Introduction to English Vowels

A vowel is the sound that connects consonants together to create speech. There are two basic
vowel types.
1. The Simple Vowels are produced with the tongue, the jaw, and the lips in one position.
2. The Diphthongs are produced with the tongue, the jaw, and the lips moving from one
position to another.

Vowel sound

There are 3 types of English vowel sound - short, long and diphthong.
There are 15 American English vowels sounds (excluding the two schwa sounds) and 28 written
vowels letter combinations. There are 12 simple vowels and 5 diphthongs in English, but there
are only five letters to represent them. These ate: a, e, i, o and u.
Therefore, each letter represents more than one sound. And each sound is spelled more than one
way.

Long and Short vowel sounds:

Long Sound: When a vowel sounds like its name in a word, that is called a long vowel
sound, Example: The “o” in “go” makes an “oh” sound.
Short Sound: When the vowel does not sound like its name, it is a short vowel sound.

Vowel Length and Voiced and Voiceless Consonants

Vowels are longer when followed by a voiced consonant.
They are shorter when followed by a voiceless consonant.
Even short vowels like /i/, /ɛ/, /ə/, and /ʊ/ are prolonged when followed by a voiced consonant.

THE IPA SYMBOLS FOR VOWELS

The International Phonetic Alphabet (lPA) alleviates the confusion with English spellings by providing one
symbol for each sound. The table below is a complete listing of all the American English vowels sounds with
their phonetic symbol representation, their alphabet letter representations, and word examples of the vowels.

IPA Spellings: Example

Symbol
i ea, ee, e, ie, ei, i, eo, oe, uay, ae, y Eat
I i, e, u, ee, u, y, ei It
ɛ e, ue, ea, a, ie, ai End
Æ a, ai At
ɑ a, ea, o, aw, ow au, oa On
ɔ o, a, ou, oa, aw, ow Old
ʊ o, oo, u, ou Put
u u, ue, ew o, ou, oe, ui, wo, u_e Soon
ə a, u, oi, u, ei, ai, e, i, oo, o, e Oven
ʌ ia, ah, oe, u Oven
ər ur, er, or, ar, ure, yr, oar, ear , ir Mother, her, mercy, mother, winner, heard, learn,
earth, first, girl, firm, doctor, word, worry, occur,
curtain, jury, insecure, culture, grammar, collar
ʌr ur, er, ir, ear, or, our Her
/3:/ ‘ir’, ‘er’, ‘or’, ‘ur’, ‘our’ and ‘ear’ purple
/ɔː/ ‘or’, ‘ar’, ‘our’, ‘oar’, ‘oor’ Four, warm, sport
‘i’, ‘igh’, ‘y’ or ‘i’ + final silent ‘e’ ‘like’
Diphthong
eɪ a, e, ai, ay, ei, ey, ea, ue, ee, au, a_e, et Ate
oʊ o, oa, ow, oe, ou, eau, oo, au, o_e Own
aɪ i, y, uy, ei, eye, ui, i_e, iɡh i/eye,late
aʊ ou, ow, au How, House, power, ground
ɔɪ oi, oy, Toy

Vowels
vowel IPA example vowel IPA Example
phonemes phonemes
/a/ æ Cat /oo/ ʊ look, would, put
/e/ e peg, bread /ar/ ɑ: cart, fast (regional)

/i/ ɪ pig, give /ur/ ɜ: burn, first, term, heard, work

/o/ ɒ log, want /au/ ɔ: torn, door, warn, haul, law, call
/u/ ʌ plug, love /er/ ə wooden, circus, sister
/ae/ eɪ pain, day, gate, /ow/ aʊ down, shout
station
/ee/ i: sweet, heat, thief, /oi/ ɔɪ coin, boy
these
/ie/ aɪ tried, light, my, /air/ eə stairs, bear, hare
shine, mind
/oe/ oʊ road, blow, bone, /ear/ ɪə fear, beer, here
cold

/ue/ u: moon, blue, grew, /ure/ ʊə pure, cure

tune

Lengths OF VOWELS (Short and Long Vowels)

A vowel in a stressed syllable is longer than a vowel in an unstressed syllable.
An open vowel (one that ends a word) is longer than a closed vowel (one that is followed by a
consonant).
A closed vowel is longer when it is followed by a voiced consonant than when it is followed by a
voiceless consonant.
Short Vowel: When the vowel does not sound like its name; it is a short vowel sound.
Any vowel when written single can be either long or short, depending on what follows.
• Much of the time if a vowel is followed by one consonant and then a vowel (VCV), it is long.
Example: nāme, grēne, shīres, bōte, hōlȳ, rȳden.
Otherwise, a vowel written single is short (VC)
Example: ăn, thăt, tĕndrĕ, ŏft, bŭt, fŏlk, yŏng.

✦ Spoken English contains 6 short vowel sounds

Sound Spellings Example
ə a, e, o, u alive, the, today, supply
"i" (ĭ) sit, lyric, build, women, business, pillage, it, gift, inflate,
/ɪ/ (i) i y ui o u a spinach, ink, thin, sit, rich
ʊ u, oo, ou, ould put, look, would, could, should
"e" (ĕ) Set, head, said, elm, elevator, jellyfish, pentagon, dentist,
/ɛ/ (e) e, ea, ie
went, bread, friend
u o-e o oo ou oe a "u" (ŭ) Nut, love, son, flood, country, does, pappa, up, cut, cup,
/ʌ/ (u) fun, love, money
"a" (ă) apple, at, taxi, anniversary, laboratory, tackle, cat, hand,
/æ/ (a) a
fan
"o" (ŏ) hot, want, knowledge, auction, coug, hop, camouflage,
/ɒ/ (o) o a ow au ough garage, chop, father, paw, rob, top, watch

Vowels Spelling Pattern

Vowel Spelling Pattern Pronunciation Example

/i/ ee, ea, ie, and ei, final e, e meet, feel, see, free, team, reach, mean, sea,
+ consonant + e, final y, belief, piece, neither, receive, me, we, she, he,
ending with ique these, Chinese, Peter, city, duty, country, ability,
unique, boutique, critique

/I/ I, ui, y between two sit, give, this, dinner, build, quit, quick, guilty,
consonants system, gym, symbol, hymn

/eɪ/ a + consonant + e, ai, ay, late, came, take, save, rain, wait, pain, aim, say,
ey, eigh, a away, play, Monday, they, survey, obey, weigh,
eight, neighbor, freight

/ɛ/ E, ea get, end, next, general, heavy, head, read,

measure

/æ/ a hat, apple, man, answer

/ɑ/ O, a hot, stop, modern, job, father, watch, dark, want

/ə/ u, o, ou but, fun, summer, drunk, love, done, come, son,

cousin, country, enough

/ɔ/ aw, au, al, ought, aught, o aw saw, law, awful, awesome, author, August,
applaud, audition, small, walk, tall, always,
bought, thought, fought, aught daughter, caught,
gone, off, long

/oʊ/ O, oa, ow, ough no, don’t, home, only, road, coat, boat, ow own,
 slow, window, ough though, although

/ʊ/ oo, u, ould good, look, childhood, understood, push, full, pull,
sugar, ould would, could, should

/u/ oo, ue, o, ew, u too, food, school, tool, true, blue, avenue, do,
who, lose, prove, new, blew, drew, super, rule,
duty, student

/ər/ er, ear, ir, or, ur, ure, ar

her, mercy, mother, winner, heard, learn, earth,
first, girl, firm, doctor, word, worry, occur, curtain,
jury, insecure, culture, grammar, collar
/aɪ/ y, i, igh, ie
fly, sky, apply, style, nice, kind, fine, sign, light,
fight, sight, night, lie, tie, tried

/aʊ/ ou, ow found, loud, around, thousand, now, down,

crowd, vowel

/ɔɪ/ oi, oy avoid, oil, moist, join, enjoy, toy, employ, royal

Short Vowel
Rule Word/IPA Word/IPA Word/IPA Word/IPA
Short Vowels Only Need One at, it hot Up "red"
Vowel. In most words with a
short vowel sound, only one
vowel is needed.

Spelling Rule #2: CVC Rule

CVC rule states if a single vowel is surrounded by consonants, it usually has a short sound.
Letter Examples Letter Examples
a bat, cat & fat o hop, mop & top
e Ben, den & hen u bug, hug & rug
i hip, lip & sip

Long Vowel
 An open vowel (one that ends a word) is longer than a closed vowel (one that is followed
by a consonant).
 When a vowel sounds like its name in a word, that is called a long vowel sound
(example: The “o” in “go” makes an “oh” sound).
 A closed vowel is longer when it is followed by a voiced consonant than when it is
followed by a voiceless consonant.

There are four ways to spell long vowel sounds. Here is an overview of the four ways.
1. A vowel can be long when it is placed at the end of a syllable, as in item and open.
2. Silent E can make the previous vowel long, as in spine and home.
3. A long vowel sound can be made using a vowel team, such as ee in the word sheep.
Vowel teams can make long vowel sounds.
4. Vowels ‘i ‘and ‘o ‘can be long when they come before two consonants.
Example: child and hold

Spoken English contains 5 Long vowel sounds

Sound Spellings Pronunciation Example
a, a-e, ai, ay, eigh, Lady, lake, sail, hay, neigh, obey, ape, snail, ache,
/eɪ/ (ae) ey, a + consonant "a" (ā) explain, reindeer, late, came, take, save
+e
/i/ (ee) ea, ee, ie, ei, y, e, Teach, see, piece, receive, many, be, alley, kiwi,
"e" (ē)
ey, I, eo people, eat, agony, needle, pianist, and electricity

i, i-e, igh, uy, ai, child, device, lie, sigh, buy, eye, dry, eye, cry,
/aɪ/ (ie) "i" (ī)
ey, y,ie tightrope, tile, violin
oe, oa, ough, o-e, oe, oat, dough, lone, snow, rogue, loan, oh, domino,
/əʊ/ or /oʊ/ (oa) "o" (ō)
ow, o, oa ghost, pillow, stethoscope
/u/ (oo) oo, o-e, oe, ou, o, "u" (ū) hoot, move, shoe, you, who, moose, new, flute,
 oo-e, ew, u-e, wo, two, suit, rude, flue, you, few, use, cute
ui, u, ue
/ɑ/ (ar) ar, a, al, au, ear Star, banana, palm, laugh, heart
or, a, au, oor, ore,
For, tall, haunt, floor, tore, boar,
/ɔ/ (or) oar, aw, al,au, ar,
awkward, war, bought, naughty
ough, augh
er, ir, ur, or, ear,
/ɜ/ (er) her, third, fur, word, hearse, journey, were
our, ere
are, ere, eir, ear,
/ɪə̯ / (air) hair, square, there, their, pear, mayor
ayor
/ɛə̯ / (ear) ear, ere, eer, ier Fear, here, deer, flier

Long Vowel
Rule Word/IPA Word/IPA Word/IPA
To make a long vowel sound, you need to add a Boat Cheap Paid
second vowel.
When y is at the end of a 2-syllable word, it usually Baby, Penny, Candy
stands for the long e sound.
If a one syllable word has 2 vowels, the first vowel Wheel Leaf Team
is usually long and the second is usually silent.
When the letters ey are at the end of a 2-syllable donkey, valley, money
word, they usually stand for
the long e sounds.
Two-Vowels Together: When two vowels are next meat, seat, Pie, goat, road, plain, rain,
to each other, the first vowel is usually long (the lie,
sound is the same as the sound of the letter) and the
second vowel is silent. Examples:
Y as a long I: The letter y makes the long sound of i cry, my, fly, try, by, hi.
when it comes at the end of a short word that has no
other vowel.
Y as a long E: When y or ey ends a word in an money, funny honey, many, key,
unaccented syllable, the y has the long sound of e.
Examples:
Addition of final -e to indicate long vowel. We use Hat->hate, fat- Din->dine, bit-
a final silent -e to indicate that the stressed vowel is >fate >bite
long.
When the letters ey are at the end of a 2-syllable donkey, valley, money
word, they usually stand for the long e sound.

Long Vowels + /l/

When a long vowel is followed by an l, place an extra /ə/sound (schwa) in between. Example: feel, say “fee-əl.” It’s
almost as if you are adding an extra syllable.

SN.NO /i/ + əl /eɪ/ + əl /aɪ/ + əl /ɔɪ/ + əl /u/ + əl

1 feel sale mile oil tool
2 steal mail while toil school
3 deal whale style spoil rule
4 real pale smile foil fool
5 wheel fail file boil cool
6 heal exhale trial soil pool

Traditional long vowels

With the exception of long E (/i/), all of the traditional long vowel sounds are diphthongs.
These most predictably occur when the vowel letter is followed by a single consonant and a silent “e”.

Vowel Letter Vowel Sound (IPA Symbol) pronunciation Example word

A /eɪ/ eh-ee tape(/teɪp/)

I /aɪ/ ah-ee ice(/aɪs/)

O /oʊ/ oh-oo rope(/roʊp/)

U /ju/ ee-oo cube(/kjub/)

Long Vowels + /l/

When a long vowel is followed by an l, place an extra /ə/sound (schwa) in between. For the
word feel, say “fee-əl.” It’s almost as if you are adding an extra syllable.

/i/ + əl /eɪ/ + əl /aɪ/ + əl /ɔɪ/ + əl /u/ + əl

1 feel sale mile oil tool

2 steal mail while toil school
3 deal whale style spoil rule
4 real pale smile foil fool
5 wheel fail file boil cool
6 heal exhale trial soil pool

Typical Spelling Patterns for Vowel Sounds

 The letter A typically represents five sounds: [ei], [æ], [o:], [a:], [ə] (Kate, cat, call,
card, alone).
 Its common open-syllable sound [ei] is represented in writing not only by the letter
A as in "Kate" but also by five different vowel combinations as in "may, rain,
weigh, they, break".
 The combinations EI, EY, which are usually pronounced [ei] in English words,
represent the sound [ai] in some words of foreign origin (Einstein, geyser).

1. SOUND [i:]

Spelling examples: me, Pete, Japanese, equal, rewrite, seem, read, piece, seize, police.

Letter E

The sound [i:] is represented by the letter E in the open syllable of the root: me, be, he, she,
we; Pete, eve, these, theme, scene, complete, intervene, precede.
The sound [i:] is represented by the letter E in the root in the initial syllable that is not
easily recognizable as an open syllable, usually under stress: equal, evening, evil, recent,
region, meter, secret, media, demon, female, legal, genius, senior, convenient, frequent,
veto, premium, previous.
The sound [i:] is represented by the (first) letter E in the suffix "ese": Japanese, Chinese,
Vietnamese, Maltese, Portuguese, Lebanese, Burmese, manganese.
The sound [i:] is represented by the letter E in the prefixes "pre, re" in some words:
prehistoric, prewar, prefix, preoccupy, prepay, preview, react, rewrite, remake.

Letter combinations EE, EA

 The sound [i:] is represented by the combination EE: see, free, agree, knee, feel, feed, proceed,
succeed, keen, seek, seem, screen, deep, greet, sleeve.
The sound [i:] is represented by the combination EA: sea, tea, peace, teach, lead, read, peak,
deal, reveal, scream, team, clean, leap, please, release, beat, beneath, breathe, creature, leave.

Letter combinations IE, EI

The sound [i:] is represented by the combination IE in the root: piece, field, achieve, believe,
relief, brief, chief, fiend, siege, shriek, priest.
The sound [i:] is represented by the combination EI in the root: seize, receive, receipt, deceive,
conceive, perceive, ceiling, Leigh.

Letter I or SOUND [i]

The short sound [i] is represented by the letter I in the closed syllable of the root: it, sit, miss,
tip, pick, pin, bring, list, fill, film, trim, dinner, finger, river, consist.

The short sound [i] is represented by the letter I in some prefixes: inform, illogical, immune,
impudent, irregular, dislike, disturb, mistake, misunderstand. Note spelling: ignore, ignorant,
ignite.

The short sound [i] is represented by the letter I in some suffixes: public, dramatic, habit,
justice, native, foolish, working.

Letters
Sounds Examples Notes
Combinations
been [i];
e, ee be, eve, see, meet, sleep, meal,
bread, deaf [e];
[i:] ea read, leave, sea, team, field,
great, break [ei];
ie, ei believe, receive
friend [e]
i
y it, kiss, tip, pick, dinner, machine, ski,
[i]
system, busy, pity, sunny liter, pizza [i:]
IE, EY
e let, tell, press, send, end, meter [i:]
[e]
ea bread, dead, weather, leather sea, mean [i:]
a late, make, race, able, stable,
 
ai, ay aim, wait, play, say, day,
[ei] said, says [e];
ei, ey eight, weight, they, hey,
height, eye [ai]
ea break, great, steak
cat, apple, land, travel, mad;
A (closed syllable
[æ] AmE: last, class, dance, castle,  
) half
 army, car, party, garden, park, war, warm [o:]
ar
[a:] father, calm, palm, drama;  
a
BrE: last, class, dance, castle, half  
i, ie ice, find, smile, tie, lie, die,
[ai]  
y, uy my, style, apply, buy, guy
ou, ow, AUGHT, out, about, house, mouse, group, soup [u:]
[au]
OUGHT now, brown, cow, owl, powder know, own [ou]
[o] o not, rock, model, bottle, copy  
or more, order,, cord, port,
work, word [ər]
o long, gone, cost, coffee,
 
[o:] aw, au law, saw, pause, because,
 
ought bought, thought, caught,
 
al, wa- hall, always, water, war, want
[oi] oi, oy oil, voice, noise, boy, toy  
Letter O in the final
position,
go, note, open, old, most, do, move [u:]
[ou] oa, ow, Letter road, boat, low, own, bowl how, owl [au]
combinations OE,
OUGH, OU.
u use, duty, music, cute, huge, tune,
ew few, dew, mew, new,
[yu:]  
eu euphemism, feud, neutral,
ue, ui hue, cue, due, sue, suit
u rude, Lucy, June,
o, oo do, move, room, tool,  
ew crew, chew, flew, jewel,  
[u:]
ue, ui blue, true, fruit, juice, guide, quite [ai];
ou group, through, route; build [i]
  AmE: duty, new, sue, student
oo look, book, foot, good,
[u] u put, push, pull, full, sugar,  
ou would, could, should
u, o gun, cut, son, money, love,
Also:
neutral sound ou tough, enough, rough,
stressed, [ʌ];
[ə] a, e about, brutal, taken, violent,
unstressed, [ə].
o, i memory, reason, family
er, ur, ir serve, herb, burn, hurt, girl, sir,
 
[ər] or, ar work, word, doctor, dollar,
heart, hearth [a:]
ear heard, earn, earnest, earth

Complex Vowels
Besides long vowel sounds, short vowel sounds, and the schwa sound, there are some other special
sounds in English that are represented by vowels
Sound Spellings Pronunciation Example
/ʊ/ (oo) oo, u, ou look, put, should
ou, ow, ough,
/aʊ/ (ou) mouse, now, bough, towel
o-e
/ɔɪ/ (oi) oi, oy Join, boy
/ə/ (uh) schwa vowel look ,put, should

A simple vowel or diphthong demonstrates how that sound may vary in duration.
The sound is shortest when followed by a voiceless consonant and longest when it ends a word.
Listen to words with the sounds /i/ and /eI/ .

Vowel + Voiceless consonant Vowel + Voice consonant Vowel + No consonant

____ _______ _____________
beat bead Be /bee
safe save Say

The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet for the vowel sound.
Sound Spelling pattern Example
/3:/ ir’, ‘er’, ‘or’, ‘ur’, ‘our’ and ‘ear’. Purple
/ ɔ: / ‘or’, ‘ar’, ‘our’, ‘oar’, ‘oor’. Four, warm, sport
ɔɪ oi’ or ‘oy’ Voice
aʊ ou, ow House, power, ground
eɪ ‘a’, ‘ai’, ‘ay’, ‘ei’ Eight, late
eə are, ear Care, bear
a: ar, al car, half
əʊ O, ow, oe Old, show, toe
A O dog
/aɪ/ I drive
 oƱ
The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet for the vowel sound in ‘blow’ /oƱ/ in North
American English.
Spelling Lists - Ways of spelling the long vowel sound in the word ‘road’
o o + final silent ‘e’ ow Oa
only hope know soap
won't phone show coat

The vowel sounds / eɪ /-Long Vowel and /æ/ Short Vowel sound
Spelling
eɪ A-E(mate), AY (say), EY (grey), EI (eight), AI (wait), EA(Great)
æ A but note that if there is an R after the A(and the R does not have a vowel sound after
it)

shirt and short, the vowel sounds /ɜː(r)/ and /ɔː/(r)

Spelling: I/E/O/U+R
/ɜː(r)/ IR(Girl), ER (her), UR (hurt), (or)word, (ear) heart
/ɔː/(r) or(form), A(call), AR (war), AU (cause), AW (saw), AL (walk), AUGH (taught),
OUGH (thought), our(four)

vowel sounds /ɪ/ and /i:/

/i:/ is spelt with two vowels < ee / ei / ie / ea > in
/ɪ/ is spelt as < i > in written English (except when weak).

< r > | Spelling & Sound

 1. In British English we do not pronounce every written < r >.
2. If an < r > appears before a vowel sound, we pronounce it:
EXAMPLES: rat, rice, pretty, strain, cry, story
3. If an < r > appears after a vowel sound, we do not pronounce it.
EXAMPLES: car, court, learn, shorter, store

Type of Sound Sound Spellings Examples

ə
ɪ a, e, o, u alive, the, today, supply
i thin, sit, rich
ʊ
short u, oo, ou put, look, should
(single mouth e e, ea, ie went, bread, friend
position) u, o fun, love, money
ʌ
a cat, hand, fan
æ o, a rob, top, watch

ɒ
ee, ea
i: need, beat, team
ew, oo, o_e
long u: few, boot, lose
ir, ur, wor
(single mouth ɜ: third, turn, worse
al, aw, or, our,
position) ɔ: talk, law, port
oor
ɑ: glass, half, car
a, al, ar
eɪ ay, ea, ae, ai pay, great, maid
ɔɪ oi, oy noise, toy, choice
diphthong aɪ ie, i_e, i, y fine, like, might
(double mouth əʊ o, o_e, oa no, stone, road
position) aʊ ou, ow round, how, brown
ɪə eer, ear beer, hear, steer
eə are, ere, ea, ai care, there, bear
O
ɒ a
(q)ua
 Vowel Team Rule
When two vowels go walking, the first vowel does the talking. The first vowel says it name (long vowel
sound) and the second vowel is silent.
Letters Examples Letters Examples
ai maid & rain a boat, road & soap
ee see, tree & deep oe toe & doe
ea eat, leaf & team ue glue, blue & Sue
ie pie & tie

The rules using oy and oi

Rule
The oy is used at the end of a word
The oi is used in the middle of a word.
Note that the oi must be followed by at least
one consonant
Note that oi is also a suffix meaning
“resembling” or “like
When adding suffixes, as the y is preceded by
a vowel the y is not usually changed to an i
Examples
Boy, Toy, deploy, Employ, enjoy
Spoil, Boil, Toil, android, Void, join, point
Boy-boyish, Enjoy-enjoying, Employ-employer, Toy-
toying, Deploy-deployment, Annoy-annoyance,
annoying

The rules using ay and ai

Rule Examples
The ay is used at the end of a word Day, Say, delay, replay
The ai is used in the middle of a word. Note Main, Wait, declaim, explain
that the ai must be followed by at least one
consonant
When adding suffixes, as the y is preceded Say-saying, Play-player, Pay-payee, Gay-gayest
by a vowel, the y is not usually changed to
an i
 The rules using au and aw
Rule Examples
The au spelling is used at the beginning or in the auction, audible, author, slaughter, applause, Cause
middle of a word. It is usually
found in a closed syllable.
The au spelling does not appear at the end of words
except for a handful of exotic words which are
mostly French and have an o sound or an ow sound
The aw spelling is used at the end of a word or claw, Saw, lawyer, draw, sawyer, rawhide
syllable.
Examples (Final n or l)
The aw spelling occasionally appears before a final
Awl, yawl, Spawn, prawn, Drawn, shawn, Bawl, crawl,
n or l.
drawl, shawl, Brawn, yawn

The rules using ou and ow

Rule Examples
The ou spelling is almost always used in the hour, shout, loud, compound, boundary
middle of a word, note that the ou is almost never
used at the end of a word. There are very few
exceptions.
The ow is most often used at the end of a word. cow, bow, endow, how, allow
The spelling ow will occasionally appear in the vowel, coward, towel, howl, down, drowsy, shower,
middle of a word. The use of the w is sometimes power
necessary to prevent the occurrence of three
consecutive vowels, as ou cannot be followed by a
vowel, but ow can be followed by a vowel or a
consonant.

The rules using oe, ow and oa

Rule Examples
The most common spelling is the use of the home, phone, chose, abode, stove, nose, bone, whole, hoe,
silent e to modify the o. foe, woe, toe
small group consists of those words that end in
oe.
The combination ow is usually used at the end
of words. It does not change with suffixes or
compounds. The only commonly used words
that begin with ow are own and owe and their
derivatives.
The combination oa is usually used in the
middle of words
The rules using or, ore, oar and our
Rule
‘or’ is used at the beginning, in the middle, and at
the end of words.
ore is always used at the end of a word
The oa spelling and the ou spellings are usually
found in the middle of a word
The ar spelling with the or sound is usually found
after w, wh, and qu.
The spellings aught and ought can both be used to
produce the or sound without the r.
A small group of words use the au spelling without
the gh or the r to produce the same sound.
The rules using y, ee, i, ea, ie, ey (long ee sound at the end of a word)
Rule
The most common way in which to produce
the long e sound at the end of a word is by
using the letter y.
Note that almost any word can be made into
an adjective by the addition of the y.
A small group of words that end in y,
however, have the long i sound.
tow, snow, stow, row, mow, yellow, sparrow, below, Own,
owner, owned, ownership, Owe, owed, owing
float, goat, moan, coast, soak, toad, road
Examples
order, forbidden, deportment, morning, adorn, terror,
sordid, neighbor, anchor, orphan, orthodox
before, encore, tore, foreword, shore, deplore, wore,
galore
oar, roar, soar, source, board, pour, boar, court
war, quartz, wharf, warning, quarter, warp, reward,
quarter
bought, brought, fought, sought, caught, taught, thought,
onslaught, wrought, ought, naught, distraught
taunt, jaundice, tautology , taut
Examples
ably, busily, diabolically, happy, academy, democracy, bloody,
easy, carefully, very, chemistry, disability
handy, scary, bloody, jumpy
why, multiply, fly, decry, sky, prophesy, occupy, sly
Another way in which the long e sound can knee, degree, tree, pedigree, flee, jubilee, agree, chimpanzee
be spelled is with ee.

The rules using u, ue, ew, oo, ou

Rule Example
An extremely large group of words uses the letter u abuse, allude, amuse, assume, accumulate, ambulance
to create the oo sound, sometimes with the silent e
after the consonant, sometimes without it.
The ue spelling is usually found at the end of a blue, continue, conquer, true, tongue, delinquent,
word. rescue, fatigued, value, rogue
Note that no commonly used English word starts
with ue. The ue rarely appears in the middle of a
word unless it is used with gu or qu.
The ew spelling is usually found at the end of a few, new, blew, screw
word.

The rules using er, or, ar, re, our

Rule
The er ending is used for occupations or for
persons who carry out an action.
The or ending is used with root words that
end in t or s.
If the word ends in a silent e, it will usually
take the er ending
Comparative adjectives usually end in er.
Examples
butcher, Lawyer, driver, writer, baker, banker, eater, jumper,
maker, teacher, drinker, porter
actor, supervisor, editor, jailor, doctor, councilor, successor,
chancellor
Bake-baker, Write-writer, Hike-hiker, Smoke-smoker
larger, smaller, better, bigger

A diphthong is two vowels that together create a single sound:

The digraph is two consonants that together create a unique sound:

The BASIC SPELLING RULES

Rule Examples
Short-Vowel Rule: When one-syllable words have a vowel in the staff, ball, pass.
middle, the vowel usually has a short sound. Examples: cat, dog,
man, hat, mom, dad, got. If the letter after the vowel is f, l, or s,
this letter is often doubled.
Oi or Oy: Use oi in the middle of a word and use oy at the end of a boil, soil, toil, boy, toy.
word
Ou or Ow: Use ou in the middle of a word and use ow at the end mouse, house, found, mount, borrow,
of words other than those that end in n or d. row, throw, crow.
The ch sound: At the beginning of a word, use ch. At the end of a choose, champ, watch, catch, picture,
word, use tch. When the ch sound is followed by ure or ion, use t. rapture

Words Ending in –y

Rule Example
For most words that end in -y, if the letter before
the -y is a consonant, the -y becomes an –i when the happy + ness = happiness
suffix is added However, if the letter before the -y is portray + ed = portrayed
a vowel, the -y remains unchanged.

Some notable exceptions are the words daily, laid, copy + ing = copying
paid, and said. Also, anytime -ing is added to a word delay + ing = delaying
ending in -y, the -y is not dropped.

THE SCHWA VOWEL

1. The schwa is the shortest, the simplest, and the most frequent sound in English speech.
2. The schwa vowel requires no movement of the tongue, the jaw, or the lips, and there is no
visible face movement.
3. The sound is felt only at the larynx as a short, voiced sound.
 There are two versions of the schwa: one stressed and one unstressed.
1. THE STRESSED SCHWA (ʌ)
2. THE UNSTRESSED SCHWA ( )

Phonology is the study of sound patterns in human language. Spoken words are made up of
phonemes (sounds).
When we write, we are translating those speech sounds into recognizable symbols (graphemes–
also called phonograms).
Phonology looks at how we connect our sound system to written words.

26 graphemes are single graphemes (letters of the alphabet)

49 are multi-letter (sh, igh, ea)

First, students must know the sound that the grapheme ou makes.Second, they need to know that
according to the position of that phoneme, we likely will use the letter <ou> instead of <ow>.
Position of phoneme can be a huge predictor of spelling. When you hear the phoneme /ou/, use
the letters <ou> if that sound is heard in the beginning or middle, but
never at the end. Use the letters <ow> when you hear that sound at the end OR if it is is in the
middle before an <n> or <l>

Tense Vowel Lax Vowel

Symbol sound Spelling Examples Symbol sound Spelling Examples
a ei take [tak] ɛ eh get [gɛt]

e ee eat [et] i ih it [it]

i ai ice [is] u ih+ uh took [tuk]

o ou Hope [hop] ə uh some [səm]

u ooh smooth [smuth]

a ah Cauɡht kat

æ a+e cat [kæt]

æo ae +o down [d æon]

The ow sound is usually indicated by [au], which would be ah + ooh.

[ʌ] – The UH as in BUTTER Vowel

[ʌ] make two sounds, uh [ʌ]ː Stressed, uh [ʌ]* ː Unstressed.
Sound spelling oe: does [dʌz], o love [lʌv], oo: blood [blʌd], ou: trouble [ˈtɹʌb əәl], u: up [ʌp]
uh [ʌ]ː Stressed much [mʌtʃ], love [lʌv], other [ˈʌð əәɹ]
uh [ʌ]* ː Unstressed shotgun [ˈʃɑt￨ˌgʌn], untie [ʌnˈtaɪ]

[ɑ] – The ‘AH’ as in FATHER Vowel

[ɑ] make two sounds, ah [ɑ] ː Stressed, ah [ɑ] *ː Unstressed.
ah [ɑ] ː Stressed father [ˈfɑð əәɹ], lock [lɑk], body [ˈbɑd i], job [dʒɑb]
ah [ɑ] *ː Unstressed October [ɑkˈtoʊ bəәɹ]

[ɔ] – The AW as in LAW Vowel

aw [ɔ] make two sounds, aw [ɔ] ː Stressed, aw [ɔ] *ː Unstressed.
Sound spelling: a: fall [fɔl], au: cause [kɔz], augh: daughter [ˈdɔd əәɹ], aw: shawl [ʃɔl], ough: thought [θɔt]
aw [ɔ] ː Stressed saw [sɔ], wrong [ɹɔŋ], along [əәˈlɔŋ]
aw [ɔ] *ː Unstressed recall [ˈɹi kɔl] (noun, Verb [ɹɪˈkɔl]!)
 [æ] – The AA as in BAT Vowel
[æ] make two sounds, [æ] ː Stressed, [æ] *ː Unstressed.
Sound spelling:
[æ] ː Stressed pass [pæs], bad [bæd], master [ˈmæs təәɹ]
[æ] *ː Unstressed racetrack [ˈɹeɪs ˌtɹæk], coatrack [ˈkoʊt￨ˌɹæk]

[ɛ] – The EH as in BED Vowel

eh [ɛ] make two sounds, eh [ɛ] ː Stressed, eh [ɛ] *ː Unstressed.
Sound spelling: a: share [ʃɛəәɹ], ai: said [sɛd], ay: says [sɛz], ea: head [hɛd], e: shed [ʃɛd], eo: leopard [ˈlɛp
əәɹd], ie: friend [fɹɛnd], u: bury [ˈbɛɹ i]
eh [ɛ] ː Stressed ten [tɛn], left [lɛft], special [ˈspɛʃ əәl]
eh [ɛ] *ː Unstressed embrace [ɛmˈbɹeɪs], employ [ɛmˈplɔɪ]

[i] – The EE as in SHE Vowel

ee [i] make two sounds, ee [i] ː Stressed, ee [i] *ː Unstressed.
Sound spelling: ay: quay [ki], ea: heat [hit], e: be [bi], ee: weep [wip], ei: receive [ɹɪˈsiv], eo: people [ˈpi
pəәl], ey: key [ki], ie: brief [bɹif], i: police [pəәˈlis], y: busy [ˈbɪz i]
ee [i] ː Stressed need [nid], keep [kip], thirteen [θɜɹˈtin]
ee [i] *ː Unstressed coffee [ˈkɔ fi], busy [ˈbɪz i]

[ɪ] – The IH as in SIT Vowel

ih [ɪ] make two sounds, ih [ɪ] ː Stressed, ih [ɪ] *ː Unstressed.
Sound spelling: a: private [ˈpɹaɪ vɪt], e: pretty [prɪd i], ee: been [bɪn], i: him [hɪm], ui: build [bɪld], o: women
[ˈwɪm ɪn], u: minute [ˈmɪn ɪt], y: symbol [ˈsɪm bəәl]
ih [ɪ] ː Stressed shift [ʃɪft], quit [kwɪt], dinner [ˈdɪn əәɹ]
ih [ɪ] *ː Unstressed instead [ɪnˈstɛd], office [ˈɔ fɪs]

[u] – The OO Vowel

oo [u] make two sounds, oo [u] ː Stressed, oo [u] *ː Unstressed.
Sound spelling eu: sleuth [sluθ], ew: blew [blu], o: do [du], oe: shoe [ʃu], oo: too [tu], ou: you [ju], ough:
through [θɹu], u: flute [flut], ue: blue [blu], ui: juice [dʒus], wo: two [tu]
oo [u] ː Stressed blue [blu], shoes [ʃuz] , stupid [ˈstu pɪd]
oo [u] *ː Unstressed argue [ˈɑɹ gju], issue [ˈɪʃ u]

[ʊ] – The UH as in PUSH Vowel

uh [ʊ] make two sounds, uh [ʊ] ː Stressed, uh [ʊ] *ː Unstressed.
Sound spelling ː o: wolf [wʊlf], oo: wood [wʊd], ou: could [kʊd], u: sugar [ˈʃʊg əәɹ]
uh [ʊ] ː Stressed book [bʊk], stood [stʊd], looking [ˈlʊk ɪŋ]
uh [ʊ] *ː Unstressed goodbye [gʊdˈbaɪ], childhood [ˈʧaɪld hʊd]

[əә] – The UH as in SUPPLY Vowel (or, The Schwa)

uh [ʊ] make two sounds, uh [əә] Unstressed.
Sound spelling ː a: about [əәˈbaʊt], ea: ocean [ˈoʊ ʃəәn], e: anthem [ˈæn θəәm], eu: chauffeur (verb) [ˈʃoʊ
fəәɹ], i: possible [ˈpɑs əә bəәl], o: bottom [ˈbɑd əәm], ou: jealous [ˈdʒɛl əәs], u: autumn [ˈɔ dəәm], y:
syringe [səәˈɹɪndʒ]
uh [əә] ː Unstressed again [əәˈgɛn], extra [ˈɛk stɹəә]
uh [əә] ː Unstressed China [ˈʧaɪ nəә], visa [ˈvi zəә]

[ɜ] – The UR as in BIRD Sound

ur [ɜɹ] make two sounds, ur [ɜɹ] ː Stressed, ur [ɜɹ] *ː Unstressed.
Sound spelling ː ea: learn [lɜɹn], eu: chauffeur [ʃoʊˈfɜɹ] (noun), i: bird [bɜɹd], ou: journey [ˈdʒɜɹ ni], o: word
[wɜɹd], u: burn [bɜɹn], y: myrtle [ˈmɜɹ dəәl]
ur [ɜɹ] ː Stressed bird [bɜɹd], early [ˈɜɹ li], Nurse [nɜɹs]
ur [ɜɹ] *ː Unstressed thirteen [θɜɹˈtin], research [ˈri sɜɹʧ]

/I/ VS /i/
Rule Example
 The /I/ sound is easy to identify because it is almost shit, bitch, piss
always spelled with the letter i as in big.

The /i/ sound is more commonly spelled with two sheet, beach, piece
vowels such as ee or ea, as in meet, or team.

Multi-letter vowel phonograms

English also has 22 multi-letter vowel phonograms. Twelve of these make only one sound, five make two
sounds, and the other five make three or more sounds.
Phonogram Sound Spelling Aids Examples
ai /ā/ Two letter /ā/ that may not be used at the end laid
of english words.
ar /är/ car
au /ä/ Two letter /ā/ that may be used at the end of author
English words
augh /ä-ăf/ Used only at the end of a base word or before taught laugh
a T.
aw /ä/ Two letter /ā/ that may be used at the end of saw
English words
ay /ā/ Two letter /ā/ that may be used at the end of play
English words.
bu /b/ buy
ch /ch-k-sh/ child school chef
cei /sē/ receive
ci /sh/ short /sh/ used only at the beginning of any spacious
syllable after the first one.
ck /k/ Two letter /k/ used only after a single, short back
vowel.
dge /j/ hard /j/ used only after a single, short vowel. edge
ea /ē-ĕ-ā/ eat bread steak
ear /er/ search
ed /ĕd-d-t/ Past tense ending. traded pulled picked
ee /ē/ tree
ei /ā-ē-ī/ May not be used at the end of English words. their protein feisty
eigh /ā-ī/ Used only at the end of a base word or before eight height
a T.
er /er/ her
ew /oo-ū/ May be used at the end of English words. flew few
ey /ā-ē/ May be used at the end of English words. they key
ɡn /n/ Two letter /n/ used at the beginning or the sign
end of a base word.
ɡu /g-gw/ guide language
ie /ē/ field
igh /ī/ Three letter /ī/ used only at the end of a base night
word or before a T.
ir /er/ bird
kn /n/ Two letter /n/ used only at the beginning of a know
base word.
ng /ng/ sing
oa /ō/ Two letter /ō/ that may not be used at the end coat
of English words.
oe /ō-oo/ Two letter /ō/ that may be used at the end of toe shoe
English words.
oi /oi/ May not be used at the end of English words. boil
oy /oi/ May not be used at the end of English words.
oo /oo-ü-ō/ food took floor
or /or/ lord
ou /ow-ō-oo-ŭ/ May not be used at the end of english words. house soul group country
ough /ŏ- ō - Used only at the end of a base word or before Thought, bough, though,
 ooow-ŭff- a T. rough, through, trough
ŏff/
ow /ow-ō/ May be used at the end of english words. plow snow
oy /oi/ boy
ph /f/ phone
sh /sh/ Used only at the beginning of a word and at she
the end of the syllable. never used at the
beginning of any syllable after the first one,
except for the ending -ship
si /sh-zh/ Used only at the beginning of any syllable session division
after the first one.
tch /ch/ Three letter /ch/ used only after a single butcher
vowel that is not long.
th /th-TH/ thin this
ti /sh/ Tall /sh/ used only at the beginning of any partial
syllable after the first one
ui /oo/ Two letter /oo/ that may not be used at the fruit
end of English words.
ur /er/ hurts
wh /wh/ Used only at the beginning of a base word. whisper
wor /wer/ worm
wr /r/ Two letter /r/ used only at the beginning of a write
base word.

Single-Letter Vowels
‘Y’ is both a consonant and a vowel. it has four sounds /y-ĭ-ī-ē/ which we can categorize as consonants or
vowels through the singing test.
‘I’ also acts as both a vowel and a consonant. in words where i is saying the sound /ĭ/, /ī/, and /ē/, it is a
vowel. in words such as onion and behavior where it says the /y/ sound, i is actually acting as a consonant.
Phonogram Sound Examples
a /ă-ā-ä/ mat table father
e /ĕ-ē/ tent be
i /ĭ-ī-ē/ It, ivy, stadium
o /ŏ-ō-oo/ On, go, do
u /ŭ-ū-oo-ü/ Up, pupil, flute*, put
y /ĭ-ī-ē/ gym, by, baby

Multi-Letter Vowels
English also has 22 multi-letter vowel phonograms. Twelve of these make only one sound, five make two
sounds, and the other five make three or more sounds.
Phonogram Sound Examples
ai /ā/ laid
au /ä/ author
aw / ä/ saw
ay /ā/ play
ee /ē/ tree
ie /ē/ piece
igh /ī/ night
oa /ō/ coat
oe /ō-oo/ toe shoe
oi /oi/ boil
oy /oi/ boy
ui /oo/ fruit
augh* /ä/ taught
eigh /ā-ī/ eight height
ew /oo-ū/ flew few
ey /ā-ē/ they key
ow /ow-ō/ plow snow
ea /ē-ĕ-ā/ eat bread steak
ei /ā-ē-ī/ rein protein feisty
oo /oo-ü-ō/ food took floor
ou /ow-ō-oo-ü/ house soul group country
ough* /ŏ-ō-oo-ow/ thought though through bough

English words do not end in i

Because English words do not end in i, Y covers for i at the end of English words. Whenever the vowel
sound /ī/ is heard at the end of the word, Y must be written instead. Examplesː cry, try, my,

Three phonogram pairs end in i and y: ay and ai, ey and ei, and oy and oi. The rule that “English words
do not end in i” governs these phonogram pairs. The phonograms which end in Y may be used at the
end of English words. The phonograms that end in i may not be used at the end of English words.

May use at the May not use at the May use at the end of English May not use at the end
end of English end of English words words of English words
words
ay/ai tray disdain
ey/ei they vein
oy/oi toy toil

English words do not end in u

Three multi-letter phonogram pairs end in U and W: aw and au, ow and ou, and ew and eu.

* Phonograms ending in U may not be used at the end of English words. The alternative spelling is the
phonogram ending with W, which may be used at the end of words. The may form is also found at the
beginning and in the middle of words.

May use at the May not use at the May use at the end May not use at the end of
end of English end of English of English words English words
words words
aw/au saw saucer shawl
ew/eu flew neutral
ow/ou cow count bowl

Short and Long Sound

 Rule Example
A E O U usually say their names at the end of a syllable. ta per, be low, to paz, cu bic, fa mous,
de sire, o pen, u nit, ba sin, before, ro
bot, hu man, di ner
Vowels usually say their first or short sound when they are tap per, bel low, top ple, cub by, din ner
found in the middle of the syllable.
Syllables always divide between, double consonants. since the
vowel is no longer at the end of the syllable, the vowel says its
short sound. Notice that the syllable is always divided between
the double consonants so that the short sound /ĭ/ is heard in the
middle

When a one-syllable word ends in a single vowel Y, it says /ī/. by, my, try, why, fry, fly
This rule only applies to one syllable words ending in a single
vowel Y. it does not apply to the multi-letter phonograms ay,
ey, and oy.

Y does say /ī/ at the end of a few multisyllable words and with apply, simplify, deny, horrify
the suffix -ify.

Adding Final ‘E’

In each of the words above, an e was added to soften the c and g.
Rule Example
English words do not end in V or U. whenever you
hear /v/ or /ū/ at the end of the word, add a silent e.

With the e the c says /s/. Without the e, c says /k/. The choice, force, voice, commerce, absence,
C says /s/ and the G says /j/ because of the E, The abundance
Consonant spelling rules: c says /s/ and g may say /j/
only before an e, i, or Y.

Pronounce each word with the e and then without the change, cage, barge, orange, avenge, language
e. With the e the g will say /j/. Without the e, g will
say /g/. This is because g may say /j/ before e, i, or Y.
 Single vowel Y changes to I
Rule: Single vowel Y changes to I when adding any ending, unless the ending begins with I.
Rule only applies to a single vowel Y.The multi-letter phonograms oy , ay , and ey are two-letter
vowels.
The Y does not change to i when adding a suffix to words ending with a multi-letter phonogram.

Since English words do not end in i, Y acts as a stand-in for i at the end of the word. When a suffix is
added, the i is no longer at the end. Therefore, the Y changes back to i. This occurs with any ending,
unless the ending begins with i,

This rule leads us to two questions that must be asked when adding a suffix to words ending in Y.
Does it end with a single vowel Y?
Does the suffix begin with any letter except I?

If the answer to both questions is “yes,” change the Y to i and add the suffix.
If the answer to either question is “no,” just add the ending

Two I’s cannot be next to one another in English words.

Does it end with a single vowel Y? “no.” boy + s ➙ boys, annoy + ed ➙ annoyed, stray + ed ➙
strayed, play + er ➙ player, survey + ed ➙ surveyed,
attorney + s ➙ attorneys

Does the suffix begin with any letter
except I? yes
busy + ness ➙ business, happy + ness ➙ happiness, try
+ es ➙ tries, puppy + es ➙ puppies, cry + er ➙ crier,
baby + es ➙ babies, worry + some ➙ worrisome, salary
+ es ➙ salaries, ornery + est ➙ orneriest cuddly + er
➙ cuddlier

Does “busy” end with a single vowel Y?
“Yes.” Does the suffix begin with any
letter except i?
Does it end with a single vowel Y? “Yes.”
Does the suffix begin with any letter
except i? “no.” Therefore, keep the Y
before adding the suffix.
“Yes.” Therefore, change the Y to i before adding the
suffix.
study +ing ➙ studying, clarify +ing ➙ clarifying, cry
+ing ➙ crying, baby +ish ➙ babyish, worry + ing ➙
worrying, simplify + ing ➙ simplifying

Adding a Suffix to Any Word

Rule 1: Does it end with a Silent Final E?
Rule 2: Does it end with One Vowel + One Consonant (seen and heard)?
Rule 3: Does it end with a Y?
If yes, continue with the questions for the word type below.
If no, just add the suffix.

If Rule 1 is yes or True

Silent Final E
Are we adding a vowel suffix?
is dropponɡ the E followed by other spelling rule?
C says /s/ before E, I, Y
G says /j/ before E, I, Y

If yes, drop the E and add the suffix.

If no, retain the E and add the suffix.

If Rule 2 is yes or True

One Vowel + one consonant
Are we adding a vowel suffix?
Is the syllable before the suffix accented?

If yes, double the consonant and add the suffix.

If no, just add the suffix.

If Rule 3 is yes or True

Does the word end with a single vowel y?
Does the suffix begin with any letter except I?

If yes, change the Y to I and add the suffix.

If no, retain the Y and add the suffix.

travel + ed
Does it end with a Silent Final E? no.
Does it end with One Vowel + One Consonant? Yes.
Are we adding a vowel suffix? Yes.
Is the syllable before the suffix accented? no. The accent is on the first syl- lable: trav' eled
Then just add the suffix to spell: traveled.
temporary + ly
Does it end with a Silent Final E? no.
Does it end with One Vowel + One Consonant? no.
Does it end with a Y? Yes.
Does it end with a single vowel Y? Yes.
Does the suffix begin with any letter except I? Yes.
Then change the Y to i and add the suffix to spell: temporarily.

behave + ing
Does it end with a Silent Final E? Yes.
Are we adding a vowel suffix? Yes.
Is dropping the E allowed by other spelling rules? Yes. The e is not needed for a c or g.
Then drop the e and add the suffix to spell: behaving.

courage + ous
Does it end with a Silent Final E? Yes.
Are we adding a vowel suffix? Yes.
Is dropping the E allowed by other spelling rules? no. g may say /j/ only before an e, i, or Y.
Then retain the e and add the suffix to spell: courageous.

support + ed
Does it end with a Silent Final E? no.
Does it end with One Vowel + One Consonant? no.
Does it end with a Y? no.
Then just add the suffix to spell: supported.

oblige + ation
Does it end with a Silent Final E? Yes.
Are we adding a vowel suffix? Yes.
Is dropping the E allowed by other spelling rules? Yes, the g changes its
pronunciation to the hard sound /g/ in the derivative.
Then drop the e and add the suffix to spell: obligation.

control + ing
Does it end with a Silent Final E? no.
Does it end with One Vowel + One Consonant? Yes.
Are we adding a vowel suffix? Yes.
Is the syllable before the suffix accented? Yes. con trol' ing
Then double the last consonant and add the suffix to spell: controlling.

employ + ment
Does it end with a Silent Final E? no.
Does it end with One Vowel + One Consonant? no.
Does it end with a Y? Yes.
Does it end with a single vowel Y? no.
Then retain the Y and add the suffix to spell: employment.