Long and Short Vowels

Front

What are long vowels?

Back

Long vowels are vowel sounds that are pronounced the same as the name of the letter itself. For example, the long 'a' in 'cake'.

Front

What are short vowels?

Back

Short vowels are vowel sounds that are pronounced differently than the name of the letter. For example, the short 'a' in 'cat'.

Front

List the short vowel sounds in English.

Back

The short vowel sounds in English are: /æ/ as in 'cat', /ɛ/ as in 'bed', /ɪ/ as in 'sit', /ɒ/ as in 'hot', and /ʌ/ as in 'cup'.

Front

List the long vowel sounds in English.

Back

The long vowel sounds in English are: /eɪ/ as in 'cake', /iː/ as in 'see', /aɪ/ as in 'like', /oʊ/ as in 'go', and /juː/ as in 'blue'.

Front

How can you identify a long vowel sound in a word?

Back

A long vowel sound can often be identified by the presence of a silent 'e' at the end of the word, as in 'cake' or 'time'.

Front

How can you identify a short vowel sound in a word?

Back

A short vowel sound is typically found in words without a silent 'e' at the end, such as 'cat' or 'bed'.

Front

What is a vowel digraph?

Back

A vowel digraph is a pair of vowels that together make one vowel sound, such as 'ai' in 'rain' or 'ea' in 'bread'.

Front

What is a vowel team?

Back

A vowel team consists of two or more vowels that work together to create a single vowel sound, like 'ou' in 'cloud'.

Front

What is the difference between a vowel and a consonant?

Back

A vowel is a speech sound made without any closure in the vocal tract, while a consonant is produced with some degree of closure.

Front

Give an example of a word with a long vowel sound.

Back

An example of a word with a long vowel sound is 'tree', where the 'e' makes the long 'ee' sound.