The Letter I
In this lesson, we will learn about all the sounds of the letter I. It is the ninth letter of the English alphabet. Do you know anything about it?
'I' is the ninth letter and the third vowel letter of the modern English alphabet.
Vowels are sounds that are pronounced without any restriction in the vocal tract. It means we can produce it with the unrestricted flow of air.
Uppercase Form | I |
---|---|
Lowercase | i |
Name | i (pronounced /ˈaɪ/) |
Common Sounds | /ɪ/, /aɪ/, /ə/, /ɜː/, /i:/ |
The Letter I: Sounds
Vowels in the English language can have many many sounds. Here we will look at some of its common ones.
Common Sounds
Sound 1: /ɪ/
'i' mainly sounds /ɪ/, the short sound of 'i':
p
l
Sound 2: /aɪ/
'i' also sounds /aɪ/ when 'i' stands between two consonants or at the beginning of words and before consonants:
ch
t
Sound 3: /ə/
'i' sounds /ə/:
pup
nostr
bas
Sound 4: /ɜː/
'i' sounds /ɜː/ between two consonants:
b
b
sh
Sound 5: /i:/
'i' also sounds /i:/:
phys
obl
F
Other Sounds
Sound 6: /j/
'i' also sounds /j/ in some cases:
on
opin
The Letter I: Multigraphs
'I' can also appear in combination with other letters (mainly vowels and sometimes consonants). They can create distinct vowels:
ie
'ie' sounds /iː/:
ach
br
cook
'i' after a consonant and before the vowel 'e' sounds /aɪ/:
p
t
l
Tip
'ie' in the word
fr
ai
'ai' sounds /eɪ/:
sn
tr
s
'ai' also sounds /e/:
ag
s
ag
'ai' also sounds /ə/:
curt
cert
air
'air' sounds /er/:
ch
p
f
Tip
'ai' sounds /aɪ/ in the word 'bonsai':
bons
ei
'ei' mainly sounds /eɪ/:
v
r
r
'ei' also sounds /i:/:
rec
c
rec
'ei' also sounds /i:/ or /ˈaɪ/ in these two words and their combinations:
n
Tip
Note that 'ei' in the word 'n
eigh
'eigh' sounds /eɪ/, in other words 'gh' is silent:
n
w
Tip
'eigh' in the word height sounds /aɪ/:
h
oi
'oi' sounds /ɔɪ/:
j
c
t
'oi' also sounds /ə/:
tort
porp
ui
'ui' together sounds /uː/:
fr
j
s
However, 'ui' sometimes sounds /ɪ/:
bisc
b
circ
ia
'ia' sounds /ə/:
spec
offic
Egypt
The Letter I: Uses
The letter 'i' can be used as
The first-person singular nominative pronoun is "I", always written with a capital letter