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VOWEL SPELLING CHART

A guide to the spelling patterns for English vowels

How English vowel sounds can be spelled
How English vowel spellings can be pronounced

1. How English vowel sounds can be spelled

a	can meringue have plait guarantee salmon harangue matt
e	bed any bury palate fence guess peril said head foreign friend phlegm debt Wednesday cheque leopard repp
i	big pretty women stomach busy message breeches give sieve city language build rhythm victuals bicycle carriage ill
o	dog was gone forest knowledge laurel cough honour John yacht because boss
u	fun mother come uncle blood young tough thorough ugh tongue tortoise conscious station butt
A	baby mate ballet fete bouquet sail break veil they bouquet eight dahlia reign straight raise gaol play melee
E	me scene police piano sea receipt chief key debris league people please cheese receive bee piece paediatric amoeba lieutenant
I	bite find eye aisle either sky guide height sign island light dye diamond buy choir aye dies
O	go home show brooch chauffeur shoulder though folk ghost depot rogue mauve beau boat own
U	music use ewe view you suit Hugh impugn fugue juice beauty lieu deuce feud
ar	fast car mirage sergeant aunt heart guard laugh khaki half bourgeois bazaar
er	her fur girl work were circle nurse sugar early journey myrrh colonel answer amateur worse
air	scare there air bear their parent mayor aeroplane
or/aw	for horse ball awe warm poor autumn four bought taught talk sword cause George board broad course
ow	round cow bough hour mouse sauerkraut
oy	boy boil quoit buoy noise gargoyle
oo	as in moon do truth shoe blue soup through fruit rheumatism two bruise route choose manoeuvre pleurisy
oo	as in look put wolf worsted could

2. How English vowel spellings can be pronounced

a

can any stomach was baby fast sugar parent ball a

e

bed pretty ballet me

i

big meringue piano find girl

o

dog women mother go work do wolf

u

fun busy fury music fur truth put

a-e

have palate message gate mirage scare awe

e-e

fence breeches get scene eye ewe were there Wednesday

i-e

bite police give circle

o-e

bone gone done horse shoe amoeba

u-e

use guess uncle bouquet nurse blue suede

ar

car around warm

er

peril sergeant her

air

air

or

for forest sailor

ow

cow show knowledge

oy

boy oyez

oo

moon look blood brooch poor zoology

ai

sail said plait aisle dais naive

au

autumn laurel aunt chauffeur sauerkraut

ea

beach head break heart early bear theatre

ei

either veil foreign receipt their deist

ie

chief sieve friend view piety

y ey

city sky they key eye

ou

shoulder you young bouquet journey four out soup could

ough

cough tough thorough though bought bough through

ua

dual guarantee language guard suave

ui

suing suit build guide fruit

ugh

eugh laugh taught Hugh

eigh

eight height

some others

ach - yacht bachelor mach stomach
al - salmon always almond
a-ue harangue ague argue
ay- play aye
ee - bee matinee
eg - phlegm
eb - debt
eo- leopard leonine deo
eque -cheque
eu - feud pleurisy
hy- rhythm hyena
ict- victuals indict victory
oa - goat oasis broad
oi - boil going
y-e -bicyle style

more still

carriage honour because station question dahlia straight buy choir
aeroplane mouse quiot noise gargoyle manoeuvre bruise etc etc

And more still, explaining why English spelling is unpredictable

See spelling index page
and Masha Bell's detailed analyse

Back to Ozideas Home Page

Vowel spelling patterns - another way of setting out the variety

	A fat cat	Guarantees to have salmon and meringue to harangue with plaits
	A red hen Heavy heads	I said I guess it’s nonsense that many friends pay with cheques on Wednesdays to bury leopards.
	Pink pigs Give and live Pity the city	Pretty busy women build with rhythm on bicycles.
	Hot dog What was Gone scone	John got lots of honours and laurels because of his knowledge of how to cough on yachts.
	Fun run Some come Son won	Mothers and uncles with young blood have thoroughly tough tongues.

dark car fast past	bananas in pajamas passed glassed	Half the guard at the heart of the bazaar laughed at the sergeant’s aunt in bourgeois khaki.
her fern bird girl	learn to earn word work cur’s fur	The journalist’s answers to the amateur nurse were worse than the colonel’s circles of myrrh.
fair hair share care	bear wear Where?There!	The mayor’s parents spared their aeroplane fares.
sports sort poor door	more stores ward off war	George bore four swords on board his horse, of course.
raw paw ball wall walk talk	Paul in autumn taught and caught brought ought	The cause of the awe was broad.

bake cake

play day

lazy baby

wait for train

raise maize

great steak

They reign at the ballet matinees with veils and bouquets.

Eight straight dahlias in gaols.

we be

real beat

chief thief

meet in street

police piano

please tease

freeze cheese receive receipt

The people believe

in the key to the league.

hi-fi

my try

like to bite

bright light

flies die

The guide on the island eyed the diamond in the aisle by the choir.

But why sign to either with dye?

no go old gold

boats float

know the show

The rogue of a chauffeur at the depot holds a mauve brooch on his shoulder.

Folk know, though, that his beau was a ghost in Cologne.

emu menu

tuba music

refuse to use

new stew

rescue due

You view Hugh’s beautiful ewe. There’s a deuce of a feud over the juice in lieu of an impugned fugue.

	brown cow sound around mouse house	Sauerkraut on the bough
	toy boy boil in oil	The noise of a gargoyle on the life-buoy
	cool moon to do true blue truly unruly a lulu of a tutu	Choose fruit soup or lose two shoes en route to the manoeuvres.
	look, a book ! put, push and pull could, would and should	Wolf !