Short and Long Vowels
Vowels are the sounds a, e, i, o, and u. In English, vowels have more than one sound. For example, the “a” in “tap” and the “a” in “tape” sound different. We call the different sounds in these words “short a” and “long a.” Below are more examples of short and long vowels.
Short Vowel
- A
- E
- I
- O
- U
- cap
- pet
- kit
- cop
- cut
Long Vowel
- A
- E
- I
- O
- U
- cape
- pete
- kite
- cope
- cute
It is easy to remember how to say long vowels. For long vowels, the vowel sound is the same as the letter name! “Long a” sounds like the letter name, “a.” Long “e” sounds like the letter name, “e.”
Short vowels are more difficult. There is no easy way to describe how they sound. To pronounce them well, it is important to listen to the sounds and practice repeating them. How do you know which vowels are long and which vowels are short? There are three rules that can help you. These rules are not 100% because English has many spelling exceptions, but the rules will work most of the time.
If you have vowel + consonant + e, the e makes the vowel long!
Cap: short a
Cap + e = cape → → → Cape: long a
Nod: short o
Nod + e = node → → → Node: long o
If a syllable ends in a vowel, it is long. If a syllable ends in a consonant (a letter that is not a vowel), it is short.
Nation
Na + tion (2 syllables)
Na ends in a vowel. The a is long
Caption
Cap + tion (2 syllables)
Capends in a consonant. The a is short
“tion” is a suffix. You will learn more about pronouncing suffixes in a later unit.
If you have two vowels together, like oa, ai, ea, ee, or ei, only pronounce the first vowel. Make the vowel long.
boat: long o sail: long a sea: long e
It may help to remember this saying: “When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking—and it is long!” Some vowel pairs have different sounds. You will learn about au, ou, and oiin the next unit.
Exercise
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