The Alphabet
English uses the Roman alphabet.
The alphabet has 26 letters.
These letters can be ‘upper case‘ (big, sometimes called ‘capital letters‘) or ‘lower case‘ (small).
Of the 26 letters, 21 are consontants, and 5 are vowels.
| Upper case | Lower case | Vowels |
|---|---|---|
| A | a | vowel |
| B | b | |
| C | c | |
| D | d | |
| E | e | vowel |
| F | f | |
| G | g | |
| H | h | |
| I | i | vowel |
| J | j | |
| K | k | |
| L | l | |
| M | m | |
| N | n | |
| O | o | vowel |
| P | p | |
| Q | q | |
| R | r | |
| S | s | |
| T | t | |
| U | u | vowel |
| V | v | |
| W | w | |
| X | x | |
| Y | y | * |
| Z | z |
*Sometimes y can act like a vowel.
Making words
To make words, letters are put together.
There are common combinations.
Consonant + vowel combinations
| Vowel | Consonant + vowel |
|---|---|
| a | ba ca da fa ga ha ja ka la ma na pa qua ra sa ta va wa ya za |
| e | be de fe ge he je ke le me ne pe que re se te ve we ye ze |
| i | bi di fi gi hi ji ki li mi ni pi qui ri si ti vi wi yi zi |
| o | bo co do fo go ho jo ko lo mo no po quo ro so to vo yo zo |
| u | bu cu du fu gu hu ju ku lu mu nu pu ru su tu vu wu yu zu |
Vowel + consonant combinations
| Vowel | Vowel + consonant |
|---|---|
| a | ab ac ad af ag ah aj ak al am an ap aqu ar as at av aw ax ay az |
| e | eb ec ed ef eg eh ej ek el em en ep equ er es et ev ew ex ey ez |
| i | ib ic id if ig ij ik il im in ip iqu ir is it ix iv iz |
| o | ob oc od of og oh oj ok ol om on op oqu or os ot ov ow ox oy oz |
| u | ub uc ud ud uf ug uh uj uk ul um un up uqu ur us ut uv ux uy uz |
Vowel + 2 or 3 consonants
| Vowel | Vowel + 2 or 3 consonants |
|---|---|
| a | ang ant any ary ast atch aty awn avy |
| e | eng ent eny ery est etch ety ewn evy |
| i | ing int iny ist itch ity ivy |
| o | ong ont ony ory ost otch oty own ovy |
| u | ung unt uny ury ust utch uty uwn uvy |
Vowel sounds
Vowel sounds are important.
They are made by:
1. vowel
2. vowel + vowel
3. vowel + consonant blend
| Vowel | Vowel combinations |
|---|---|
| a | a a_e ai au ay |
| e | e ea ee ei e_e ey |
| i | i ia i_e igh io |
| o | o oa o_e oo ou oy |
| u | u u_e ui uy |
Consonant clusters: initial blends
Some consonant combinations go at the start of words.
Some consonants don’t take initial blends (h, j, l, m, n, q, r, v, x, y, z)
| Consonant | Initial blend |
|---|---|
| b | bl br |
| c | ch chr cl cr |
| d | dr dw |
| f | fl fr |
| g | gl gr |
| k | kl kr |
| p | pl pr |
| s | sc sh shr sk sl sn sp spl squ st str sw |
| t | th (long) th (short) thr tr tw |
| w | wr |
Consonant clusters: final blends
Any combination can go at the end of words.
However, some consonant combinations give strong independent sounds at the end of words.
| Consonant | Final blend |
|---|---|
| c | ck ct |
| f | ft |
| l | ld lf lp lt |
| m | mp |
| n | nd nk nt |
| p | pt |
| r | rn rd rk |
| s | sk sm sp st |