Spelling the /f/ sound with ph
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The /f/ sound is usually spelled with just f (or ff after a short vowel - see Unit 4) but words from ancient Greek use ph. |
Many of these have the same root word, for example:
| Greek Word | Meaning | Examples |
| photo | light | photograph photocopy photosynthesis (the process by which plants absorb light) |
| graph | writing | photograph paragraph autograph biography geography |
| phonos | sound | headphones earphones telephone microphone saxophone phonics (speech sounds) |
| sphere | ball | spherical atmosphere stratosphere |
Remember these ph words by grouping them together in topic sets:
| Words to do with writing |  |
alphabet
apostrophe hyphen phrase pamphlet |
| Medical words |  |
physician
pharmacy pharmacist physics physical |
| Animals |  |
elephant dolphin |
| People, characters |  |
phantom
nephew prophet orphan Pharaoh |
| Abstract nouns.
e.g. feelings |
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triumph
phenomenon catastrophe emphasis phobia |
Other ph words:
| trophy | siphon (or syphon) | typhoon | Joseph | |
| Ralph | Christopher | Rudolph | Philip | Sophie |
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Go to next page: Some practice in the ph words. |