Give a three -term description of the vowel sounds in the following words ---house , abide ,car.

Three words that might be used to describe vowel sounds in these words are: long, short and silent.

The word “abide” has a “long” vowel sound in the “i” and a “silent” “e” at the end. It is the “e” that follows the “d” that determines the long “i” sound. Car has a “single, short” vowel sound in the “a.” “House” also has a silent “e” at the end. The “ou” sound in “house” can be called a “diphthong” where two vowels are combined and the pronunciation glides from one to the other. This is sometimes called a moving vowel.

“Abide” also has the “schwa” sound. In pronunciations guides, the beginning “a” might be written as an upside down “e” which is a “schwa” in its phonetic spelling form. The “schwa” sound is the most common vowel sound in the English language. It is an unstressed and neutral sound.