Long E at a glance:
- Words with y sound include happy, body, empty
- Words with e sound include equal, evil, female
- Words with ee sound include green, see, tree
- Words with ea sound include beach, team, clean
- Words with e_e sound (otherwise known as cvc e words) include eve, theme, complete
- Words with ie sound include chief, thief, brief
Spelling Frequencies:
- y - 41%
- e - 40%
- ee - 6%
- ea - 6%
- e_e - 4%
- ie - 4%
Rare Spelling Patterns:
- ey (key, donkey, honey)
- i (ski, kilo, piano)
- i_e (machine)
- ei (seize)
- eo (people)
Common Spelling Generalisations or Patterns:
- e is used at the beginning of words or at the end of an open syllable
e.g. be/fore, de/sire, we, she - ee can be used in the middle and at the end of words. It is often used in number words or nature words e.g. thirteen, bee, tree, weed, seeds
- ea can be used in the middle and at the end of words. It is often used in meal words or wet words e.g. meat, beans, eat, peas, tea, leak, stream, sea, beach
- y is used at the end of an unstressed syllable in a multi-syllabic word e.g. lady, happy, merry