Spelling the long vowel sound /ā/: a-e, ai, ei, ay

Three words use ea to spell the long /ā/ sound:

break - 1) smash 2) gap, rest	Be careful not to break that glass. We had a break half-way through the lesson.
great - large, very good	I think he would make a great President.
steak - cut of meat	They serve the best steak in town.

These three words are also in the homophones section on the next page.

Many longer words end in the -ain pattern but do NOT have the long /ā/ sound:

Britain	In Britain, some spellings are different from the USA.
captain	The captain of the plane sits on the right.
certain	Are you certain you paid that bill?
curtain	Close the curtains then switch on the light.
bargain	My new camera was a real bargain.
fountain	Someone has thrown money in the fountain.
mountain	The only snow is at the top of the mountain.
villain	The film's hero killed the villain.

Many longer words end in the -ate pattern but do NOT have the long /ā/ sound. Instead, the vowel sound here is the weak 'schwa' sound, a bit like a soft /ŭ/ sound:
private	Do not read my private mail.
chocolate	I ate too much chocolate.
immediate	Please give this task your immediate attention.

Please turn your screen to landscape to play this game.

The Spellzone interactive course is intended to be used online and may not be printed.