Sound Advice

Certain letter combinations can provide us with clues as to how to pronounce English words. Normally speaking, words with "y" ( ex: try ) or "igh" ( ex: high ) will create a "long a" sound. Words in which the letter "i" is followed by a consonant and then the letter "e" ( ex: gate ) will produce the same sound. When the letter "i" is stands alone ( ex: grind ) it will sometimes make the same "long i" sound as well. Below, you can try your hand at identifying words that contain the "long i" sound.

Look at the spelling of the following words and try to choose which word has the "long i" sound. You can check your answers by clicking on the arrows. Click the answer button to see the correct answer.

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Which of these words has a "long i" sound?
Click here to hear the "long i" sound.

1.       fly      image      tin      individual   
   
   Click here to hear the correct answer.
   Answerfly

2.       finish      sin      thigh      incredible   
   
   Click here to hear the correct answer.
   Answerthigh

3.       hit      time      fill      thin   
   
   Click here to hear the correct answer.
   Answertime

4.       complain      pill      basic      digest   
   
   Click here to hear the correct answer.
   Answerdigest

5.       sight      pain      little      raisin   
   
   Click here to hear the correct answer.
   Answersight

6.       rain      tip      prize      chill   
   
   Click here to hear the correct answer.
   Answerprize

7.       grain      style      ridiculous      violin   
   
   Click here to hear the correct answer.
   Answerviolin

8.       dry      timid      mail      did   
   
   Click here to hear the correct answer.
   Answerdry

9.       ship      silence      kit      sail   
   
   Click here to hear the correct answer.
   Answersilence

10.       drain      tissue      thick      arrive   
    
    Click here to hear the correct answer.
    Answerarrive

Find the word in the sentence that has the "long i" sound.

Read the sentences and try to determine which word contains the "long i" sound. You can check your answers by clicking on the arrows.

1. The side of the car is damaged.
   Answerside

2. The trip in the boat was fine.
   Answerfine

3. They said he was spying on his father..
   Answerspying

4. He had a lot of things on his mind.
   Answermind

5. She invented a new machine in her childhood.
   Answerchildhood

Sites worth visiting


This page is well worth the wait. You can hear and visualize vowel sounds. This is good for spelling and pronunciation.Click here.


This page lets you play a game called snap. The idea is to recognize vowel sounds in different words. You need shockwave for this game. It takes a while to load, but it could definetly be of help to someone who has difficulty spelling in english.Click here.


If you want to get away from the computer, print a page or two and then reassemble the sentences on your own time.Click here.


Great idea! This page offers you stories and poems that you can hear. You can check your comprehension and practice your pronunciation at the same time.Click here.