GRAPHICAL RULES

VOWEL
PHONEME

GRAPHICAL RULES

IRREGULAR
SPELLING
1. e in a closed accented syllable deaf,
heavy,
//
(red, better)
measure,
2. 2. ea + d (bread, head, dead)
pleasure,
3. 3. ea + th (death, weather)
pleasant, health,
4.
wealth,
meant,
breakfast, weapon
a in a closed syllable (lad, glad)
//
Note: A number of trisyllabic
words with the accented letter a
in an open syllable fall under this
rule (family, cavity, vanity)
1. o in closed stressed syllables
//
(not, office)
2. wa (was, want, wall)
3. qua (quality, quantity) except
quarter.
1.
u in stressed syllables blood,
flood,
//
(hurry, uncle, consult)
worry, stove
2.
o + m / n / v / th (come,
some, son, love, govern, other).
3.
ou + gh / bl(e) / pl(e)
(tough, enough, trouble, double,
couple)
4.
ou + other consonants
(country, courage, cousin, touch,
southern)
1. oo + k (book, look)
but, bus, butter
//
2. p / b / f + u (pull, bull, full)

//

1. a in prefixes (about, asleep)

2. in suffixes er, or, ar, our, ous
(teacher, doctor, cellar, favour,
famous)
3. a, o, u non-accented (sofa,
atom, column)

/ : /

1. ar (car, party)
2. a + ss (pass, glass),
a + st (past, fast)
a + sk (ask, basket)
a + sp (grasp, clasp)
a + ft (after, craft)
a + th (path, father)
3. a + lf / lm (half, calf, calm,
palm)
5.
ance / and in words of
French origin (France, glance,
demand,
commanded)
when
stressed

RARE
SPELLING

because,
cough,
knowledge,
sausage

PROVEBS AND
SAYINGS
Many men, many
minds.
Better late than never,
but never late.
All is well, that ends
well.
Who chatters to you,
will chatter of you.

Honesty is the best

policy.
Never put off till
tomorrow what you
can do today.
So many countries, so
many customs.
Dont trouble trouble
until trouble troubles
you.
When two Sundays
meet together.
A man is known by
the company he keeps.

could, should, A good beginning

would, wolf, makes a good ending.
bouquet
A good cook never
cooks while looking
into a cookery-book.

aunt, draught,
clerk, heart,
hearth, bazaar,
drama, area,
tomato,
banana,
garage,
moustache,
vase

He laughs best, who

laughs last.
Art is long, life is
short.

/ : /

/ : /

1.
oor, our, oar (floor, door,
your, course, board)
2.
or (port, sort)
3.
a + ll / l + consonant (all,
tall, salt, chalk)
4.
ough, augh + t (sought,
caught)
5.
war (warm, ward)
1. e / i / u / y + r (term, service,
bird, stir, nurse, fur)
2. ear + consonant (earth, heard)

/ u: /

1. u in open syllables (tune, due,

hue). Note: It sounds /u:/
preceded by l, j, r (June, rule,
blue, true).
2. eu / ew (neutral, feudal, few,
new).
3. ui (suit, fruit, cruise).
4. ou in words of French origin
(group, soup, route, youth, wound,
rouge).

/ /

1.
a in closed syllables (take,
lake)
2.
ai, ay (main, plain, may,
play)
3.
ei,
ey
(veil,
vein,
neighbour, grey, they, convey)
4.
ea (break)
5.
eigh (eight)
1.
i, y in a stressed open
syllable (tie, pie, final, time)
2.
igh / igh + t (light, night)
3.
l + ld / nd (child, wild,
kind, blind)
4.
ie / ye (tie, rye)
5.
ei (height)
6.
ign (sign)
oi, oy (oil, boil, toy, oyster)

/ a /

/ /
/ /

/ /

our, flour, sour,

poor

heart,
worn,
worth

hearth,
work,

It never rains, but it

pours.

Murder will out.

First
come,
first
served.
Live and learn.
Shoe, beauty, No news is good
queue, who, news.
whom, whose, Bad news has wings.
do, to, two,
tomb

key, height

Make hay, while the

sun shines.
Haste makes waste.
No gains without
some pains.

either, neither
Irregular
reading:
wind, city, pity

Irregular
reading:
tortoise
1. ere, ear, eer, ea (here, sphere, to bear, to wear, theory,
hear, dear, fear, deer, beer, idea)
to tear, pear, museum,
2. ier ( pier, fierce, cashier)
where, there
theatre, idea,
3. e in open accented syllables + r
beard, real
(era, hero, period, serious)
1.
are, air, ear, ere (hare, are, bear, wear,
fare, care, prepare, hair, chair, air, tear, where, there
wear, there)
2.
a in open accented
syllables + r (vary, Mary, parent,
variant)

The voice of one man

is the voice of no man.
Neither here nor there.
Experience is the best
teacher.
To be up to ones ears
in love.
Where theres a will,
theres a way.
After rain comes fair
weather.

/ /

/ /

/ a /

1.
ure (cure, pure, sure)
2.
u in an open syllable + f / r
(fury, during, cure)
3.
oor (poor)
4.
our (tour)
5.
ue (crue)
6.
ue (true)
7.
ewer (fewer)
1.
o in open syllables (go,
home, moment)
2.
o + ll / ld / st (poll, roll,
old, told, post)
3.
ow (low, show, know,
tomorrow)
4.
oa (boat, road)
5.
o in word-final unstressed
syllables (hero, photo, potato)
6.
ou (shoulder)
1.
ou (out, thousand)
2.
ow (town, down, towel)

Irregular
reading:
to bury

poor, moor, What cant be cured

tour, Europe
must be endured.
Slow but sure.
Curiosity killed a cat.

Exceptions:
now, how, cow,
row, brow, bow
Irregular
spelling:
Shoulder, poultry,
soul, owe, mould

When in Rome do as
Romans do.
Be slow to promise
and quick to perform.

drought,
plough

A sound mind in a
sound body.
Actions speak louder
than words.

bough,