When we use "a" as a word in English, as in a word or a friend, we pronounce it as "uh," vowel schwa /ə/.
Letter "A" is pronounced as "ay," /eɪ/, with a long stretched vowel. In words, the letter a can represent many different vowel sounds. Here are some rules for the most common pronunciations of letter A:
See more about spelling rules for vowels here.
In other contexts, letter A can represent many other vowel sounds. Watch the video below for a class on vowel sounds vs letters in which we talk about letter A:
- In a stressed syllable when letter A is by itself, in is usually vowel /æ/, as in black cat.
- In a stressed syllable when letter A is with another letter (ai, ay, or a + e at the end), it is usually vowel /eɪ/, as in gray day.
- In a unstressed syllable, such as the first syllable in words like about and across, letter A is usually vowel schwa /ə/.
See more about spelling rules for vowels here.
In other contexts, letter A can represent many other vowel sounds. Watch the video below for a class on vowel sounds vs letters in which we talk about letter A:
Even more help for letter A sounds and spelling can be seen here: what-sounds-does-letter-a-say-in-english.html
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