Vowel digraphs in English. What are the syllables in English

Consider in the key of the rules of reading and pronunciation with the ability to listen to each letter combination in the examples. For brevity, the basic rules for reading letter combinations are given in the tables.

Reading letter combinations

Reading vowel combinations

The table below shows the main (frequent) set of vowel combinations (see table No. 1), Russian and English transcription with example words and notes.

Table number 1. Reading vowel combinations

letter combination	Transcription	Examples (listen)	Notes
ee, ea	(AND:)	🔊 see , 🔊 sea
ai, ai	(HEY)	🔊 Strai ght , 🔊 May
oo	(W:)	🔊 too	before a consonant, except for k, r; also at the end of a word
oo	[u] (U)	🔊 boo k	before the letter k; exception: 🔊 goo d
oor	[ɔ:] (U:)	🔊 doo r
ow	(AU), [əu] (EU)	🔊 now, 🔊 window [‘windəu]	under stress in monosyllabic words; at the end of two-syllable words in an unstressed position
oi, oi	[ɔi] (OH)	🔊 coi n , 🔊 employ
ou	(AU)	🔊 ou t
oa	[əu] (eu)	🔊 coa-t

Reading letter combinations with consonants

Below (in table No. 2) are the main letter combinations of consonants.

Table number 2. Letter combinations in English language. Reading consonant combinations

Letter (letter combination)	Transcription	When to use	Examples (listen)
b	[b]	in all cases	🔊 b egin
mb	[m]	b is not readable at the end of a word after the letter m	🔊 climb
c	[s]	before vowels e, i, y	🔊 c ity [‘siti], 🔊 nic e , 🔊 c ycle
c	[k]	in all other cases	🔊 with ap
k	[k]	in all cases	🔊 kite
ck	[k]	in all cases	🔊 black
kn	[n]	at the beginning of a word	🔊 kn ow
g	[ʤ]	before vowels e, i, y	🔊 g entleman [ˈʤentlmən]
g	[g]	in all other cases	🔊 g ate Exceptions: 🔊 g ive , 🔊 g et
j	[ʤ]	in all cases	🔊 jacket [ˈʤækɪt]
z	[z]	in all cases	z oo
h	[h]	in all cases	🔊 h appy [ˈhæpɪ]
sh	[ʃ]	in all cases	🔊 sh e [ʃiː]
tch	[ʧ]	in all cases	🔊 catch [
ch	[ʃ]	in words of French origin	🔊 ch ampagne [ʃæmˈpeɪn]
	[k]		🔊 sch ool, 🔊 ch emistry [ˈkemɪstrɪ]
	[ʧ]	in all other cases	🔊 ch alk [ʧɔːk]
th	[θ]	at the beginning and end of significant words	🔊 th ink [θɪŋk]
	[ð]	at first service words(pronouns, articles)	🔊 th e [ðiː]
	[ð]	in significant words between vowels	🔊 clothes
x		before a consonant and at the end of words	🔊 tex t
x		before a stressed vowel	🔊 ex am [ɪgˈzæm]
ph	[f]		🔊 ph oto [ˈfəʊtəʊ]
ps	[s]	in words of Greek origin	ps ychology
r	[r]	before any vowel other than a dumb one	🔊 rose
s	[s]	before consonants, at the beginning of a word, at the end of a word after a voiceless consonant	🔊 bes t , 🔊 s tart , 🔊 cats
s	[z]	at the end of a word after a voiced consonant or vowel, between two vowels	🔊 plays , 🔊 vis it
ss	[s]	Anyway	🔊 class
ng		before sounds [l], [r], [w]	🔊 Eng land [ˈɪŋglənd]
ng	[n]	in all other cases	🔊 lan guage [ˈlæŋgwɪʤ]
nk		in all cases	🔊 bank
w	[w]	at the beginning of a word	🔊 w e
wh	[w]	if these letters are followed by any letter except o	🔊 why
wh	[h]	if these letters are followed by o	🔊 who
wr	[r]	at the beginning of a word before a vowel	🔊 write

Reading combinations of vowels with consonants

Finally, consider the last type of letter combinations in English (see table No. 3).

Table number 3. Reading combinations of vowels with consonants

letter combination	Transcription	When to use	Examples (listen)
wa		in all cases	🔊 water [ˈwɔːtə]
war		in all cases	🔊 war
wor		in all cases	🔊 work k
or, er	[ə]	at the end of words in an unstressed position	🔊 doctor [ˈdɔktə], 🔊 computer
qu		before vowels	🔊 quite
al	[ɔ:]	in all cases	🔊 all l [ɔ: l], 🔊 tal k
an		before consonants	🔊 plan t
af			🔊 staff f
al		in the letter combination al, the letter l is not readable	🔊 hal f
as			🔊 as k
igh		in all cases	🔊 night t

Knowing letter combinations in English, namely their use and pronunciation, you will learn how to read correctly! Good luck to you, dear friend!

The reading of a vowel in a stressed syllable depends on the type of syllable. The syllable type is determined by which letters follow the stressed vowel. There are four types of stressed syllable.

I type syllable - open syllable, i.e., a syllable ending in a vowel. For example:

At the end of monosyllabic words: g o go;

Pregnant vowel + consonant + vowel: t i me time,l o tus [" l ou tqs] lotus;

Pregnant vowel + vowel(see vowel digraphs): d e al quantity, s u it costume.

II type syllable - closed syllable, i.e. syllable ending in a consonant (except for a single r). This means that the stressed vowel is followed by:

One or more consonants at the end of a word: m a n man, man, t e st trial;

Or two or more consonants in the middle of a word (letter x conveys two sounds and equates to two consonants: bo x er["bO ks q] boxer): s i lver["s I lvq] silver, p u blic["p A blik] people.

III type syllable - graphically looks like closed syllable. It differs from the type II syllable in that a stressed vowel is followed by a letter r , which itself is not readable, but affects the reading of the preceding stressed vowel. For example: st ar t start, start, f or th further, henceforth, p ur pose[" p W pqs ] intention, purpose.

IV type syllable - graphically looks like open syllable. It differs from the type I syllable in that that a stressed vowel is followed by a letterr (readable or unreadable). Its presence affects the reading of the preceding stressed vowel. For example: c ar e care,take care, p ar ents["p Fq rqnts] parents, d e a r dear, dear, s er ies["s Iq rJz] series,row.

Note: Double letter rr at the root of the word does not affect the reading of the previous vowel, but only indicates the closed type of syllable (the vowel is read as short sound), for example: cu rra nt["kArqnt] currant, te rr ible [" terIbl ] horrible

Letter r before a vowel has no effect on the reading of the vowel.

2.2. Digraphs

A digraph is a combination of two letters that are pronounced as one phoneme.

Vowel digraphs.

The reading of digraph vowels in a stressed syllable does not depend on the type of syllable. According to the features of reading vowel digraphs, they can be divided into three main groups.

I group make up digraphs pronounced as diphthongs, in which the first and second letters are read briefly: ei/ey, oi /oy .

II group make up digraphs, which are pronounced as monophthongs or diphthongs, and their sound reading often does not correspond to the reading of its constituent letters. These include: au/aw , eu/ew[(j) H] - only the second letter is read, oo or , ou or , ow or .

III group make up digraphs in which only one is read - the first letter according to the rule of an open syllable. These include: ai/ay , ea/ee(but digraph ea often also transmits sound), ie/ye(Although ie transmits sound more often) oa , ue /ui. Since the first letter is read according to the rule of an open syllable, and the second letter only denotes this openness, reading these digraphs does not require separate consideration. Below, in the rules of reading, they are treated as letter combinations.

A combination of vowels may not be a digraph if these vowels belong to different syllables. Then, more often, but not always, the first vowel is read according to the rule of an open syllable, and the second vowel forms an unstressed syllable. Such a neighborhood of vowel sounds is called "gaping", since the mouth remains open for a relatively long time during their articulation. For example: l io n["l ai - q n] a lion, d ie t["d aI - q t] diet, rad io[" reI - d I - ou] radio.

consonant digraphs.

Consonant digraphs include combinations of consonant letters that are read in a complex manner and convey one sound (phoneme).

There are only four of them: ch , ph , sh , th .

The remaining letter combinations do not belong to digraphs; as a rule, one of the letters is read in them, depending on the position in the word.

For example: wh , ng , gh ["-", rarely g , f ], ck , kn and etc.

2.3. Summary table of basic sound values.

Vowels and digraphs.

Letters	stressed syllable				Unstressed syllable
	open syllable		Closed syllable
	without r	from letters. r	without r	from letters. r
	I type	IV type	II type	III type
A a [eI]	[ eI ]	[ Fq ]	[ x ]	[ R ]	[ q ]
e e [J]	[ J ]	[ Iq ]	[ e ]	[ W ]	[ I ]
I i [aI] Y y [waI]	[ aI ]	[ aIq ]	[ I ]	[ W ]	[ I ]
O o [ou]	[ ou ]	[ L ]	[ O ]	[ L ]	[ q ]
U u [jH]	[ jH ]	[ juq ]	[ A ]	[ W ]	[ q ]
au / aw	[ L ]
ei/ey	[ eI ]				[ I ]
eu/ew	[ jH]/[H]
oi/oy	[ OI ]
oo	[ H]/[u],[uq]
ou	[ au] / [ L ], [ A ], [ H]				[ q ]
ow	[ au] , [ ou ]				[ ou ]

Consonants and digraphs.

Letters	Main transmitted sounds	Other sound options	Letters	Main transmitted sounds	Other sound options
Bb	[ b ]		Q q	[ k ]
c c	[ k] / [ s ]	[ S]	R r	[ r ]	[ - ]
D d	[ d ]	[ t]	S s	[ s] / [ z ]	[ S ], [Z]
F f	[ f ]		T t	[ t ]	[ S ],[ C]
G g	[ g] / [ G ]	[ - ]	Vv	[ v ]
H h	[ h ]	[ - ]	Ww	[ w ]	[ - ]
Jj	[ G ]		X x	[ gz] / [ ks ]	[ z]
K k	[ k ]	[ - ]	Zz	[ z ]	[ Z]
l l	[ l ]	[ - ]	ch	[ C ]	[ k]
M m	[ m ]		ph	[ f ]
N n	[ n] / [ N ]	[ - ]	sh	[ S ]
Pp	[ p ]		th	[ D] / [ T ]

Syllable type

1 After the sounds [r], [l], [ʤ], the letter u is read. For example: rule , plume , June [ʤu:n].

2 After the sounds [ʃ], [ʤ], [r] and the consonant combination + l, the letter u is read. For example: sure [ʃuə], jury ["ʤuərɪ], rural ["ruərəl], plural ["pluərəl]].

Reading vowel digraphs in a stressed syllable

Digraph A combination of two letters pronounced as one phoneme is called. The reading of digraph vowels in a stressed syllable does not depend on the type of syllable. The fact that digraphs have some common features allows us to divide them into the following three groups:

The first group is digraphs, pronounced as diphthongs. The first and second elements of the diphthong are conveyed respectively by the first and second letters of the digraph in their short reading. For example, ei-vein, oi- oil [ɔɪl].

The second group is digraphs, pronounced as monophthongs or diphthongs. The sound reading of a diphthong does not correspond to the reading of its constituent letters. For example, au– August ["ɔ:gəst], ou- loud.

In the digraphs of the third group, only the first or second of the two letters is read. It has an alphabetic reading. For example, ai- maid - the first letter is read; eu- neutral ["nju: trəl] - the second letter is read.

Letter combinations i + e, o + e, u + e in monosyllabic words can be considered as group III digraphs ie, oe, ue or as an open syllable type mute e at the end.

The combination of vowels is not always a digraph: sometimes it is a free combination of vowels, forming two syllables, and then the first vowel is read according to the rule of an open syllable type, and the second forms an unstressed syllable. For example, diet ["daɪət], trial ["traɪəl], duel.

Summary table of rules for reading vowel digraphs

Group I (the first and second letters of the digraph in their brief reading convey the first and second elements of the diphthong)

Group II (the letters of the digraph are not readable. All combinations convey a monophthong or diphthong)

Group III (one of the letters of the digraph has an alphabetical reading)

read the first letter

read the second letter

ei wine*

ey they

oi[ɔɪ] oil

Oo at the end of the word too

oo + consonant

(except k) soon*

oo+k[u]book, cook

au[ɔ:] author

ou out**

ai [ eɪ] maid

ie tie*

oa[əu] coat

ow low, window**

ue due

ui suit***

ee[ɪ:] meet

ea tea****

eu [ ju:]neutral

ew* few**

* In some words after the letter With digraph ei read [ɪ:]. For example: receive, ceiling.

* But in the words good, wood, stood digraph oo + the consonant is read briefly: [u].

** In some words, the digraph ou read [ʌ]: country, cousin, young or: youth, group, soup, rouble.

* In some words before the consonant digraph ie read [ɪ:]. For example, field, believe.

** In a final unstressed syllable, the digraph ow is not reduced.

***After [r], [j], [ʤ] digraphs ui, ue are read. For example, blue, fruit, juice.

****Before the letter d and combination th digraph ea reads [e]. For example, bread, death.

* In this digraph, a consonant letter w is a doublet of a vowel u and is read.

** After sounds [r], [l], [ʤ] digraphs eu, ew are read. For example: blew, drew, Jew.

A foreign language is complicated precisely by sound and pronunciation, English is no exception for Russian-speaking students. Complicating the situation is such a thing as "diphthongs" - complex sounds that have no analogues in the Russian language. There are three variants of pronunciation of vowel sounds: monophthongs, diphthongs and triphthongs. From the name it is clear that there are one, two and three sounds, pronounced together, without division into letters.

monophthongs, diphthongs, triphthongs

Monophthongs. The usual pronunciation of a vowel sound familiar to our ear. It can be short or long, in English there are only 12. Throughout the pronunciation of the letter, the articulation does not change. In Russian, for comparison, all letters are pronounced this way. A relative exception is the concept of "heterogeneous" monophthongs, when the letter slightly changes its sound, depending on the adjacent consonant. The words “small” and “crumpled” will have the same vowel sound [a], but due to the softness of the first letter, a figurative beginning [i] is formed.

Russian iotized letters "ya", "yo", "e" and "yu" are not diphthongs, because the sound is divided into a consonant "y" and a vowel.

Diphthongs. They are found in many languages of the world: English, French, Czech, German, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Armenian and many others. They are absent only in Hungarian, Russian and classical Japanese, some concepts are borrowed from the vocabulary of other countries and you have to select a similar sound. Most often, the double sound is broken into 2 monophthongs, and they are pronounced separately. According to the nature of the sound, diphthongs are divided into ascending (the first vowel is syllabic, or strong) and descending (the first vowel is weak). There are also balanced ones, consisting of strong or weak sounds, such are found in the Latvian and Nivkh languages. There are two types of diphthongs: phonetic (according to the spelling of the word) and phonological (according to its sound). In writing, it is denoted by a separate sign - a digraph, it is not part of the alphabet and is a stable combination. That is, it sounds the same in all cases. For example, the diphthong "eu", taken from German language. Separately, the letters are read "e" and "y", and together they are always "oh".

Triphthongs. Even more complex design have triple combinations of vowel sounds, in writing they are combined into one syllable, and they sound most often with the duration of a diphthong. There are triphthongs in the same languages as double sounds and are divided into 3 groups according to structure:

ascending, when the last vowel is considered the top of the syllable, it is strong;
ascending-descending, strong is located between two weak;
descending ones begin with a strong vowel.

Features of the English language

The most popular language to study in our schools is English, followed by French, German and Spanish. Last years Chinese is also actively gaining popularity. Learning English is not difficult, you just need to follow a number of rules and systematically conduct classes. Grammar and phonetics are full of rules and features. At first, it is difficult to read English because of the numerous exceptions, special combinations of letters. After about six months of intensive regular practice, many rules begin to be perceived as the norm.

There are 12 vowels in English, which are written with one or more letters. In addition, there are 8 diphthongs and 3 triphthongs, they can also be indicated by different combinations of vowels and consonants. The sound does not depend on the location in the word, the type of syllable. A diphthong uses 2 sounds. One of them is the main one, as if leading, the second complements the first, sometimes it is not even fully pronounced. Let's look at each of them with examples.

Diphthong

The first sound or core of the diphthong is similar in pronunciation to the Russian "e", but the array of the language is more rounded. And the lips are more stretched. The second part of the sound forces us to press the tongue against the teeth of the upper jaw and the palate, which gives us a sound similar to "y", but shorter. The core sounds with stretched lips and with a slightly raised tongue, then the tongue rises with a sliding effect on the sound [i], it turns out the average between [i] and [ə]. A diphthong can be represented in words by the following letters:

In an open syllable, stressed "a", as in the words "save", "game";
The combination "ea", for example, in the word "great";
"Ai" occurs in the words "pain", "rain", "wait";
"Ey" is also read, as an example of the words "grey";
"Ay", as in the words "day", "pay", "tray";
"Ei" occurs in English word eight - eight.

The important point is correct pronunciation the second sound - "th" should not be identical to ours, but be an average between [i] and [j].

Diphthong

The sound of this diphthong is not similar to the Russian "ai". The first part, or core, is pronounced more openly than the "a" sound, closer to [æ]. The tongue is pressed against the teeth of the lower jaw, we lower it as low as possible. The jaw rises from the lowered position in the process of transition from the nucleus to the additional sound. [i] in such a pair is short, the body of the tongue is raised to the hard palate, pressed against the teeth. The sound is short sliding, pronounced like [ё].

There is a diphthong in an open syllable or at the end of a word and is represented by the following letter variants:

The first one-letter option is "y", at the end of the word fly is pronounced in this way;
Another variant of the 1-letter diphthong is "i", in an open syllable, as in the words "line" and "pride" or "wine";
The combination of letters "uy" is read in a similar way in the word "guy";
"Ye" such letters occur in the words "bye" and "dye";
The combination "eye" is a separate word and translates as "eye", but can also be a syllable, as in "eyebrow";
The letter combination "igh" is found in many words of the English language, it is always pronounced, for example, knight, night;
The final combination "ie" is pronounced as in the word "tie".

In this diphthong, the second sound is pronounced weaker than the first, but it is brighter than the similar one in Russian. It should soften almost the entire word.

Diphthong [ɔi]

If we select a similar sound from our language, then this is a combination of the letters “oh”, only the second letter is pronounced on a par with the first. [o] is pronounced with rounded lips and slightly lowered jaw, while the tip of the tongue touches the teeth of the lower jaw. Then there is a slip into a bright sound [th]. A diphthong can be denoted different letters When writing words, there are 2 options:

The combination of letters "oy" is at the end of the word, such as "toy", "boy", "enjoy";
On the contrary, the letters "oi" are used in the middle or at the beginning of the word - "oil", "point", "noise".

Diphthong

It sounds like a diphthong, like a Russian "ay", but not a drawling forest, but like an exclamation when bruised. Here the second sound is short, soft, pronounced on a raised jaw and with lips extended into a tube, and the first requires opening the mouth wide, stretching the lips to the sides. The diphthong is also represented by two variants of letter combinations:

With such a combination of the letters “ou”, the word becomes viscous and viscous, pronounced relaxed - “pound”, “cloud”, “sound”;
Similar combinations of "ow" are found in the popular words "how", "now", "town" and are used quite often in speech.

Diphthong [əu]

A rather complicated option for Russian-speaking people, has no analogues in Russian, looks like an average between [ou] and [eu]. The first sound is pronounced with a raised jaw, tongue sandwiched between the teeth and lips slightly extended to the sides. By the second, everything changes, there is a sliding effect to [u]. The tongue goes back slightly, and the lips are rounded. Such a diphthong occurs quite often and is represented in the stressed open syllable by the letter “o”, in other situations by combinations:

The letter combination "ow" is found in the words "show", "snow", "bow";
A common situation - the combination "ou" is often found in everyday speech, for example, in the words "soul", "thought";
In the words "coat", "soap", "road" a pair of letters "oa" is always read as [əu];
"O" before the letter "l" in the words "roller", "cold", as well as in a stressed position before other consonants - "only", "tomb".

Diphthong

The first sound or core of the diphthong is a brighter “and”, pronounced by raising the tongue to the sky and slightly stretching the lips to the sides. When sliding to [e], the tongue moves back a little. A diphthong can be presented in the following situations:

The letters "eer" form a diphthong in the words "deer", "beer", here the letter "r" is not pronounced, only the diphthong remains;
A similar pattern occurs in the combination of the letters "ear" as in the word "gear";
The letter combination "ier" is most often found in loanwords, for example, "fierce";
A combination of the letters "ere", as in the word "severe";
In the word "serious" the combination of the letters "iou" also form a diphthong.

Such a sound is less common and is quite easy to remember and pronounce by Russian-speaking students.

Diphthong

It can also be denoted in transcription as [ɛə], in practice it is pronounced quite easily. The core of the diphthong sounds like Russian [e], but is pronounced more restrained with a raised jaw and lips stretched to the sides. The tongue is flat and touches the teeth and the upper and lower jaws. We select the second sound intonation, pressing the root of the tongue to the soft palate, we get a domed sound, the average between [ʌ] and [ə]. This diphthong can be represented by the following combinations of letters:

"Ear", both separately and as part of words, for example, "bear", "swear";
“Are” in this form will be read differently, only a diphthong appears inside the word - “care”, “prepare”;
"Air" is independent word, denoting "air", but can also be part of the word - "repair", "fire";
All examples can be memorized and they will not seem so complicated after six months of training.

Diphthong

The final diphthong is similar to the Russian "ue", where the first sound is the core, therefore, it is pronounced longer. And the second sound is something between "e" and "a". The diphthong is simple in articulation - [y] lingering is pronounced with outstretched lips and tongue pulled back to the soft palate. Then the tongue tenses and slides to the sound [e], the lips return to a relaxed position. 4 variants of letter combinations will have a similar sound:

"Ue" occurs in the word "cruel";
"Ure" and the common word "sure", or "cure" (treat) and "endure" (endure);
“Our” as a separate word reads a little differently, but as part of another, like a diphthong, for example, “tour” or “gourd”;
"Oor", and the combination of the letters "oo" is a digraph, but if they are in conjunction with "r", then a diphthong. As an example, the words "poor" and "moor".

Why is a diphthong not a digraph?

There is a concept similar in sound - "digraph", they are often confused. But they fundamentally different structure and dissimilar properties.

A digraph consists of two letters, but they have a single sound, and a diphthong, on the contrary, has a double sound, and there can be one, two, or three letters. They are found in many languages of the world and are quite simple to learn, because they do not depend on stress and adjacent letters. There is only one exception. The combination of vowels, when the first refers to one syllable, and the second to another, is neither a diphthong nor a digraph, and they are read separately.

The most common English digraphs are:

"Th" is the stumbling block of all students and teachers and hallmark foreigners in England. There is no similar sound in Russian, so we memorize it on purpose. It is also called “interdental s”, and in transcription it looks like [θ] (s) and [ð] (h).

"Oo" reads like [u] unless it comes before an "r" then it is the diphthong above;
"Sh", regardless of the position in the word and the neighborhood, is read like the Russian "sh";
With the digraph "ch" the situation is similar, only "h" is read;
"Ng" at the end of the word gives a sound that has no analogues in Russian, calls it "nasal n" and is pronounced pressing the root of the tongue against the soft palate;
In the combination "kn" the first letter is not readable, a pure "n" is obtained;
In this form, within one syllable, the combination "ee" is pronounced like "and";
The letters "ea", standing within the same syllable side by side, create the sound [and];
There are also a lot of digraphs, here are the main ones, the so-called "unconditional".

A brief conclusion to the curtain

Diphthongs and digraphs are absolutely unfamiliar and unusual phenomena for Russian-speaking people, they should be memorized by heart, understanding comes much later. In addition to them, there are also triphthongs and trigraphs that have rules for reading and writing.
The complexity of the English language lies in several difficult to pronounce sounds, which have no analogues in our language. The rest are very similar, so you can learn to speak English with pronunciation and basic knowledge grammar in about six months to a year. Such a period is quite enough to prepare for a trip to the country or an interview for a position with mandatory knowledge of the language at the initial level.

The reading of a vowel depends on the letters adjacent to it and on the type of syllable in which it is located.

open syllable

A syllable is considered open if it ends in a vowel (to-tal, ri-val, bi-ble, mo-tor). The vowel in this case gives long sound- that is, it is read as in the alphabet. Words with silent "e" also belong to this type. For example:

take
Pete
kite
nose
cute

Some monosyllabic words are also open syllables. For example, me, she, he and no, so, go.

Closed syllable

A closed syllable is the most common spelling unit in English; it makes up about 50% of the syllables in the text. A closed syllable ends in one or more consonants, and the vowel in this case is read briefly.

There are many closed-type monosyllabic words in English (cat, pin, hen). If , starting with a vowel, is added to them, the consonant before it is doubled. This is done in order to avoid changing the sound. For example:

hat-ha tt er
pin-pi nn ed
hot-ho tt est
red-re dd ish
cut-cu tt ing

Syllable "vowel + r"

The third type of syllable is one in which the letter "r" follows the vowel. At the same time, the vowel gives a long sound, and the “r” itself is not readable (c).

car
herbs
girl [ɡɜːl]
form
turn

Double "r" does not affect the sound of the vowel. In this case, the syllable is read as closed. Compare:

smi r k - mi rr or [ˈmɪrə]
cu r l-cu rr ent [ˈkʌr(ə)nt]
po r t-to rr ent [ˈtɒr(ə)nt]

Syllable "vowel + re"

In a syllable of this type, the letter "r" is also not readable, and the vowel forms a diphthong.

dare
more
hire [ˈhaɪə]
core
pure

The syllable "consonant + le"

Sometimes this syllable is singled out - it occurs only at the end of a word. If there is one consonant before -le, the syllable is read as open. If there are two consonants before -le, it is read as closed. Compare:

ta bl e [ˈteɪbl] - da bbl e, ti tl e [ˈtaɪtl] - li ttl e [ˈlɪtl]
bu gl e - str ggl e [ˈstrʌɡl], ri fl e [ˈraɪfl] - sni ffl e [ˈsnɪfl]

Not every consonant occurs in combination with -le. Here are those that are typical for the English language:

-ble (bubble) -fle (rifle) -stle (whistle) -cle (cycle)
-gle (bugle) -tle (brittle) -ckle (pickle) -kle (tinkle)
-zle (dazzle) -dle (bridle) -ple (staple)

Vowel combinations (digraphs)

A digraph is a combination of two letters that are pronounced as one sound. In the case of vowels, it can be a long, short sound or a diphthong. Most often, digraphs are found in old Anglo-Saxon words, the pronunciation of which has undergone changes over hundreds of years: thief, boil, hay, boat, straw. They are read by special rules, but they have many exceptions, so such words need to be memorized gradually and systematically.

Basic vowel digraphs

Writing	Pronunciation	Examples
ai / ai	[eɪ]	bait, hay
au / aw	[ ɔː ]	taunt, draw
ea	[i:]	meat, deal
ea	[e]	bread, steady
ee	[i:]	feed, reel
ei	[eɪ]	feint, vein
ei	[i:] (after c)	ceiling, receive
eu/ew	[ju:]	feud, strewn
ie	[i:]	thief, priest
oa	[ əʊ ]	coat, goal
oi/oy	[ ɔɪ ]	coin, toy
oo	[u:]	root, food
oo	[ʊ] (before k)	book, look
ou	[aʊ]	loud, noun
ou	[u:]	soup, ghoul
ow	[aʊ]	cow, howl
ow	[oʊ]	know, low

A combination of vowels is not a digraph if these vowels belong to different syllables. In this case, the first vowel is read as in an open syllable, and the second is in an unstressed position and gives the sound [ə]. For example: lion ["laɪən], diet [ˈdaɪət].