Phonics and English Language Rules

Short vowels are found at the beginning or middle of a word.
When there is only one vowel in a word, the vowel will usually say the short sound.
Example Word: cat

When there are two vowels together in a word, the first vowel will say its name or the long sound while the second vowel is silent.
“When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking.” Example words: boat, aim, beam

When the last vowel in a word is the silent “e”, it will make the first vowel long.
Example Words: bike, cake, like

When the only vowel in a word comes at the end, it will say the long sound or its name.
Example Words: so, me, go, she, he

Y can sometimes act as a vowel when it is the only vowel and it is at the end of a short word. It will say the long vowel sound. Example Words: my, by, bly, sty

C will have an s sound before the letters e, i, and y. Example Words: circle, nice
C will have the hard sound before the letters a, o, and u. Example Words: cat, come, call

G will have a soft sound before the letters e, i, and y. Example Words: gym, gigantic
G will have a hard sound before the letters a, o, and u. Example Words: get, game
G at the end of a word will have the hard sound. Example Words: peg, big, dig

Q is always followed by a u.

ng is always preceded by a short vowel. Example Chunks: ing, ang, ong, ung,
nk is always preceded by a short vowel. Example Chunks: ink, ank, onk, unk

ew is most commonly used to spell “oo” at the end of a word. Examples: new, blew, flew, few
ou is most commonly used to spell “ow” in the middle of a word. Examples: out, found, mouth

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