short a

Front

What is the short 'a' sound?

Back

The short 'a' sound is a vowel sound pronounced as /æ/, like in the words 'cat', 'bat', and 'hat'.

Front

Give an example of a word with a short 'a' sound.

Back

Examples include 'apple', 'sand', and 'man'.

Front

What is a vowel?

Back

A vowel is a letter in the alphabet that represents a speech sound made with the vocal tract open. The vowels in English are A, E, I, O, U.

Front

List the short vowel sounds in English.

Back

The short vowel sounds in English are: short 'a' (as in 'cat'), short 'e' (as in 'bed'), short 'i' (as in 'sit'), short 'o' (as in 'hot'), and short 'u' (as in 'cup').

Front

How do you identify a short 'a' sound in a word?

Back

You can identify a short 'a' sound by listening for the /æ/ sound, which is often found in words with a single vowel followed by one or more consonants.

Front

What is a consonant?

Back

A consonant is a letter in the alphabet that represents a speech sound made by obstructing airflow. Examples include B, C, D, F, etc.

Front

What is the difference between a short vowel and a long vowel?

Back

A short vowel is pronounced quickly and does not say its name (e.g., 'a' in 'cat'), while a long vowel is pronounced the same as the letter's name (e.g., 'a' in 'cake').

Front

Provide a sentence using a word with a short 'a' sound.

Back

The cat sat on the mat.

Front

What is a phoneme?

Back

A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound in a language that can distinguish one word from another.

Front

How does the short 'a' sound affect word meaning?

Back

The short 'a' sound can change the meaning of words; for example, 'bat' (the flying animal) and 'bet' (to wager) have different meanings due to different vowel sounds.