When an r follows a vowel, the vowel stops making its usual sound. Car is not "ca" plus "r". It is /ar/.
Step 1: Let's Learn
Read it, or press Listen and follow the words.
The two letters act as one
Same idea as a digraph. Do not sound the vowel and then the r — read ar as a single unit.
There are five of them
ar as in car. or as in for. er as in her. ir as in bird. ur as in turn.
And three of those sound the same
er, ir and ur all make the same sound. Her, bird and turn rhyme perfectly.
For reading, that is good news
Three spellings, one sound. Whichever you see, you know what to say. Reading them is easy.
For spelling, it is the problem
You hear the sound and there are three ways to write it. The sound cannot tell you which, so you have to know the word.
So spelling these needs memory
There is no rule that works. Bird has ir and burn has ur, and nothing in the sound says so. That is genuinely hard.
They count as one vowel sound
Which matters for chunking. Garden is gar-den: two syllables, because ar is one vowel sound.
Step 2: Try It Yourself
Two letters acting as one unit — the same idea.
sh
You hear: /sh/
A digraph — one new sound instead
the soundship
| Letters | s and h — two letters |
|---|---|
| Sounds you hear | 1: /sh/ |
| Can you hear s’s own sound? | No |
| What is missing | neither /s/ nor /h/ |
| So it is | A digraph — two letters, one sound |
This is the one to notice. In sh you hear /sh/ — and that is neither /s/ nor /h/. The two letters gave up their own sounds and made a different one instead. So you cannot sound ship out letter by letter; you have to treat sh as a single thing that makes one sound.
Step 3: Watch an Example
One step at a time.
Reading ar as One Thing
Sam reads the word farm.
- Step 1
He nearly says /f/ /a/ /r/ /m/, four sounds.
Three Spellings, One Sound
Ana says her, bird and turn out loud.
- Step 1
They are spelled er, ir and ur.
Why Spelling Them Is Hard
Sam tries to write the word bird.
- Step 1
He hears the sound clearly.
Step 4: Your Turn
Practice makes it stick.
The Word farm
Problem 1 of 2
How many sounds are in farm?
Spelling the Sound
Problem 2 of 2
You hear the sound in "bird". How many ways can it be spelled?
When r Takes Over
1 of 5
What does an r do to the vowel before it?
2 of 5
Which three sound the same?
3 of 5
Is reading these easy or hard?
4 of 5
Why is spelling them hard?
5 of 5
How many syllables in garden?
Step 5: Quick Check
Show what you know.
Question 1 of 1
Do her, bird and turn rhyme?
What You Learned
- An r after a vowel changes it, and the pair makes one sound.
- There are five: ar, or, er, ir and ur.
- er, ir and ur all sound the same, so reading them is easy.
- Spelling them needs memory, because the sound cannot tell you which.