6. Sound [a:]

Spelling examples: army, regard, father, calm, bravo, mirage.

Combination AR

The sound [a:] is represented by the combination AR in the root, usually under stress: arm, art, car, card, yard, part, charge, large, margin, argue, guard, regard, pardon, market.

Letter A

In American English, the sound [a:] is represented by the letter A in several English words: father, Pa, Papa, Ma, Mama; calm, palm, balm, alms, psalm (the letter L in these words is silent).

The letter A represents the sound [a:] in some words of foreign origin: drama, Panama, saga, cantata, sonata, spa, bravo, aria, lama; entree, ensemble; mirage, garage, espionage, sabotage, massage, facade.

Sounds [æ] and [a:] in AmE and BrE

Note that in British English, the letter A represents the sound [æ] as in "cat" in a number of words with the letter A in the closed syllable, and the sound [a:] in the words where A is before f, ff, ph, s, ss, th, nce, nd and some other consonants. In American English, the letter A in the closed syllable is usually pronounced [æ] as in "cat" in all cases.

Examples of the words with AmE [æ] or BrE [a:]: ask, task, fast, last, staff, after, draft, class, glass, grass, chance, dance, castle, answer, master, disaster, example, command, demand, grasp, bath, path, etc.

Rare spelling for [a:]: sergeant, heart; (BrE) aunt, laugh.

7. Sound [ai]

Spelling examples: nice, surprise, minus, private, type, reply, dynamic, find, light, tie.

Letter I in the open syllable

The sound [ai] is represented by the letter I in the open syllable of the root or suffix: ice, nice, ride, life, file, smile, line, pipe, quite, wise, hi, polite, surprise, prize, organize, modernize, combine, arrive.

Letter I in the closed syllable

The sound [ai] is represented by the letter I, stressed or unstressed, in the closed syllable of the root or prefix (hidden [ai]): idea, identical, idol, isolation, item, science, society, client, crisis, climate, minus, private, library, finance, horizon, diagram, dial, bicycle, biography, digest, digress.

Letter Y

The sound [ai] is represented by the letter Y in English words and in many words of Greek and Latin origin: by, my, cry, dry, fry, sky; style, type, hype, rhyme; deny, rely, apply, reply, satisfy, modify, signify; analyze, paralyze; cyber, cycle, cyclone, dynamic, dynamite, hybrid, hyphen, nylon, hyperactive, hypodermic, psychopath, psychiatrist.

Other spelling variants for the sound [ai]

The sound [ai] is also represented by other spelling variants in a limited number of words.

Before LD, ND and some other consonant combinations: child, mild, wild; climb; find, kind, mind, blind; rifle, trifle, title, idle, Bible.

Before GH, GHT, GN: high, sigh, thigh; fight, light, night, right; sign, align, benign, malign.

Combinations IE, EI, EY, UY: die, tie, lie, pie, vie; dye, lye, rye, bye; height, either, neither; eye, geyser; buy, guy.

Latin plural ending I: alumni, fungi, stimuli, alkali, alibi. (Nouns with Latin plural endings are listed in the file Irregular Plural Nouns in the section Writing.)