2.8: Soft and Hard <g>
- Page ID
- 7056
Overview of Soft and Hard <g>
A soft <c> spells the sound [s], as in acid, and a hard <c> spells the sound [k], as in actor. Also, a soft <c> has to have either an <e>, <i>, or <y> right after it.
The letter <g> sometimes spells the sound [j] as in gem, and it sometimes spells the sound [g] as in gum. When it spells the [j] sound, it is called soft <g>. When it spells the [g] sound, it is called hard <g>.
Examples
The hard-soft distinction can help you keep straight the often-confused angle and angel:
Angel has <g> = [j] because of the <e> immediately following, while angle has <g> = [g] because there is no <e>, <i>, or <y> immediately following.
Review
- Pronounce each of the following words. Pay special attention to the sounds being spelled by the <g> in each of them. Sort the words into the matrix:
\begin{align*} &\text{agent} && \text{ignorance} && \text{agriculture} && \text{college} && \text{angel}\\ &\text{recognize} && \text{grower} && \text{gypped} && \text{digest} && \text{angle}\\ &\text{argue} && \text{genies} && \text{intelligence} && \text{disgusted} && \text{regret}\\ &\text{sergeant} && \text{discharge} && \text{glimpse} && \text{goddess} && \text{legislator}\\ &\text{challenge} && \text{gleamed} && \text{twig} && \text{biology} && \text{frog}\end{align*}Words in which <g> spells ... [j]: [g]: Words with <e>, <i>, or <y> right after the <g>: Words with no <e>,<i>, or <y> after the <g>: -
You should have found that the letter <g> spells the [j] sound only when it has one of three letters right after it. The three letters are _______, _______, and _______.
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The letter <g> is called soft <g> when it spells the sound ______.
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A soft <g> always has one of three letters right after it: _______, _______, or _______.
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Soft <g> always will have <e>, <i>, or <y> after it. But not every <g> that has one of these three letters after it is a soft <g>! Look at these words, with hard <g>s where we'd expect soft ones: get, together, hunger, give, and girl.
So we can't say that any <g> with <e>, <i>, or <y> after it will be soft. But we can say that any soft <g> will have <e>, <i>, or <y> after it. -
The letter <c> is soft when it has the letters _______, _______, or _______ after it. The soft <c> spells the sound _______.
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Soft <c> and <g> always have the letters _______, _______, or _______ after them.
Combine these free stems and suffixes. Watch for cases of twinning and final <e> deletion:
Free Stem + Suffix = Word 8. god + ess = 9. biologist + s = 10. disgust + ing = 11. gold + en = 12. gyp + ing = 13. intelligent + ly = 14. legislate + or = 15. ignore + ance =
- Show Answer
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Words in which <g> spells ... [j]: [g]: Words with <e>, <i>, or <y> right after the <g>: agent
digest
sergeant
biology
challenge
angel
genies
legislator
discharge
gypped
intelligence
college
Words with no <e>,<i>, or <y> after the <g>: recognize
goddess
argue
angle
ignorance
regret
grower
frog
gleamed
agriculture
glimpse
twig
disgusted
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You should have found that the letter <g> spells the [j] sound only when it has one of three letters right after it. The three letters are <e> , <i> , and <y>.
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The letter <g> is called soft <g> when it spells the sound [j].
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A soft <g> always has one of three letters right after it: <e>, <i> , or <y>.
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Soft <g> always will have <e>, <i>, or <y> , after it. But not every <g> that has one of these three letters after it is a soft <g>! Look at these words, with hard <g>'s where we'd expect soft ones: get, together, hunger, give, and girl.
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The letter <c> is soft when it has the letters <e> , <i> , or <y> after it. The soft <c> spells the sound [s].
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Soft <c> and <g> always have the letters <e> , <i> , or <y> after them.
Free Stem + Suffix = Word 8. god + d + ess = goddess 9. biologist + s = biologists 10. disgust + ing = disgusting 11. gold + en = golden 12. gyp +p + ing = gypping 13. intelligent + iy = intelligently 14. legislate + or = legislator 15. ignore + ance = ignorance
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Soft <g> and Silent Final <e>
Although not all <g>s followed by an <e>, <i>, or <y> are soft, all <g>s followed by a silent final <e> are soft.
Examples
The following words have a soft <g> followed by a silent final <e>:
refuge college urge
Review
Use the following words to answer the questions below.
\begin{align*} &\text{waterlog} && \text{package} && \text{jog} && \text{challenge}\\ &\text{beg} && \text{refuge} && \text{catalog} && \text{enrage}\\ &\text{drug} &&\text{discharge} && \text{earwig} && \text{discourage}\\ &\text{zigzag} &&\text{college} && \text{frog} && \text{urge}\end{align*}
- Do the words in the left column end with soft <g> or with hard <g>? _______
- Do the words in the right column end with soft <g> or with hard <g>? _______
- Why are the <g>s in the right column soft <g>s? ______________________________
- Why are the <g>s in the left column hard <g>s? ______________________________
- In the words in the right column the final <e>s are all marking preceding <g>s as being soft. But in two of the words in the right column the final <e> is also marking the preceding vowel as being long. The two words are _______ and _______.
- So far you’ve seen three different jobs that final <e> can do:
Final <e> can mark a preceding vowel as being _______.
Final <e> can mark a preceding <c> as being _______.
Final <e> can mark a preceding <g> as being _______.
And final <e> can mark both a long vowel and a soft <c> or <g> at the same time. - Sort the following words into the matrix below.
\begin{align*} &\text{refuge} && \text{twice} && \text{lace} && \text{challenge} && \text{recognize}\\ &\text{legislate} && \text{license} && \text{embrace} && \text{since} && \text{urge}\\ &\text{enrage} && \text{college} &&\text{courage} && \text{charge} && \text{intelligence}\\ &\text{ignorance} && \text{office} &&\text{civilize} && \text{expense} && \text{price}\end{align*}
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A silent final <e> will mark a <g> right in front of it as being __________ — that is, as spelling the sound ______.
| marks a soft <c> or soft <g>: | does not mark a soft <c> or soft <g>: | |
| Words in which final <e> marks a long vowel | ||
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Words in which final <e> does not mark a long vowel |
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Do the words in the left column end with soft <g> or with hard <g>? hard <g>
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Do the words in the right column end with soft <g> or with hard <g>? soft <g>
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Why are the <g>s in the right column soft <g>s? because they have an <e> following them
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Why are the <g>s in the left column hard <g>s? because they do not have an <e>, <i>, or <y> following them
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In the words in the right column the final <e>s are all marking preceding <g>s as being soft. But in two of the words in the right column the final <e> is also marking the preceding vowel as being long. The two words are refuge and enrage.
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So far you've seen three different jobs that final <e> can do:
Final <e> can mark a preceding vowel as being long.
Final <e> can mark a preceding <c> as being soft (or pronounced [s]).
Final <e> can mark a preceding <g> as being soft (or pronounced [j]). -
Words in which final <e> ... marks a soft <c> or soft <g>: does not mark a soft <c> or soft <g>: Words in which final <e> marks a long vowel refuge
enrage
twice
lace
embrace
price
legislate
civilize
recognize
Words in which final <e> does not mark a long vowel
ignorance
college
office
courage
challenge
since
charge
urge
intelligence
license
expense
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A silent final <e> will mark a <g> right in front of it as being soft — that is, as spelling the sound [j] .
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Explore More
Word Venn. In circle A put only words that contain a hard <g>. In circle B put only words that contain a soft <g>. In circle C put only words that contain a silent final <e>.
| catalog | geography | gypped | office |
| ignorance | accept | motor | courage |
| license | garbage | goddess | generates |
- Show Answer
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Soft <g> and Deleting Silent Final <e>
Final <e> Deletion Rule. You delete the final <e> that marks a soft <c> or soft <g> only when you add a suffix that starts with <e>, <i>, or <y>; you delete final <e>s that only mark long vowels when you add a suffix that starts with any vowel.
Examples
Now let’s see what changes the final <e> that marks soft <g> will make in the Final <e> Deletion Rule. Here are some words analyzed for you.
| Free Stem | + Suffix | = New Word | Was a final <e> deleted? |
|---|---|---|---|
| cag |
+ ed | = caged | Yes |
| discourage | + ment | = discouragement | No |
Each word has been analyzed into its free stem and suffix. Any final <e>s were deleted.
| Word | = Free Stem | + Suffix | Was a final <e> deleted? |
|---|---|---|---|
| largeness | = large | + ness | No |
| orangy | = orang |
+ y | Yes |
Review
Here are some words analyzed for you. Write ‘yes’ or ‘no’ in the right hand column:
| Free Stem | + Suffix | = New Word | Was a final <e> deleted? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. urge | + ing | = urging | |
| 2. orange | + y | = orangy | |
| 3. challenge | + s | = challenges | |
| 4. package | + ing | = packaging | |
| 5. manage | + able | = manageable | |
| 6. refuge | + ee | = refugee | |
| 7. large | + est | = largest | |
| 8. urge | + ency | = urgency | |
| 9. marriage | + able | = marriageable |
Analyze each word into its free stem and suffix. Replace any final <e>s that were deleted. Then write ‘yes’ or ‘no’ in the right hand column:
| Word | = Free Stem | + Suffix | Was a final <e> deleted? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10. encouragement | = | + | |
| 11. urged | = | + | |
| 12. challenger | = | + | |
| 13. refuges | = | + | |
| 14. discouraged | = | + | |
| 15. marriages | = | + | |
| 16. manager | = | + |
17. You should have found that when the final <e> was deleted, the suffix started with one of three letters: _____, _____, or _____.
18. Which three letters must always follow a soft <g>? _____, _____, and _____.
19. Final <e> Deletion Rule. You delete a final <e> that marks a soft <c> or a soft <g> only when you add a suffix that starts with _____, _____, or _____; you delete a final <e> that is only marking a long vowel when you add a suffix that starts with any _____.
Analyze each of the following words into its free stem and suffix. Be sure your analysis shows any final <e> deletions that occurred.
| Word | = Free Stem | + Suffix |
|---|---|---|
| 20. manageable | = | + |
| 21. oranges | = | + |
| 22. challenging | = | + |
| 23. marriageable | = | + |
| 24. largest | = | + |
- Show Answer
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Free Stem + Suffix = New Word Was a final <e> deleted? 1. urg e+ ing = urging Yes 2. orang e+ y = orangy Yes 3. challeng e+ s = challenges No 4. packag e+ ing = packaging Yes 5. manag e+ able = manageable No 6. refug e+ ee = refugee Yes 7. larg e+ est = largest Yes 8. urg e+ ency = urgency Yes 9 .marriag e+ able = marriageable No Word = Free Stem + Suffix Was a final <e> deleted? 10. encouragement = encourage + ment No 11. urged = urg e+ ed Yes 12. challenger = challeng e+ er Yes 13. refuges = refuge + s No 14. discouraged = discourag e+ ed Yes 15. marriages = marriage + s No 16. manager = manag e+ er Yes 17. You should have found that when the final <e> was deleted, the suffix started with one of three letters: <e> , <i> , or <y>.
18. Which three letters must always follow a soft <g>? <e>, <i>, and <y> .
19. Final <e> Deletion Rule. You delete a final <e> that marks a soft <c> or a soft <g> only when you add a suffix that starts with <e> , <i> , or <y>; you delete a final <e> that is only marking a long vowel when you add a suffix that starts with any vowel.
Word = Free Stem + Suffix 20. manageable = manage + able 21. oranges = orange + s 22. challenging = challeng e+ ing 23. marriageable = marriage + able 24. largest = larg e+ est