples of Y as a Consonant
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yes
yam
yell
yellow
yogurt
Examples of Y as a Vowel
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gym
my
cycle
baby
hairy
sky
DIACRITICAL MARKS
Because there are more letter sounds than there are letters in the alphabet, dictinaries use diacritical marks to indicate
which phoneme to give to a grapheme; that is, which sound to give to a letter unit. Although we do not typically use
diacritical marks for consonant sounds, we do teach them for vowel sounds.
The most common diacritical marks are the long vowel mark ( ¯ ), called the macron; the short vowel mark ( ˘ ), called the
breve, and the schwa mark ( ə ).
Long Vowel Mark
The long vowel mark placed over a vowel indicates that it will be pronounced just as it sounds when we recite the
alphabet:
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ā as in ate
ē as in evil
ī as in ice
ō as in open
ū as in use or in flute
ȳ as in cry
Short Vowel Mark
The short vowel mark placed over a vowel is as follows:
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ă as in apple
ĕ as in elementary
ĭ as in idiom
ŏ as in on
ŭ as in under
(Note that no mark is given for short y; the short i sound is used instead.)
Schwa Mark
The schwa mark represents the indistinct vowel sound that is the unaccented or unstressed syllable of a multisyllabic
word:
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ə as in ago
ə as in happen
ə as in legible
ə as in common
ə as in suggest
PLURALS
A noun is a type of word which refers to a person, place, or thing. Nouns can be conjugated in either singular or plural
form. A singular noun refers to just one person, place, or thing (for example, a bat or a ship). A plural noun refers to
multiple people, places, or things (for example, bats or ships).
The majority of English count nouns are regular and predictable in the spelling of the plural form 1. However, other nouns
have irregular plural spellings. Both of these kinds of nouns will be covered here.
Rule #1: Add -s
Most nouns can be pluralized simply by adding an -s at the end of the word. For example:
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edge/edges
girl/girls
song/songs
bag/bags
cat/cats
boy/boys
day/days
Rule #2: Add -es to nouns ending in s, z, ch, sh, and x
Nouns which end in the letters s, z, ch, sh, and x-es at the end. For example:
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glass/glasses
horse/horses
buzz/buzzes
dish/dishes
box/boxes
bush/bushes
witch/witches
switch/switches
Rule #3: Nouns ending in o
For words ending in the letter o, sometimes they are pluralized by adding s, while other words must be pluralized by
adding es. These words must be memorized, because there is no simple rule to explain the differences. 2
Examples (es):
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echo/echoes
embargo/embargoes
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hero/heroes
potato/potatoes
veto/vetoes
tomato/tomatoes
torpedo/torpedoes
hero/heroes
veto/vetoes
Examples (s):
Most nouns ending in o preceded by a vowel are pluralized by simply adding s 3. Some other o nouns do this, too:
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auto/autos
folio/folios
cameo/cameos
portfolio/portfolios
kilo/kilos
photo/photos
zoo/zoos
memo/memos
solo/solos
soprano/sopranos
studio/studios
pimento/pimentos
tattoo/tattoos
video/videos
piano/pianos
pro/pros
kangaroo/kangaroos
Rule #4: Nouns Ending in a consonant Y
For nouns ending in the letter y, replace the ending y with ies. For example:
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baby/babies
story/stories
poppy/poppies
baby/babies
daisy/daisies
spy/spies
lady/ladies
Note that for words ending in y preceeded by a vowel (a complex vowel sound), an s is simply added, as usual. For
example:
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day/days
toy/toys
essay/essays
turkey/turkeys
chimney/chimneys
play/plays
joy/joys
valley/valleys
alley/alleys
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volley/volleys
(Irregular) Some nouns Ending in -F or -FE
For some nouns ending in f or fe, replace the ending f or fe with ves:
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calf/calves
elf/elves
half/halves
hoof/hooves
leaf/leaves
life/lives
loaf/loaves
scarf/scarves
self/selves
sheaf/sheaves
wolf/wolves
shelf/shelves
thief/thieves
knife/knives
wife/wives
(Irregular) Some nouns change the vowel sound in becoming plural:
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fireman/firemen
foot/feet
goose/geese
louse/lice
man/men
mouse/mice
tooth/teeth
woman/women
(Irregular) Some Old English plurals are still in use:
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child/children
ox/oxen
Nouns adopted from other languages4
Singular ends in -IS
For nouns in which the singular form ends in is, the plural form will end in es. For example:
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hypothesis/hypotheses
diagnosis/diagnoses
ellipsis/ellipses
analysis/analyses
basis/bases
crisis/crises
thesis/theses
oasis/oases
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synthesis/syntheses
synopsis/synopses
emphasis/emphases
neurosis/neuroses
paralysis/paralyses
parenthesis/parentheses
Singular ends in -UM
Plural ends in a:
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bacterium/bacteria
datum/data
curriculum/curricula
medium/media
memorandum/memoranda
ovum/ova
symposium/symposia
erratum/errata
addendum/addenda
stratum/strata
Singular ends in -ON
Plural ends in -a
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criterion/criteria
phenomenon/phenomena
automaton/automata
Singular ends in -A
Plural ends in -ae
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alga/algae
amoeba/amoebae
larva/larvae
formula/formulae
antenna/antannae
nebula/nebulae
vertebra/vertebrae
vita/vitae
Singular ends in -ex or -ix
Plural ends in -ices:
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appendix/appendices
index/indeces
matrix/matrices
vertex/vertices
vortex/vortices
apex/apices
cervix/cervices
axis/axes
Singular ends in -us
Plural ends in -i:
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alumnus/alumni
bacillus/bacilli
cactus/cacti
focus/foci
stimulus/stimuli
focus/foci
octopus/octopi
radius/radii
stimulus/stimuli
terminus/termini
Singular ends in -us:
Plural ends in -a:
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corpus/corpora
genus/genera
Singular ends in -eau
Plural ends in -eaux:
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bureau/bureaux
beau/beaux
portmanteau/portmanteaux
tableau/tableaux
Other irregular plurals, retained from different languages:
Italian
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libretto/libretti
tempo/tempi
virtuoso/virtuosi
Hebrew
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cherub/cherubim
seraph/seraphim
Greek
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schema/schemata
Other Irregular Plurals
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man/men
woman/women
fungus/fungi
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species/species
medium/media
person/people
foot/feet
tooth/teeth
goose/geese
mouse/mice
louse/lice
child/children
penny/pence
ox/oxen
Possessive Plurals
For plural nouns ending in the letter s, add only the apostrophe. For example:
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The Johnsons' farm
Singers' voices
The thieves' guild
For plural nouns not ending in the letter s, add an apostrophe and s. For example:
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Women's soccer
Children's books
Words Which are Always Plural or Always Singular
Some nouns are always plural or always singular. Some other nouns have the same form for singular and plural.5
Some nouns are always plural (things that come in pairs):
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pants
clothes
binoculars
jeans
forceps
trousers
tongs
shorts
tweezers
people
pajamas
police
shorts
glasses
scissors
mathematics
Aggregate Nouns
Some nouns end in -s but have no singular (these are called aggregate nouns). These are traditionally plural, but are also
used for singular forms:
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accomodations
bread
amends
tea
archives
cheese
bowels
jam
communications
soup
congratulations
soap
contents
snow
stairs
cotton
wood
thanks
water
goods
information
advice
knowledge
furniture
news
means
series
species
barracks
crossroads
gallows
headquarters
Nouns with the same form
Some nouns have the same form for singular and plural, such as fish and animals. (Note that not all fish have the irregular
plural form, though--e.g., one shark becomes two sharks)
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salmon
trout
deer
sheep
swine
offspring