Pronunciation of the letter “i”
Pronunciation of the letter “i”
Short I :
In closed syllables, the letter i usually represents the short sound /ɪ/ as in sit [sɪt] or lid [lɪd]
Long i (silent e):
When followed by a single consonant and a silent e at the end of a syllable, the letter i often represents the long sound /aɪ/ as in time [taɪm] or bike [baɪk]
Long i (open syllable):
In open syllables, i can also represent the long sound /aɪ/ as in kind [kaɪnd] or find [faɪnd]
igh:
The combination igh is commonly used to represent the long sound /aɪ/ as high [haɪ] or sigh [saɪ]
ie:
The combination ie often represents the long sound /aɪ/ as in pie [paɪ] or tie [taɪ]
ie:
This pattern represents the long sound /aɪ/ when there’s a consonant followed by an e at the end of a syllable, as in like [laɪk] or slide [slaɪd]
y as a vowel:
The letter y can sometimes function as a vowel and represent the long sound /aɪ/ as in cry [kraɪ] or fly [flaɪ]
i before e:
In some cases, i before e can represent the sound /iː/ as in believe [bɪˈliːv] or field [fiːld]
ie before ld:
The combination ie before ld can represent the sound /aɪ/ as in child [tʃaɪld] or wild [waɪld]
ei:
The combination ei can represent different sounds, but one common one is /eɪ/ as in vein [veɪn] or rein [reɪn]
i before a:
In some words, i before a can represent the sound /aɪ/ as in dialect [ˈdaɪəlɛkt] or reliable [rɪˈlaɪəbəl]
After the exercises, you’ll find the answers. Try to solve the exercises on your own before checking the answers.
Exercise 1: Identify the Pronunciation Pattern
For each word, identify the pronunciation pattern for the letter i
Is it a short i sound /ɪ/ or a long i sound /aɪ/?
sit
time
high
bird
field
child
like
believe
cry
vein
Exercise 2: Complete the Words
Complete the following words with the appropriate pronunciation pattern for the letter i.
sl___de
b___ke
f___nd
sk___rt
p___e
sm___le
n___ce
p___g
b___ld
k___nd
Exercise 3: Match the Words
Match each word with its corresponding phonetic transcription .
sigh [ ]
shirt [ ]
cry [ ]
believe [ ]
like [ ]
bird [ ]
field [ ]
vein[ ]
child [ ]
find [ ]
Answers:
Exercise 1: Identify the pronunciation Pattern
sit – Short i sound /ɪ/
time – Long i sound /aɪ/
high – Long i sound /aɪ/
bird – Short i sound /ɪ/
field – Long sound /iː/
child – Long i sound /aɪ/
like – Long i sound /aɪ/
believe – Long i sound /iː/
cry – Long i sound /aɪ/
vein – Long i sound /eɪ/
Exercise 2: Complete the Words
slide
bike
find
skirt
pie
smile
nice
pig
build
kind
Exercise 3: Match the Words
sigh – [saɪ]
shirt – [ʃɜ:t]
cry – [kraɪ]
believe – [bɪˈliːv]
like – [laɪk]
bird – [bɜ:d]
field – [fiːld]
vein – [veɪn]
child – [tʃaɪld]
find – [faɪnd]
Here are some reading exercises involving words with various i pronunciation patterns.
Try reading these words aloud and identifying the appropriate pronunciation based on patterns.
Exercise 1: Read Aloud
Read the following words aloud, paying attention to the pronunciation of the letter i.
sit
time
high
bird
field
like
believe
cry
child
find
Exercise 2: Fill in the Blanks
Fill in the blanks with the correct words from the word bank. Pay attention to the patterns for the letter i.
Word bank: kind, smile, bike, nice, shirt, slide, pie, fire, wise, mile.
- She wore a beautiful __________ to the party.
- The children had a blast going down the __________ at the park.
- My grandmother always gives __________ advice.
- He learned to ride his __________ without training wheels.
- The __________ on his face showed how happy he was.
- The __________ in the forest was quickly extinguished.
- She baked a delicious cherry __________ for dessert.
- The __________ man shared his knowledge with everyone.
- We went for a long __________ in the countryside.
- The __________ officer helped us find our way.
Answers:
1-shirt
2-slide
3-nice
4-bike
5-smile
6-fire
7-pie
8-wise
9-mile
10-kind
click here Pronunciation of the letter “i”
Pronunciation of the letter “u”
Pronunciation of the letter “a”
Pronunciation of the letter “y”
click here The Phonics rules
click here The Alphabet names in English
click here The International Phonetic Alphabet symbols for English phonemes
click here About English Alphabet
click here Auditory Phonetics
click here Acoustic Phonetics
click here Articulatory Phonetics
click here English Phonetics
click here About Phonetics
click here Grammar