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2: Consonant Sounds and Spellings
2.12: The Consonant Sounds [f] and [v]

2.12: The Consonant Sounds [f] and [v]

Last updated

Jun 15, 2022
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- 2.11: The Consonant Sound [sh]
- 2.13: The Consonant Sound [s]

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Overview of the Consonant Sounds [f] and [v]

Usually [f] is spelled <f>, but sometimes it is spelled <ff>, sometimes <ph>, sometimes <gh>.

The sound [v] is spelled <v> — except in one word, where it is spelled <f>.

Examples

You can hear the sound [f] at the end of leaf.

You can hear the sound [v] at the end of leave.

Review

Underline the letters that spell [f] and [v]:

$\begin{align*} &\text{even} && \text{after} && \text{enough} && \text{every}\\ &\text{safely} && \text{phone} && \text{five} && \text{laugh}\\ &\text{visitor} &&\text{coffee} && \text{further} && \text{follow}\\ &\text{gave} &&\text{elephant} && \text{handcuffs} && \text{life}\\ &\text{fifth} &&\text{of} && \text{stiff} && \text{father}\end{align*}$

Now sort the words into these groups. One word goes into two groups:

Words With [f] Spelled <f>		Words with [f] spelled <ff>	Words with [f] spelled <gh>	Words with [f] spelled <ph>

Words with [v] spelled <v>		Word with [v] spelled <f>

Four ways of spelling [f] are ______, ______, ______, and ______.
How do you spell [v]? Except in the word ______, [v] is spelled ______.

Show Answer

$\begin{align*}& e\underline{v}en && a\underline{f}ter && enou\underline{gh} && e\underline{v}ery\\& sa\underline{f}ely && \underline{ph}one && fi\underline{v}e && lau\underline{gh}\\& \underline{v}isitor && co\underline{ff}ee && \underline{f}urther && li\underline{f}e\\& ga\underline{v}e && ele\underline{ph}ant && handcu\underline{ff}s && li\underline{f}e\\& \underline{f}i\underline{f}th && o\underline{f} && sti\underline{ff} && \underline{f}ather\end{align*}$

Words With [f] Spelled <f>		Words with [f] spelled <ff>	Words with [f] spelled <gh>	Words with [f] spelled <ph>
safely	further	coffee	enough	phone
fifth	follow	stiff	laugh	elephant
after	life	handcuffs
five	father

Words with [v] spelled <v>		Word with [v] spelled <f>
even	five	of
visitor	every
gave

Four ways of spelling [f] are <f>, <ff>, <gh> and <ph>
How do you spell [v]? Except in the word of, [v] is Spelled <v>

Explore More

Find the twelve words that contain the sound [n]:

elephant	know	dinner	never
century	brown	cannot	children
phone	planning	running	sound

Write the twelve words in alphabetical order:

________
________
________
________
________
________
________
________
________
________
________
________

Show Answer

Write the twelve words in alphabetical order:

brown
cannot
century
children
dinner
elephant
know
never
phone
planning
running
sound

Spelling [f]

Most of the time [f] is spelled <f> or <ff>.

It is usually easy to know when to use <f> versus <ff>. The <ff> is always there for good reasons. Most often it is due to assimilation or the VCC pattern, or it is between a short vowel and <le>. Less often it is due to twinning or simple addition.

Examples

You can hear the sound [f] at the beginning and end of the word fluff.

With <ff> the VCC pattern rather than the VC# is usual at the end of words, as in stiff and staff rather than *stif or *staf. The only words that end with a single <f> following a short vowel and making the [f] sound are the French chef and clef and the English word if. So the only cases of [f] spelled <ff> due to twinning are in iffy, iffier, and iffiest.

Review

Underline the letters that spell [f] in the following words.
$\begin{align*} &\text{florescent} && \text{fastener} && \text{heifer} && \text{foreign}\\ &\text{efficient} && \text{indifferent} && \text{certify} && \text{friendly}\\ &\text{fascinate} &&\text{notify} && \text{golf} && \text{shelf}\\ &\text{buffalo} &&\text{counterfeit} && \text{coffee} && \text{definite}\\ &\text{feisty} &&\text{profanity} && \text{waffles} && \text{iffy}\\ &\text{scientific} &&\text{defrauded} && \text{fezzes} && \text{financier}\end{align*}$

Sort the words into the following two groups.

Words with [f] spelled <f>:

Words with [f] spelled <ff>:

About 90% of the time [f] is spelled one of these two ways.
In the following words, if the <ff> spelling is due to assimilation, twinning, or simple addition, analyze the word into prefix, base, and suffix to show where the <ff> spelling comes from. If the <ff> is due to the VCC pattern or is between a short vowel and <le>, just write ‘VCC’ or ‘<ffle>’ in the Analysis column. Remember that VCC rather than VC# is normal for [f] at the end of the word.

Word	Analysis
3. affection
4. iffy
5. offering
6. sheriff
7. effective
8. shelfful
9. gruff
10. buffalo
11. indifferent
12. efficient
13. waffles
14. daffodil
15. suffered
16. iffiest
17. coffee

Show Answer

$\begin{align*}& \underline{f}luorescent && \underline{f}astener && hei\underline{f}er && \underline{f}oreign \\& e\underline{ff}icient && noti\underline{f}y && gol\underline{f} && shel\underline{f}\\& bu\underline{ff}alo && counter\underline{f}eit && co\underline{ff}ee && de\underline{f}inite\\& \underline{f}eisty && pro\underline{f}anity && wa\underline{ff}les && i\underline{ff}y\\& scienti\underline{f}ic && de\underline{f}rauded && \underline{f}ezzes && \underline{f}inancier\end{align*}$

Words with [f] spelled <f>:
fluorescent	notify	certify	shelf
fascinate	counterfeit	golf	definite
feisty	profanity	fezzes	financier
scientific	defrauded	foreign
fastener	heifer	friendly

Words with [f] spelled <ff>:
efficient	indifferent	waffles
buffalo	coffee	iffy

Word	Analysis
3. affection	a d+ f + fect + ion
4. iffy	if + f + y
5. offering	o b + f + fer + ing
6. sheriff	VCC
7. effective	e x + f + fect + ive
8. shelfful	shelf + ful
9. gruff	VCC
10. buffalo	VCC
11. indifferent	in + di s + f + fer + ent
12. efficient	e x+ f + fic + i + ent
13. waffles	<ffle>
14. daffodil	VCC
15. suffered	su b+ f + fer + ed
16. iffiest	if + f + y+ i + est
17. coffee	VCC

[f] Spelled <ph>, <pph>, <gh>, <lf>, and <ft>

Usually the sound [f] is spelled <f> or <ff>. Sometimes [f] is spelled <ff> because of twinning, assimilation, simple addition, VCC, or VCCle#. Words with <ff> due to twinning are iffy, iffier, and iffiest. Five other spellings of [f] are <ph>, <pph>, <gh>, <lf>, and <ft>.

Examples

In the words calf, behalf, and half, [f] is spelled <lf>. The <l> used to be pronounced [l] — as it still is in words like golf and shelf— but in time people changed the pronunciation of calf, behalf, and half without changing their spellings.

In the words often and soften, [f] is spelled <ft>. The <t> used to be pronounced. You still hear some people who pronounce the <t> in often. In fact, some dictionaries show two pronunciations for often, one with and one without the [t]. But usually the <ft> just spells [f].

The <ph> spelling of [f] usually comes from the Greek letter phi, which was translated into Latin and English as <ph>. In sapphire [f] is spelled <pph>. Sapphire comes from the Greek word σα´πϕεlρoς, sappheiros, in which the first <p> was the Greek letter pi, π, and the <ph> was phi, ϕ.

Review

Underline the letters that spell [f] in the following words.

$\begin{align*} &\text{physics} && \text{prophet} && \text{phenomenon} && \text{xerography}\\ &\text{elephant} && \text{asphalt} && \text{xenophobia} && \text{paragraph}\\ &\text{sphere} &&\text{philosophy} && \text{telephone} && \text{photograph}\\ &\text{phase} &&\text{phantom} && \text{phrase} && \text{nephew}\\ &\text{xylophone} &&\text{emphasis} && \text{symphony} && \text{triumph}\end{align*}$

physics	prophet	phenomenon	xerography
elephant	asphalt	xenophobia	paragraph
sphere	philosophy	telephone	photograph
phase	phantom	phrase	nephew
xylophone	emphasis	symphony	triumph

Sort the words into these three groups.

at the front	in the middle		at the end

In a very few words [f] is spelled <gh>:

$\begin{align*} &\text{rough} && \text{laugh} && \text{trough} && \text{enough} && \text{cough} && \text{tough}\end{align*}$

Where is the <gh> in all of these words — at the front, in the middle, at the end? _______.
Is the vowel in front of the <gh> long or is it short? _______.
The vowel in front of the <gh> is spelled with two letters. What is the second of these letters in each word? _______.
Hundreds of years ago this <gh> spelled a sound like the one that you hear at the end of the Scottish pronunciation of loch or the German pronunciation of Bach. In time that sound dropped out of English, but the <gh> usually stayed in the written words. After long vowels the <gh> came to be no longer pronounced, as in sigh and right. And after short vowels spelled with a digraph ending in <u> it came to be pronounced [f], as in the six words above.

Show Answer

$\begin{align*} & \underline{ph}ysics && pro \underline{ph}et && \underline{ph}enomenon && xerogra \underline{ph}y \\ & ele \underline{ph}ant && as \underline{ph}alt && xeno \underline{ph}obia && paragra \underline{ph} \\ & s \underline{ph}ere && \underline{ph}iloso \underline{ph}y && tele \underline{ph}one && \underline{ph}otogra \underline{ph} \\ & \underline{ph}ase && \underline{ph}antom && \underline{ph}rase && ne \underline{ph}ew \\ & xylo \underline{ph}one && em \underline{ph}asis && sym \underline{ph}ony && trium \underline{ph} \end{align*}$

Words in which [f] is spelled <ph>...
at the front	in the middle		at the end
physics	elephant	xenophobia	paragraph
phase	sphere	telephone	photograph
philosophy	xylophone	symphony	triumph
phantom	prophet	xerography
phenomenon	asphalt	nephew
phrase	emphasis
photograph

Where is the <gh> in all of these words — at the front, in the middle, at the end? at the end.
Is the vowel sound in front of the <gh> long or is it short? short.
The vowel in front of the <gh> is spelled with two letters. What is the second of these letters in each word? <u>.

Overview of the Consonant Sounds [f] and [v]

Examples

Review

Explore More

Spelling [f]

Examples

Review

[f] Spelled <ph>, <pph>, <gh>, <lf>, and <ft>

Examples

Review

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