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CONTENT
The English American Alphabet
Letter Sounds
Vowel Sounds
Short Vowels
Listen and Repeat CD Short Vowels
Short
Reading and Pronunciation: Hats and Caps, Matt and his Cats
Short
Reading and Pronunciation: Bess the Hen, Meg and the Wet Pet
Short
Reading and Pronunciation: Kim is Six, Kit the Pig
Short
Reading and Pronunciation: Dots Job, Bob the Frog
Short
Reading and Pronunciation: Mutt the Pup, Bud the Bug
Long Vowels
Listen and Repeat CD Long Vowels
Long A ()
Reading and Pronunciation: Dave and Jake, Kates Big Cake
Long E ()
Reading and Pronunciation: The Team, The Mean Queen
Long I ()
Reading and Pronunciation: Mike at Camp, Cakes and Pies
Long O ()
Reading and Pronunciation: Joe the Mole, Rose rode Horses
Long U ()
Reading and Pronunciation: Luke the Mule, The Dukes Mule

Silent E Rule

Other English Vowel Sounds (Schwa or R-Controlled)

Irregular Vowels

Vowel Combinations

A Vowel Combinations

E Vowel Combinations

I Vowel Combinations

O Vowel Combinations

U Vowel Combinations
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The English American Alphabet

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.

Short Vowels
The most common sound for each vowel is its short sound:
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Listen and repeat use the CD.

1) , pronounced // as in pam can fan tan hat jab bat pat tab what

2) , pronounced // as in bet egg get gem hen kept left met pet send

3) , pronounced // as in pin tim his Kiss list mint pink quit sing wink

4) , pronounced // and , pronounced // as in bloom could food june pool push

soon rude who would

Short , pronounced //

am was
ad sad fan sap
(soy del verbo (fue del verbo
(anuncio) (triste) (abanico) (infeliz)
to be) to be)
/d/ /sd/ /m/ /fn/ /sp/ /wz/
cab tab nap man tap at
(taxi) (tabulacin) (siesta) (hombre) (grifo) (en)
/kb/ /tb/ /np/ /mn/ /tp/ /t/
cam bat
dab rap wap fab
(pieza (bate,
(toque) (golpe) (telfono wap) (fabuloso)
mecnica) murcilago)
/db/ /rp/ /km/ /wp/ /bt/ /fb/
bag dam yap cat lab mad
(bolsa) (dique) (ladrar) (gato) (laboratorio) (loco)
/b/ /dm/ /jp/ /kt/ /lb/ /md/
ran
pan zap fat fag hat
(corri verbo
(sartn) (liquidar) (gordo) (maricn) (sombrero)
run)
/pn/ /zp/ /ft/ /f/ /rn/ /ht/
map gag ham sag bar mat
(mapa) (mordaza) (jamn) (combarse) (barra) (estera)
/mp/ // /hm/ /s/ /br/ /mt/
tab lag lam van far rat
(tabular) (lapso) (escaparse) (furgoneta) (lejos) (rata)
/tb/ /l/ /lm/ /vn/ /fr/ /rt/
sat
mag jar bad cap vat
(sento del
(revista) (tarro) (malo) (gorra) (tanque)
verbo sit)
/m/ /dr/ /st/ /bd/ /kp/ /vt/
dad tan gap fax has lax
(pap) (broncearse) (espacio) (fax) (tener) (poco estricto)
/dd/ /dd/ /p/ /fks/ /haz/ /lks/
tag mass pass wax as tax
(etiqueta) (masa) (pasar) (cera) (cuando) (impuesto)
/t/ /ms/ /ps/ /wks/ /z/ /tks/
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Short , pronounced //

ed keg hen elephant net bed

(editor) (barril) (gallina) (elefante) (red) (cama)
/d/ /k/ /hn/ /lfnt/ /nt/ /bd/
leg sell mess pet tell set
(pierna) (vender) (desastre) (mascota) (decir) (poner, serie)
/l/ /sl/ /ms/ /pt/ /tl/ /st/
led
(diriji del peg well yes wet den
verbo (estaca) (bien) (si) (mojado) (guarida)
leadpeg) /p/ /wl/ /js/ /wt/ /dn/
/ld/
get gel men jet red bell
(conseguir) (gel) (hombres) (avin) (rojo) (campana)
/t/ /dl/ /mn/ /dt/ /rd/ /bl/
fell
gem pen bet wed ten
(ca del verbo
(gema) (lapicero) (apuesta) (casarse) (diez)
fall)
/dm/ /pn/ /bt/ /wd/ /tn/
/fl/
beg den met
hell
(pedir) (guarida) (conocio del
(infierno)
verbo meet)
/b/ /hl/ /dn/
/mt/
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hill rim dip it bib big

(colina) (borde) (chapuzn) (lo) (babero) (grande)
/hl/ /rm/ /dp/ /t/ /bb/ /b/
hip bit lib gig kill in
(cadera) (pedazo) (liberacin) (concierto) (matar) (en)
/hp/ /hp/ /lb/ // /kl/ /n/
lip fit nib lick mill din
(labio) (en forma) (pluma) (lamer) (molino) (bulla)
/lp/ /ft/ /nb/ /lk/ /ml/ /dn/
nip rib milk pill rip little
(pellizco) (costilla) (leche) (pastilla) (rasgar) (pequeo)
/np/ /rb/ /mlk/ /pl/ /rp/ /lt()l/
ill gin sip pit bid pig
(enfermo) (ginebra) (sorber) (hoyo) (ofertar) (cerdo)
/l/ /dn/ /sp/ /pt/ /bd/ /pg/
will tip hid
kin zip sit (esconder
(voluntad, (punta,
(familiares) (garra) (asiento) del verbo
verbo hare) consejo)
/kn/ /zp/ /st/ hide)
/wl/ /tp/ /hd/
is
wig dim sin wit lid
(es del verbo
(peluca) (oscuro) (pecado) (inteligencia) (tapa)
to be)
/w/ /dm/ /sn/ /wt/ /ld/
/z/
him his rid bill win miss
(lo) (su) (eliminar) (factura) (ganar) (perder)
/hm/ /hz/ /rd/ /bl/ /wn/ /ms/
mix fill piss gilt pin mitt
(mezcla) (llenar) (orinar) (dorado) (alfiler) (mitn)
/mks/ /fl/ /ps/ /lt/ /pn/ /mt/
Short , pronounced //
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Short , pronounced //

upon pod ton hot octopus rod

(sobre) (vaina) (tonelada) (caliente) (pulpo) (vaina)
/pn/ /pd/ /tn/ /ht/ /ktps/ /rd/
cob
mom not lot hod sod
(cisne
(mam) (no) (mucho) (capacho) (tierra)
macho)
/mm/ /nt/ /lt/ /hd/ /sd/
/kb/
dog pop ox rot fox cop
(perro) (estallar) (buey) (podrido) (zorro) (policia)
/d/ /pp/ /ks/ /rt/ /fks/ /kp/
box cow on top hog nob
(caja) (vaca) (en) (parte sup.) (cerdo) (encopetado)
/bks/ /ka/ /n/ /tp/ /h/ /nb/
god row motto dot now ostrich
(dios) (ria) (lema) (punto) (ahora) (avestruz)
/d/ /ra/ /mt/ /dt/ /na/ /strt/
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Short , pronounced //
nut mud rum up cub dub
(fruto seco) (barro) (ron) (arriba) (cachorro) (apodar)
/nt/ /md/ /rm/ /p/ /kb/ /db/
dug
bug umbrella pup hub bun
(cavo del
(insecto) (sombrilla) (cra) (cubo) (bollo)
verbo dig)
/b/ /mbrl/ /pp/ /hb/ /bn/
/hb/
sup pub hug fun rub mug
(beber) (bar) (abrazar) (diversin) (frotar) (taza)
/sp/ /pb/ /h/ /fn/ /rb/ /m/
gun but sub rug nun cut
(pistola) (pero) (suplente) (alfombra) (monja) (cortar)
/n/ /bt/ /sb/ /r/ /nn/ /kt/
pun
tub hum gut bum run
(juego de
(tina) (tararear) (intestino) (vago) (correr)
palabras)
/tb/ /hm/ /t/ /bm/ /rn/
/pn/
hut bud gum sun mutt
(cabaa) (brote) (chicle) (sol) (chucho)
/ht/ /bd/ /m/ /sn/ /mt/
When syllables end in a vowel and then consonant (as in the examples above), the vowel is usually
short. If there is more than one consonant, the vowel is almost always short.
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This becomes important as a way to keep the same vowel sound when adding -ed to put a verb into
the past tense. We often double an ending consonant to keep a short vowel short. For example, the
past tense of 'stop' is 'stopped.' Otherwise the silent 'e' rule below (which also applies when followed
by 'd') would give it a long 'o' sound like soap or hope.

Long Vowels
The alphabet sounds (when the vowel says its name) are called long vowels.

We call them long because we hold them longer than the short sounds, but they are completely
different sounds-- not a longer version of the same sound.

Listen and repeat use the CD.

1) Long A (), pronounced /e/ as in ape, eight, bate, date, Kate, late, brake, shake, take,
wake,
2) Long E (), pronounced /i/ as in beach, deap, jeep, keep, leaf, mean, neat, queen, seen,
team.
3) Long I (), pronounced /a/ as in pie, dice, fries, guide, hight, line, bitte, might, pie, sight,
white.
4) Long O (), pronounced /o/ as in bow, cold, dou, fow, go, home, mow, pow, quote,
soap.
5) Long U (), pronounced /ju/ as in cube, cute, few, huge, mule. music, mute, new, view
6) Speciall sounding end, pen, ken, dance, fend, hands, lend, men, pants, staff,

Long A (), pronounced /e/

made cane
bake snake fade same
(hecho del (caa de
(hornear) (culebra) (desvanecerse) (mismo)
verbo make) azcar)
/bek/ /snek/ /fed/ /sem/
/med/ /ken/
plain ate
plane tape mate maid
(sencillo) (comi del
(plano, avin) (cinta) (ayudante) (sirvienta)
/plen/ verbo eat)
/plen/ /tep/ /met/ /med/
/et/
lake rate face mane hate pale
(lago) (velocidad) (cara) (crin) (odiar) (palidecer)
/lek/ /ret/ /fes/ /men/ /het/ /pel/
tape
same cape base race take
(cinta
(mismo) (capa) (base) (carrera) (llevar)
adhesiva)
/sem/ /kep/ /bes/ /res/ /tek/
/tep/
case rain lace pane pain cave
(caso) (lluvia) (encaje) (cristal) (dolor) (cueva)
/kes/ /ren/ /les/ /pen/ /pen/ /kev/
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Long E (), pronounced /i/

eat meet teen read beat meat

(comer) (encontrarse) (adolescente) (leer) (golpear) (carne)
/it/ /mit/ /tin/ /rid/ /bit/ /mit/
neat seat mean deal heal meal
(arreglado) (asiento) (significar) (acuerdo) (curar) (comida)
/nit/ /sit/ /min/ /dil/ /hil/ /mil/
team bean dean seed need feed
(equipo) (frijol) (decano) (semilla) (necesidad) (dar de comer)
/tim/ /bin/ /din/ /sid/ /nid/ /nid/
week dear year tear bead fear
(semana) (querido) (ao) (lgrima) (cuenta) (miedo)
/wik/ /dr/ /jr/ /tr/ /bid/ /fr/
hear near heat feel keep seen
(or) (cercano) (calor) (sentir) (guardar) (visto del verbo
/hr/ /nr/ /hit/ /fil/ /kip/ see)
/sin/
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Long I (), pronounced /a/

mite might hide pine fine wine

(acaro) (podra) (esconder) (pino) (magnfico) (vino)
/mat/ /mat/ /had/ /pan/ /fan/ /wan/
kite bite site fire hire wife
(cometa) (morder) (terreno) (fuego) (contratar) (esposa)
/kat/ /bat/ /sat/ /fa()r/ /ha()r/ /waf/
five dive like line nine tire
(cinco) (zambullirse) (como, querer) (lnea) (nueve) (cansar)
/fav/ /dav/ /lak/ /lan/ /nan/ /ta()r/
wire ice mice vice nice ride
(cable) (hielo) (ratn) (vicio) (amable) (ir en)
/wa()r/ /as/ /mas/ /vas/ /nas/ /rad/
wide pie tie bike vine tine
(ancho) (pastel) (corbata) (bicicleta) (enredadera) (diente)
/wad/ /pa/ /ta/ /bak/ /van/ /tan/
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Long O (), pronounced /o/

oat mote moat note robe cope

(avena) (mota) (foso) (nota) (toga) (capa de lluvia)
/ot/ /mot/ /mot/ /not/ /rob/ /kop/

goat coat soap dote hose nose

(cabra) (abrigo) (jabn) (adorar) (manguera) (nariz)
/ot/ /kot/ /sop/ /dot/ /hoz/ /hoz/
rose boat role tote pole sole
(rosa) (bote) (papel) (llevar) (mstil) (planta)
/roz/ /bot/ /rol/ /tot/ /pol/ /sol/
gold sold old bone rope home
(oro) (vendi del (viejo) (hueso) (cuerda) (casaload)
/old/ verbo sell) /old/ /bon/ /rop/ /hom/
/sold/
load toad float foam hole cone
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(carga) (sapo) (flotar) (espuma) (agujero) (cono)

/lod/ /tod/ /flot/ /fom/ /hol/ /kon/

Long U (), pronounced /ju/

cute cube tube huge mute tune

(dulce) (cubo) (tubo) (enorme) (mudo) (meloda)
/kjut/ /kjub/ /tjub/ /hjud/ /mjut/ /tjun/
humor pure cure dune use unit
(humor) (pure) (curar) (duna) (usar) (unidad)
/(h)jumr /pjr/ /kjr/ /djun/ /juz/ /junt
duke fuse sure uniform union human
(duque) (fusible) (seguro) (uniforme) (unin) (humano)
/djuk/ /fjuz/ /r/ /junfm/ /junjn/ /hjumn/
urine
(orina)
/jrn/
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Silent E Rule: When a vowel and consonant are followed by an e, the e is almost
always silent, but it causes the preceding vowel to be long. (Examples: ate, plane,
Pete, bite, nine, rope, note, cube, flute.)

Other English Vowel Sounds (Schwa or R-Controlled)

Besides the long and short sounds, there are other vowel sounds.

Any vowel in an unaccented syllable has a neutral orschwa//

sound: Examples: the a in above, or approve, the e in accident, camera or
mathematics, the i in family or officer, the o in freedom or purpose, or the u in
industry or succeed.
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if a vowel is followed by R, it changes in quality, and is neither long nor short.

(ER, IR, and UR are often -- though not always--the same sound.)

Examples with phonetic symbols:

/r/ -- arm, car, charge, dark, farm, start

/r/-- air, bare/bear, hair, there

/r/-- beer, ear, hear/here, near

/r/ -- bird, burn, fur, herd, earth, service, sir, turn, urgent

/r/ -- baker, doctor, letter, summer

/r/ -- for, important, more, north, or

Sometimes in English a vowel is pronounced with a sound that usually goes with a
different letter. For example, in my California dialect, the a in father or want is
pronounced very much like the au in audio or the short o in pot or hot. Thats not
true for all English speakers, however. Also, some common words use o for a short
u sound: of, love, money, other, some, son.

(For the exact pronunciation of any word, consult a good dictionary. Most list the
sound symbols they use on one of the front pages.)

Because English has adopted words (and often some of their sounds), from so many
other languages, none of these rules is always true. However, these English vowel
rules will help you guess at the pronunciation of words you read. For that reason
they may also help you guess their meaning, if you have heard them but not read
them before. They should also help make English spelling a little easier.

Sometimes, the basic rules of phonics do not apply. Each of these instances must be memorized. Common
examples include, but are not limited, to:

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."
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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."

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

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 /w/ as in want, wash, swamp, squash, squat

wa /w/ as in wax, wag, swam, and quack

all as in ball, tall, hall, and small

ald as in bald, scald, and alder

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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

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

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

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

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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

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