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]

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some exercises related to the pronunciation  patterns for the letter i.

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.

1. She wore a beautiful __________ to the party.
2. The children had a blast going down the __________ at the park.
3. My grandmother always gives __________ advice.
4. He learned to ride his __________ without training wheels.
5. The __________ on his face showed how happy he was.
6. The __________ in the forest was quickly extinguished.
7. She baked a delicious cherry __________ for dessert.
8. The __________ man shared his knowledge with everyone.
9. We went for a long __________ in the countryside.
10. 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