Please note: some r-controlled vowel sound generalisations may vary based on accent/dialect. Wordabase has been built from an Australian accent perspective.
R-Controlled ER at a glance:
- Words with er sound include verb, mermaid, her
- Words with or sound include word, worse, worthy
- Words with ur sound include urn, purple, blur
- Words with ir sound include bird, girl, stir
Spelling Frequencies:
- er - 72% (includes words with ‘er’ schwa at the end of the word)
- or - 12% (includes words with ‘or’ schwa at the end of the word)
- ur - 8%
- ir - 4%
Rare Spelling Patterns:
- ear (learn)
- our (journey)
Common Spelling Generalisations or Patterns:
- ur is used at the beginning, middle or end of a word e.g. urn, surf, fur
- ir is mostly used in the middle of words e.g. bird, firm, squirt, thirsty
- or is mostly used in the middle of words and usually comes after a ‘w’ e.g. word, work, worth
- er is mostly used in the middle or end of words e.g. term, perch, her
- er usually makes a schwa sound at the end of words e.g. mother, doctor
- ‘er’ can be a suffix e.g. faster, farmer, louder