Vowels can be short (like a in cat) or long (like a in cake). Vowels can also be found in different types of syllables (closed, open, etc.).

Short and Long Vowels:

English vowels can often be pronounced differently in different words based on whether they are short or long, affecting the word’s meaning (bit vs. bite).

Silent E:

The presence of a silent e at the end of a word can change the preceding vowel sound from short to long (mat vs. mate).

Consonant Blends and Digraphs:

Consonant blends are groups of two or more consonants with their individual sounds (bl in blue), while digraphs are pairs of letters representing one sound (sh in ship).

Vowel Digraphs:

Vowel digraphs are two vowels together that make a single sound (ai in rain).

R-Controlled Vowels:

When a vowel is followed by the letter r, it often changes the way the vowel is pronounced (ar in car).

Schwa Sound:

The schwa sound is a reduced vowel sound often heard in unstressed syllables (a in sofa), (a in about), (o in havoc), ( u in supply)

Soft C and G, Hard C and G:

The letters c and g can have soft sounds (like c in cent or g in giant) and hard sounds (like c in cat or g in go).

Fizzle Rule:

When a one-syllable word ends with a single vowel followed by a single consonant, double the final consonant when adding a suffix (l, f, s, and z: still, staff, bill, jazz, floss).

Ending in K and CK:

Generally, use k at the end of a one-syllable word with a long vowel and ck after a short vowel (beak, seek, break – chick, crack, stick)

J and CH Sound:

J often makes the j sound (jelly) or (judge), while ch can make the ch sound (chat) or a k sound (chemist).

Drop the E with -ING:

When adding -ing to a word ending in a silent e, drop the e (take + ing = taking).

Doubling:

When adding suffixes to words with one syllable or an accented final syllable, double the final consonant if the syllable is stressed and ends in a single vowel followed by a single consonant (big + er = bigger).

Plurals:

Add -s or -es for regular plurals (cat to cats, box to boxes).

Y Rules and Exceptions:

When y is a vowel (e.g., cry), it often changes to i when adding a suffix (cry + ing = crying). However, there are exceptions (play + ing = playing).