a
ai, ay [ei]
train, brain, stain, stay, may, day
! But: said [sed], Thai [tai], aisle [ail]
air, aer [ɛə]
stairs, pair, fairy, hairstyle, airplane, chair, air
aerial
! But: Cairo [‘kaiərəu]
all [o:l]
tall, call, ball, fall, wall, pall, mall, hall, wallet, small, swallow
! But: [æ] dally, fallow, hallo, shall, alloy, ballad, ballet [‘bæleɪ]
alk [o:k]
talk, walk, stalk, chalk
! But: Balkans [‘bɔːlkənz]
alm [a:m]
calm, palm
alf [a:f]
calf, half
ath [a:θ], [a:ð]
father, bath, path
au, aw [o:]
cause, fault, autumn
law, paw, straw, draw, crawl, awe
+ aff, aft, ass, ask, ast a is pronounced as [a:] (in most cases)
Staff, craft, pass, ask, fast
+[o:] al + consonant (in many cases)
false, already, salt, almost, always
e
ea
- [i:] flea, sea, speak, mean
- [e] often before -d, -th, -lth, -sure, -nt, -sant
ready, steady, head, bread, read (V2), spread,thread, instead, weather, wealth, health, pleasure, treasure, meant, peasant, pleasant
+ heaven, breakfast
- [ei] break, great, steak
ee [i:]
tree, three, fee
ear
- [iə] ear, fear, rear, year, dear, hear, clear, tear
- [ə:] before a consonant:
earn, pearl, earth, learn, search, heard, early
- [ɛə] wear, bear, swear
eer [iə]
engineer, steer
ei
[i:] receive, receipt
eigh
- [ei] eight, weigh, weight, sleigh
- [ai] height, either, neither
ey
- [ei] they, grey
- [ai] eye
- [i:] key
eu [ju:]
Europe, neutral, deuce
ew [ju:](BrEng)/[u:] (AmEng)
few, new, stew
! Am: new [n’u:]
i
ie
- [i:] field, chief, piece, niece, yield
- [ai] lie, tie, pie
- [e] friend
igh [ai]
high, light, sign, fight, delight, night, tonight
ind [aind]
kind, behind, mind, blind
! But: [i] kindergarten, linden
ild [aild]
wild, child, mild
! But: [i] children, gild
o
oa [əu]
goat, coat
oi, oy [oi]
oil, voice, coin, spoil, boy, toy, enjoy
old [əuld]
old, cold, gold, bold, fold, told, sold
oo
- [u:] food, boot, soon, moon, stool, zoo, moose, too
- [u] before k and sometimes before d, t (and other)
took, shook, hook, book, good, wood, stood (+ foot, wool, groom)
- [o:] before r
door, floor
+[uə] poor
! But: [ʌ] blood, flood
ou
- [au] out, house, about, blouse, stout, proud, loud
- [ʌ] young, country, double, courage, cousin, flourish, trouble
ough [ʌf]
tough, rough, enough
! But:
cough [kɔf]
plough [plau], sough [sau] , [sʌf]
dough [dəu]
through [θru:]
our
- [o:] four, pour, your, bourn, source, mourn
- [auə] our, flour
ow
in single-syllable words:
- [au]
cow, now, how, owl, browse, down, frown, brown, town, gown
- [əu]
low, snow, own, known, slow, glow
+ [əu] at the end of words without stress
window, yellow