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Spelling:  Phonemes
Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream.
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream.

Spelling: Phonemes

Explore phonemes in 11 Plus English. Hear the smallest speech sounds and match them to graphemes so your spelling choices are clear, confident, and accurate.

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Fascinating Fact:

English has around forty four phonemes, but many more spellings. One phoneme can have several graphemes, like long a in make, day, they, great.

In 11 Plus English, phonemes are the smallest units of sound in words. You will learn to connect each sound to one or more graphemes so your spellings become consistent and accurate.

  • Phoneme: The smallest speech sound in a word, for example the three sounds in cat /k/ /a/ /t/.
  • Grapheme: The letter or letters that spell a phoneme, such as a, ai, or ay for the long a sound.
  • Phonemic awareness: The skill of hearing, identifying, and manipulating phonemes in spoken words.
What is a phoneme in English?

A phoneme is the smallest speech sound that can change meaning. For example, changing /c/ to /m/ in cat makes mat.

How many phonemes are there in English?

English uses about forty four phonemes, though accents vary. Each phoneme may be spelled in several different ways.

What is the difference between phonemes and graphemes?

Phonemes are sounds you hear. Graphemes are the letters, or letter groups, that spell those sounds in writing.

1 .
In which one of the following words is the 'c' sound heard in 'cat' repeated?
Celsius
Ceiling
Cesspit
Crank
'Crank' repeats the 'k' sound of the phoneme 'c'
2 .
In which one of the following words is the 't' sound heard in 'time' repeated?
Thrash
Train
Thistle
Whistle
'Train' repeats the 't' sound of the phoneme 't'. 'Whistle' and 'thistle' take a silent 't': the 't' is not pronounced
3 .
In which one of the following words is the 'ea' sound heard in 'bear' repeated?
Bare
Bar
Bat
Bacon
'Bare' repeats the sound of the phoneme 'ea'
4 .
In which one of the following words is the 's' sound heard in 'leisure' repeated?
Steal
Measure
Cross
Wastage
'Measure' repeats the 'z' sound of the phoneme 's'
5 .
In which one of the following words is the 'y' sound heard in 'sky' repeated?
Yellow
Yell
I
Very
'I' repeats the sound of the phoneme 'y'
6 .
In which one of the following words is the 'ch' sound heard in 'chop' repeated?
Ache
Cheese
Acne
Echidna
'Chop' repeats the 'ch' sound of the phoneme 'ch'
7 .
In which one of the following words is the 'o' sound heard in 'go' repeated?
Owl
Bolt
Row
Oyster
'Row' repeats the 'o' sound of the phoneme 'o'
8 .
In which one of the following words is the 'ee' sound heard in 'beer' repeated?
Tire
Pier
Wear
Their
'Pier' repeats the 'ee' sound of the phoneme 'ee'
9 .
In which one of the following words is the 'ea' sound heard in 'meat' repeated?
Their
Whale
Heat
Sale
'Heat' repeats the 'ea' sound of the phoneme 'ea'
10 .
In which one of the following words is the 'f' sound heard in 'fur' repeated?
Through
Although
Tough
Ought
'Tough' repeats the 'f' sound of the phoneme 'f'
Author:  Frank Evans (Specialist 11 Plus Teacher and Tutor)

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