1 r-control words: January 2022 Revised.

r- control words The Five Cowboy Consonants - w - r - I - q - v

sound Word 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
sample
[ɑ:] far ar
[ə:] her er ur ir or ear ar
[ɔ:] for or ore oar our ar oor
[æə] care are air arr err ear
or [eə]

1. Words that have the Long A+R sound. This sound is represented by several different spelling
combinations in English.   If you think of the different spellings as different families, then you can
remember the words by what family they are part of.

 -ar Family: car, part, start, etc.;

 -er Family: her, term, germ, eastern, southern, certain, etc;
 -ur Family: fur, furlough, further, furniture, etc.;
 -ir Family: girl, sir, shirt, flirt, skirt, etc.;
 -or Family: word,
 -ear Family: pearl,
 -ar Family: beggar, cellar, radar, curricular, regular, triangular, grammar, sugar, circular etc.;
 -or Family: for, sort, port, sport, etc.;
 -ore Family: lore, sore, before, more, etc.;
 -air Family: fair, hair, lair, stair, chair, pair, affair, repair, unfair
 -are Family: care, dare, bare, fare, hare, mare, pare, ware, beware, rare, scare, tare
 -ear Family: bear, wear, tear, pear, year
 -eir Family: heir (an only child?)
 -err Family: err, error, terror, terrible
 -yre Family: byre, gyrene, lyre, pyre, tyre, fire,

2. Words that have the Long E+R sound. This sound also has a few families.  Remember the
words as part of a family. 
 -ear Family: dear, ear, fear, gear, hear, near, rear, sear, tear, year, clear
 -eer Family: beer, deer, jeer, leer, queer, peer, veer, steer, career
 -ere Family: here, mere, interfere
 -ier Family: bier, tier

rh – words -ar- --air --are --ear -ear ear [ə:]

ˈræpsədi/ car fair care bear [ɪə]
rhapsody ['ræpsədɪ] star hair dare wear dear -earch [ə:tʃ]
n. sparse lair bare tear ear search
rheometer [ri'ɔmɪtə] tar stair fare pear fear research
2 r-control words: January 2022 Revised.

n. target chair hare hear

rhetoric ['retərɪk] n. warfare pair mare --eir near -earl [ə:l]
rheumatic large affair pare heir rear early
[ru:'mætɪk] adj. charge repair ware --err sear pearl
rhinal ['rainl] adj. lark unfair bewar err shear
rhinoceros shark e error -earn [ə:n]
[rai'nɔsərəs] n. charm rare terror earn
rhododendron chart scare terrible learn
[roudə'dendrən] n. yarn tare yearn
thombus [' θmbəs] sharp stare
n. square
thumb [θm] n. share
rhyme [raɪm] n. snare
rhythm ['rɪðom] n.
-er- -ir -irst -ur -urn
[ə:] fir first fur burn
herb -ern sir thirst blur turn
verb fern stir slur churn
stern whir -irt spur spurn
-erge dirt
merge -erve -ird flirt -urb -urk
serge nerve bird shirt curb lurk
verge serve third skirt blurb murk
swerve
-erk -irk -irth -urge -urse
jerk quirk girth urge curse
clerk shirk birth purge nurse
smirk purse
-erm -url
germ -irl curl -urt
term girl furl curt
swirl hurl hurt
twirl blurt
whirl