Pronunciation of the letter “a” before consonants
Pronunciation of the letter “a”
a before L+ m, f, v:
When the letter a appears before L + m, f, or v, the L is typically silent.
Examples:
calm: [kɑːm]
half: [ha:f]
halves: [ha:vz]
calf: [ka:f]
a with Lk:
In many English words, the letter L is silent in the combination a + lk.
Examples:
talk: [tɔ:k]
chalk: [tʃɔːk]
walk: [wɔːk]
a before L followed by a consonant:
When the letter a appears before L followed by a consonant (except when followed by m, f, or v), it is often pronounced as a long vowel sound, similar to /ɔːl/.
Examples:
all: [ɔːl]
walk: [wɔːk]
talk: [tɔːk]
salt: [sɔːlt]
a before th:
When the letter a appears before th, it is often pronounced as a short vowel sound, similar to [ɑ:].
Examples:
bath: [ba:θ]
path: [pa:θ]
father: [ˈfɑːðə(r)]
a before n, s, f + consonant:
When the letter a appears before n, s, or f, followed by a consonant, it is often pronounced as a long sound, similar to [a:].
Examples:
dance: [da:ns]
fast: [fa:st]
after: [ˈa:ftə(r)]
Pronunciation of the letter “a” before consonants
Vowel and Consonant Sounds in Syllable
Vowel and Consonant Sounds in Syllable
The Sound of Murmur Diphthong : AR, OR, ER, UR, IR, and YR
The Spelling patterns for the letter “o”
The Phonics rules for reading and spelling