Six Ways to Spell the Long I Sound

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One of the reasons why English spelling is so difficult to learn is because often the same sound is spelled in a variety of ways. In past blog posts we’ve looked at how to spell the long /a/ sound, the long /e/ sound, and the long /o/ sound.

Today, we will look at six ways of spelling the long /i/ sound. Please note the pronunciation of some of the example words may vary depending on accent.

Just the Letter I
Some words spell the long /i/ sound with just the letter i. These words are usually more than one syllable long with the long /i/ sound is in the first syllable.

Here are some examples:
- item
- idea
- iron
- irate
- crisis
- final
- pilot
- silent

A few of the words that spell the long /i/ sound with just the letter i are only one syllable long. These words end with –ind, for example: kind, mind, and wind. You can practise spelling –ind words here.

A – E Words
Most of the time the long /i/ sound is spelled with an i in the middle of the word and an e at the end of the word.

Here are some examples:
- bribe
- wide
- life
- hike
- reconcile
- time
- shine
- gripe

You can practise spelling i – e words here and here.

IGH Words
Another way to spell the long /i/ sound is with the letters igh. In these words the g and h are silent letters.

Here are some examples of the long /i/ sound spelled with the letters igh:
- high
- thigh
- bright
- knight
- slight
- nightmare
- twilight
- highlight

You can practise spelling igh words here.

IG Words
A few words spell the long /i/ sound with the letters ig. These words end with the letter n.
Here are some examples of long /a/ words spelled with the letter ig:
- sign
- resign
- design
- consign
- align
- assign

You can practise spelling -ign words here.

Y Words
Often at the end of a word and sometimes in the middle of a word, the long /i/ sound is spelled with the letter y.

Here are some examples:
- by
- dry
- sly
- shy
- apply
- deny
- identify
- multiply
You can practise spelling y words here and here.
IE Words
In four words, the long /i/ sound is spelled with the letters ie at the end. More ie words are also made by adding a suffix to words ending with y.
- tie
- die
- lie
- pie
- applied
- denied
- identified
- multiplied

If you’d like to learn more about spelling long /i/ sounds, have a look at Unit 7 on our online spelling course. Subscribe to Spellzone for extra tips and plenty of practice.

Have a good week!

14 Dec 2016
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Six Ways to Spell the Long I Sound

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