An alphabet is a standard set of letters or building blocks that make up a word in the English language. The alphabet is made up of vowels and consonants. There are 26 letters in the English alphabet of which there are five (5) vowels and 21 consonants.
- Five of the letters in the English Alphabet are vowels: A, E, I, O, U.
- The remaining 21 letters are consonants: B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, X, Z, and usually W and Y.
Each letter has a standard phonic (pronunciation), however, may have several sounds for the same letter. To make it more confusing, a single sound may be used for 2 different letters. Placing these letters together will help you make words.
| # # # |
Capital Letter |
Small Letter |
Phonic (pronunciation) | Name |
| 1 | A | a | /eɪ | a |
| 2 | B | b | /biː/ | bee |
| 3 | C | c | /siː/ | cee |
| 4 | D | d | /diː/ | dee |
| 5 | E | e | /iː/ | e |
| 6 | F | f | /ɛf/ | ef |
| 7 | G | g | /dʒiː/ | gee |
| 8 | H | h | /heɪtʃ/ | haitch |
| 9 | I | i | /aɪ/ | i |
| 10 | J | j | /dʒeɪ/ | jay |
| 11 | K | k | /keɪ/ | kay |
| 12 | L | l | /ɛl/ | el |
| 13 | M | m | /ɛm/ | em |
| 14 | N | n | /ɛn/ | en |
| 15 | O | o | /oʊ/ | o |
| 16 | P | p | /piː/ | pee |
| 17 | Q | q | /kjuː/ | que |
| 18 | R | r | /ɑːr/ | ar |
| 19 | S | s | /ɛs/ | ess |
| 20 | T | t | /tiː/ | tee |
| 21 | U | u | /juː/ | u |
| 22 | V | v | /viː/ | vee |
| 23 | W | w | /ˈdʌbəl.juː/ | double-u |
| 24 | X | x | /ɛks/ | ex |
| 25 | Y | y | /waɪ/ | wy |
| 26 | Z | z | /zi | zee |
Not only do the letters make up words, but can make up digraphs. Digraphs are not considered separate letters of the alphabet. However placed together can make up a distinct sound. Often these sounds are different to the sounds you may be familiar.
| Digraph | Initial or Final Digraph | Example Words |
| “ch-” | initial | choice, cheese, chick, chair, chain, child |
| “kn-” | initial | knight, knot, know, knife, knit, knock |
| “ph-” | initial | phone, photo, phonics, phrase, physician, pharmacy |
| “sh-” | initial | shoe, shout, shark, ship, sheep, shout |
| “th-” | initial | thumb, throat, thing, three, thin, throw |
| “wh-” | initial | whale, while, whole, what, when, where |
| “wr-” | initial | wreck, wrench, wreath, wrist, wrong, wring |
| “-ch” | final | which, rich, such, much, pinch, lunch |
| “-ck” | final | luck, tick, quick, tack, pluck, sick |
| “-sh” | final | wish, dish, flash, rush, push, brush |
| “-ss” | final | chess, dress, mess, miss, bliss, class |
| “-tch” | final | hatch, watch,fetch, glitch, witch, clutch |
| Vowel Digraphs Lists | |
| “ai” | pail, rain, stain, gain, frail, chain |
| “ay” | stay, play, away, hay, day, say |
| “ee” | feet, sheet, sheep, week, peek, meet |
| “ea” | speak, cheat, neat, weak, read, beach |
| “ea” | bread, head, thread, spread, lead, tread |
| “ie” | field, shield, chief, thief, piece, movie |
| “ie” | pie, tie, lie, cried, tried, flies |
| “oa” | boat, toad, road, loan, goal, goat |
| “oe” | toe, poet, foe, oboe, woe, goes |
| “ue” | glue, rescue, clue, argue, fuel, blue |
| “ui” | fruit, juice, suit, cruise, bruise, recruit |
| “oo” | book, foot, look, took, shook, cookie |