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2.3: The Consonant Sound [t]

Last updated

Jun 15, 2022
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- 2.2: The Consonant Sound [b]
- 2.4: The Consonant Sound [d]

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Overview

The two ways of spelling [t] are <t> and <tt>.

Examples

You can hear the sound [t] at the front and end of the word toot.

Review

Underline the letters that spell [t].
$\begin{align*} & \text{about} && \text{after} && \text{better} && \text{account}\\ & \text{country} && \text{perfect} && \text{didn't} && \text{different}\\ & \text{itself} && \text{great} && \text{kitten} && \text{bottle}\\ & \text{starter} && \text{little} && \text{rabbit} && \text{sister}\\ & \text{vote} && \text{today} && \text{fruit} && \text{setting}\\ & \text{hotter} && \text{bottom} && \text{until} && \text{cannot} \end{align*}$

Now sort the words into these two groups

Words with [t] spelled...
<t>		<tt>

Show Answer

Underline the letters that spell [t].
$\begin{align*} & abou\underline{t} && af\underline{t}er && be\underline{tt}er && accoun\underline{t} \\ & coun\underline{t}ry && perfec\underline{t} && didn'\underline{t} && differen\underline{t} \\ & i\underline{t}self && grea\underline{t} && ki\underline{tt}en && bo\underline{tt}le \\ & s\underline{t}ar\underline{t}er && li\underline{tt}le && rabbi\underline{t} && sis\underline{t}er \\ & vo\underline{t}e && \underline{t}oday && frui\underline{t} && se\underline{tt}ing \\ & ho\underline{tt}er && bo\underline{tt}om && un\underline{t}il && canno\underline{t} \end{align*}$

Now sort the words into these two groups

Words with [t] spelled...
<t>		<tt>
about	didn't	hotter
country	rabbit	little
itself	fruit	bottom
starter	until	better
vote	account	kitten
after	different	bottle
perfect	sister	setting
great	cannot
today

Explore More

Underline the letters that spell [t], [p], and [b].
$\begin{align*} & \text{surprise} && \text{important} && \text{help} && \text{appear}\\ & \text{about} && \text{hobby} && \text{because} && \text{bridge}\\ & \text{prevent} && \text{between} && \text{bottle} && \text{ribbon} \end{align*}$

Sort the words into these three groups and the boxes that follow.

[p] spelled	[b] spelled <b>	[t] spelled <t>

The word with [p] spelled <pp>...
The word with [t] spelled <tt>...
The two words with [b] spelled <bb>
Two ways of spelling [p] are _______ and _______.
Two ways of spelling [b] are _______ and _______.
Two ways of spelling [t] are _______ and _______.

Show Answer

Underline the letters that spell [t], [p], and [b].
$\begin{align*} & sur\underline{p}rise && im\underline{p}or\underline{t}an\underline{t} && hel\underline{p} && a\underline{pp}ear \\ & a\underline{b}out && ho\underline{bb}y && \underline{b}ecause && \underline{b}ridge \\ & \underline{p}reven\underline{t} && \underline{b}e\underline{t}ween && \underline{b}o\underline{tt}le && ri\underline{bb}on \end{align*}$

Sort the words into these three groups and the boxes that follow.

[p] spelled	[b] spelled <b>	[t] spelled <t>
">surprise	about	important
">important	because	about
">help	bridge	prevent
">prevent	between	between
">	bottle

The word with [p] spelled <pp>...
appear
The word with [t] spelled <tt>...
bottle
The two words with [b] spelled <bb>...
hobby and ribbon
Two ways of spelling [p] are <p> and <pp>.
Two ways of spelling [b] are <b> and <bb>.
Two ways of spelling [t] are <t> and <tt>.

Spelling [t]

About ninety-nine times out of a hundred the sound [t] is spelled either <tt> or <t>.

Examples

Words that have the sound [t] spelled <t>:

$\begin{align*} & tree && painter && craft && container && taxi\\ \end{align*}$

Words that have the sound [t] spelled <tt>:

$\begin{align*} & tattle && brunette && flattest && cottage && unbutton\\ \end{align*}$

Review

Underline the letters that spell the [t] sounds in the following words:
$\begin{align*} & \text{telephone} && \text{benefit} && \text{candidate} && \text{tourist}\\ & \text{writer} && \text{artist} && \text{hospital} && \text{tongue}\\ & \text{collect} && \text{vegetable} && \text{electric} && \text{struggle}\\ & \text{technique} && \text{taught} && \text{symptom} && \text{motors} \end{align*}$

Now sort the words into these three groups:

the first sound:	the last sound:	in the middle:

How is [t] spelled in all of these words? ____.
Fill in the blank: Usually the sound [t] is spelled _____.
Underline the letters that spell [t] in the following words:
$\begin{align*} & \text{cattail} && \text{regretting} && \text{bottom}\\ & \text{committed} && \text{outtalk} && \text{attention}\\ & \text{attention} && \text{upsetting} && \text{attend} \end{align*}$
How is [t] spelled in all of these words? _____.

Show Answer

Underline the letters that spell the [t] sounds in the following words:
$\begin{align*} & \underline{t}elephone && benefi \underline{t} && candida \underline{t}e && \underline{t}ouris \underline{t} \\ & wri \underline{t}er && ar \underline{t}is \underline{t} && hospi \underline{t}al && \underline{t}ongue \\ & collec \underline{t} && vege \underline{t}able && elec \underline{t}ric && s \underline{t}ruggle \\ & \underline{t}echnique && \underline{t}augh \underline{t} && symp \underline{t}om && mo \underline{t}ors \end{align*}$

Now sort the words into these three groups:

the first sound:	the last sound:	in the middle:
telephone	collect	writer
technique	benefit	artist
taught	artist	vegetable
tourist	taught	hospital
tongue	candidate	electric
	symptom	tourist
		motors

How is [t] spelled in all of these words? <t>.
Usually the sound [t] is spelled <t>.
Underline the letters that spell [t] in the following words:
$\begin{align*} & ca \underline{tt}ail && regre \underline{tt}ing && bo \underline{tt}om \\ & commi \underline{tt}ed && ou \underline{tt}alk && a \underline{tt}ention \\ & a \underline{tt}ention && upse \underline{tt}ing && a \underline{tt}end \end{align*}$
How is [t] spelled in all of these words? <tt>.

When [t] is Spelled <tt>

Often the sound [t] is spelled <tt> because of simple addition, twinning, or assimilation.

Examples

The following words have been analyzed to show where the two <t>s come from.

Word	= Analysis	Reason
regretting	= re + gret + t + ing	Twinning
attractive	= ad + t + tract + ive	Assimilation
outtake	= out + take	Simple Addition

Review

The following words all contain the sound [t] spelled <tt> because of either simple addition, twinning, or assimilation. Analyze each word to show where the two <t>s come from.

Word	= Analysis	Reason
1. quitter	=
2. attendance	=
3. attempted	=
4. committee	=
5. attends	=
6. cattails	=
7. submitting	=
8. regretted	=
9. fatter	=
10. attention	=
11. rattrap	=
12. fattiest	=

Mark the VCV or VCC patterns for the first vowel in each of the following words and fill in the blanks, as we have done for later and latter.

Word #1	Is the vowel in front of the <t> long or short?	Word #2	Is the vowel in front of the <tt> long or short?
13. later vcv	Long	latter vcc	Short
14. writer		written
15. cuter		cutter
16. biter		bitter
17. fated		fattest
18. hating		hatter
19. Peter		petting
20. motor		otter

Show Answer

The following words all contain the sound [t] spelled <tt> because of either simple addition, twinning, or assimilation. Analyze each word to show where the two <t>'s come from:

Word	= Analysis	Reason
1. quitter	= quit + t + er	Twinning
2. attendance	= ad + t + tend + ance	Assimilation
3. attempted	= ad + t + tempt + ed	Assimilation
4. committee	= com + mit + t + ee	Twinning
5. attends	= ad + t + tend + s	Assimilation
6. cattails	= cat + tail + s	Simple Addition
7. submitting	= sub + mit + t + ing	Twinning
8. regretted	= re + gret + t + ed	Twinning
9. fatter	= fat + t + er	Twinning
10. attention	= ad + t + tent + ion	Assimilation
11. rattrap	= rat + trap	Simple Addition
12. fattiest	= fat + t + y + i + est	Twinning

Mark the VCV or VCC patterns for the first vowel in each of the following words and fill in the blanks, as we have done for later and latter:

Word #1	Is the vowel in front of the <t> long or short?	Word #2	Is the vowel in front of the <tt> long or short?
13. later vcv	Long	latter vcc	Short
14. writer vcv	Long	written vcc	Short
15. cuter vcv	Long	cutter vcc	Short
16. biter vcv	Long	bitter vcc	Short
17. fated vcv	Long	fattest vcc	Short
18. hating vcv	Long	hatter vcc	Short
19. Peter vcv	Long	petting vcc	Short
20. motor vcv	Long	otter vcc	Short

Explore More

Word Find. This find contains the following twenty words that all have [t] spelled <tt>. Find each in the boxes below.

$\begin{align*}&\text{attack} && \text{critter} && \text{flutter} && \text{motto} && \text{putty}\\ &\text{attic} && \text{ditto} && \text{ghetto} && \text{otter} && \text{regatta}\\ &\text{bottom} && \text{ditty} && \text{lettuce} && \text{pattern} && \text{tattoo}\\ &\text{cotton} && \text{flattery} && \text{matter} && \text{petty} && \text{utter}\end{align*}$

In nineteen of the words the <tt> is due to the VCC pattern. In one word it is due to assimilation. Which word is that? ________________________

Show Answer

In nineteen of the words the <tt> is due to the VCC pattern. In one word it is due to assimilation. Which word is that? attack

The Sound [t] and Twinning

You twin or double the final consonant of a word that has one vowel sound, or where the last vowel has a strong stress, and ends CVC when you add a suffix that starts with a vowel.

A compound word is a word that contains at least two free stems, or shorter words - for example, blackbird (black + bird) and dogcatcher (dog + catcher). Sometimes the first stem in a compound word ends with a <t> and the second starts starts with a <t>. Where the two parts come together through simple addition, you get <tt>: cat + tail = cattail.

Examples

In those words in which [t] is spelled <tt>, it is usually easy to see why there are two <t>s.

$\begin{align*} & \text{cattail} && \text{regretting} && \text{bottom}\\ & \text{committed} && \text{outtalk} && \text{attention}\\ & \text{attention} && \text{upsetting} && \text{attend} \end{align*}$

In addition to cattail, there is one other compound word in the nine words above that has [t] spelled <tt> because the first stem ends with <t> and the second stem starts with <t>. It has been analyzed below into two free stems.

Compound	= Free Stem #1	+ Free Stem #2
outtalk	= out	+ talk

Review

Sometimes [t] is spelled <tt> because of twinning: upsetting = upset + t + ing.

What is the suffix in the word upsetting?
Does this suffix start with a vowel?
What is the stem to which the -ing in upsetting was added?
How many vowel sounds are there is in this stem?
Does the stem end CVC?
Is there strong stress on the <e> in upset before and after you add the suffix?
Do you twin the final consonant of upset when you add a suffix like -ing?
Other than upsetting there are three more words among the nine below in which the <tt> spelling is due to twinning. Find the three words and analyze them to show where the <tt> comes from, as we did with upsetting.
$\begin{align*} & \text{cattail} && \text{regretting} && \text{bottom}\\ & \text{committed} && \text{outtalk} && \text{attention}\\ & \text{attention} && \text{upsetting} && \text{attend} \end{align*}$

Compound	= Free Stem #1	+ Free Stem #2
upsetting	= upset + t	+ ing

Show Answer

What is the suffix in the word upsetting? -ing
Does this suffix start with a vowel? yes
What is the stem to which the -ing in upsetting was added? upset
How many vowel sounds are there is in this stem? two
Does the stem end CVC? yes
Is there strong stress on the <e> in upset before and after you add the suffix? yes
Do you twin the final consonant of upset when you add a suffix like -ing? yes

Word	= Free Stem	+ Suffix
upsetting	= upset + t	+ ing
committed	= commit + t	+ ed
submitted	= submit + t	+ ed
regretting	= regret + t	+ ing

The Sound [t] and Assimilation

Three reasons for [t] being spelled <tt> are twinning, simple addition, and assimilation.

When the prefix ad- is added to a stem that starts with a <t>, the <d> assimilates. It changes to a <t>, making two <t>s: ad + t + tain = attain.

Examples

The following words have been analyzed to show where the <tt> spelling comes from.

Word	= Analysis
outtrick	= out + trick
attracts	= ad + t + tract + s
fattiest	= fat + t + y + i + est

Review

Here are nine words in which [t] is spelled <tt>.

There are two words in the nine that contain the prefix ad- and a stem that starts with a <t>. Find them and analyze them to show the assimilation that gives us the <tt> spelling, as we have done with attain.

Word	= Assimilated Prefix ad-	+ Stem
attain	= ad + t	+ tain
	=	+
	=	+

Now sort the nine words into the following three groups.

simple addition	assimilation	twinning

Among the nine words in Item 2, the word in which the <tt> is not due to simple addition, assimilation, or twinning is _____________.
Analyze each of the following words to show where the <tt> spelling comes from.

Word	= Analysis
4. knotty	=
5. quitter	=
6. attempt	=
7. outtake	=
8. rattrap	=
9. regretted	=
10. permitting	=
11. attendance	=
12. fattest	=

Show Answer

Word	= Assimilated Prefix ad-	+ Stem
attain	= ad + t	+ tain
attention	= ad + t	+ tention
attend	= ad + t	+ tend

simple addition	assimilation	twinning
cattail	attention	committed
outtalk	attend	submitted
		regretting
		upsetting

Among the nine words in Item 2, the word in which the <tt> is not due to either simple addition, assimilation, or twinning is bottom.

Word	= Analysis
4. knotty	= knot + t + y
5. quitter	= quit + t + er
6. attempt	= ad + t + temp
7. outtake	= out + take
8. rattrap	= rat + trap
9. regretted	= regret + t + ed
10. permitting	= permit + t + ing
11. attendance	= ad t + tend + ance
12. fattest	= fat + t + est

The Sound [t] and the VCC Pattern

In the VCC pattern, the vowel will usually be short. In the VCV pattern, the first vowel will usually be long.

These are the short and long vowel sounds:

Short Vowel Sounds	Long Vowel Sounds
[a] as in mat	[ā] as in mate
[e] as in met	[ē] as in meet
[i] as in mitt	[ī] as in might
[o] as in cot	[ō] as in coat
[u] as in cut	[ū] as in coot
[u˙] as in cook	[yū] as in cute

Many words that are not compounds and do not contain twinning or assimilation still spell [t] <tt> because of the VCC pattern, just like latter and bottom.

Examples

The word latter has a short first vowel and the VCC pattern.

The word later has a long first vowel and the VCV pattern.

Review

Mark the VCC pattern and identify the vowel sound you hear in front of the <tt> in each of the following words, as we have with bottom:

Word	Vowel sound in front of the <tt>:
1. bottom vcc	[o]
2. scatter
3. ghetto
4. lettuce
5. chatter
6. kitten
7. button
8. cotton
9. letter
10. pattern
11. butter
12. matter
13. bitter
14. motto
15. tattoo
16. symptom

17. Are the vowel sounds in front of the <tt> long or are they short? ____________

Show Answer

Word	Vowel sound in front of the <tt>:
1. bottom vcc	[o]
2. scatter vcc	[a]
3. ghetto vcc	[e]
4. lettuce vcc	[e]
5. chatter vcc	[a]
6. kitten vcc	[i]
7. button vcc	[u]
8. cotton vcc	[o]
9. letter vcc	[e]
10. pattern vcc	[a]
11. butter vcc	[u]
12. matter vcc	[a]
13. bitter vcc	[i]
14. motto vcc	[o]
15. tattoo vcc	[a]
16. symptom vcc	[i]

17. Are the vowel sounds in front of the <tt> long or are they short? short

Words with <ttle> and <tle>

Words like battle that end with the letters <le> right after a [t] sound are a special group.

In words that end with a [t] sound with <le> right after it, the [t] is spelled <t> if it comes right after a consonant or long vowel. However, if the [t] comes right after a short vowel sound, it is spelled <tt>.

Let's look at this in the context of vowel patterns.

The long vowels in words like title may seem to be exceptions to the VCC pattern. But the pattern for words that end <tle> is true for words that end with any consonant followed by <le>. Since there is always a long vowel in every word that ends with a single consonant followed by <le>, we can treat these long vowels not as exceptions, but rather as the result of a smaller pattern within a bigger pattern. We can call it the VCle# pattern. VCle# is another pattern that marks long vowels, like VCV and Ve#.

If there is a short vowel sound right in front of the [t], we use a double <tt> to spell [t] in front of the <le>. We can think of this as another smaller pattern within the bigger VCC pattern. We can call it the VCCle# pattern, which is another pattern that marks short vowels, like VCC and VC#.

In the VCCle pattern the vowel is short, but in the VCle pattern the vowel is long.

Examples

If there is a consonant between the short vowel and the [t], we only need a single <t> because the other consonant will fill out the VCCle pattern, as in words like gentle and mantle.

If there is no other consonant, we need both <t>s, as in words like bottle and little.

Review

In the words below, underline the letters that spell [t].
$\begin{align*} & \text{battle} && \text{kettle} && \text{bottle} && \text{shuttle}\\ & \text{beetle} && \text{gentle} && \text{startle} && \text{turtle}\\ & \text{mantle} && \text{rattle} && \text{settle} && \text{title}\\ & \text{little} && \text{brittle} && \text{cattle} && \text{tootle} \end{align*}$

Now sort the words into this matrix.

Words in which the [t] comes right after...
	a consonant:	a long vowel:	a short vowel:
Words with [t] spelled <t>
Words with [t] spelled <tt>

Sort the words with short vowels into these two groups:

Words with short vowels in which [t] is spelled...
<t>	<tt>

Show Answer

$\begin{align*} & ba\underline{tt}le && ke\underline{tt}le && bo\underline{tt}le && shu\underline{tt}le \\ & bee\underline{t}le && gent\underline{t}e && star\underline{t}le && tur\underline{t}le \\ & man\underline{t}le && ra\underline{tt}le && se\underline{tt}le && \underline{t}i\underline{t}le \\ & li\underline{tt}le && bri\underline{tt}le && ca\underline{tt}le && \underline{t}oo\underline{t}le \end{align*}$

Words in which the [t] comes right after...
	a consonant:	a long vowel:	a short vowel:
Words with [t] spelled <t>	mantle gentle startle turtle	beetle title tootle
Words with [t] spelled <tt>			battle little kettle rattle brittle bottle settle cattle shuttle

Words with short vowels in which [t] is spelled...
<t>	<tt>
mantle	battle	bottle
gentle	little	settle
startle	kettle	cattle
turtle	rattle	shuttle
	brittle

Explore More

Word Changes. Remember to follow the directions carefully and write the words you make in the column on the right. The shaded boxes will contain words with which you worked in Item 1 of this lesson. All of the words will end in either <tle> or <ttle>. As you form each word, decide whether it should be spelled with a single or a double <t>.

1. Write the word battle
2. Change the first consonant in the word to the twentieth letter in the alphabet
3. Change the first consonant back to <b> and change the <a> to <ee>
4. Change the first consonant in the word to the fifth consonant in the alphabet and change the second <e> to the fourteenth letter in the alphabet
5. Change the first letter in the word to <m> and change the first vowel in the word to the first vowel in the alphabet
6. Move the second consonant in the word to the front, delete the <m>, and change the <a> to an <e>
7. Change the first consonant in the word to the fourteenth consonant in the alphabet, and change the <e> back to an <a>
8. Change the first letter in the word to the letter that comes right after it in the alphabet, make the second letter in the word a <c>, and change the <a> to the twenty-first letter of the alphabet
9. Change the first two letters of the word to <br> and change the <u> to <i>

Show Answer

1. Write the word battle	battle
2. Change the first consonant in the word to the twentieth letter in the alphabet	tattle
3. Change the first consonant back to <b> and change the <a> to <ee>	beetle
4. Change the first consonant in the word to the fifth consonant in the alphabet and change the second <e> to the fourteenth letter in the alphabet	gentle
5. Change the first letter in the word to <m> and change the first vowel in the word to the first vowel in the alphabet	mantle
6. Move the second consonant in the word to the front, delete the <m>, and change the <a> to an <e>	nettle
7. Change the first consonant in the word to the fourteenth consonant in the alphabet, and change the <e> back to an <a>	rattle
8. Change the first letter in the word to the letter that comes right after it in the alphabet, make the second letter in the word a <c>, and change the <a> to the twenty-first letter of the alphabet	scuttle
9. Change the first two letters of the word to <br> and change the <u> to <i>	brittle

[t] Spelled <ed>

The suffix -ed sometimes sounds like [d], sometimes like [id], and sometimes like [t].

Examples

Look at these sentences below.

He coughs a lot.

Last night he coughed all night long.

When you want to add the meaning “in the past” to a verb, usually you add the suffix -ed.

Review

Say each of the following words carefully and sort them into the three groups below.

$\begin{align*} & \text{addressed} && \text{approached} && \text{struggled} && \text{shoveled}\\ & \text{adopted} && \text{collected} && \text{enjoyed} && \text{attached}\\ & \text{accomplished} && \text{allowed} && \text{taxed} && \text{announced}\\ & \text{murmured} && \text{assigned} && \text{attended} && \text{avoided}\\ & \text{attacked} && \text{approved} && \text{coughed} && \text{telephoned} \end{align*}$

Words in which -ed sounds like ...
[id]	[d]	[t]

Sometimes the [t] at the end of a verb that has the meaning “in the past” is the suffix ______.

Show Answer

Words in which -ed sounds like...
[id]	[d]	[t]
adopted	murmured	addressed
collected	allowed	accomplished
attended	assigned	attacked
avoided	approved	approached
	struggled	taxed
	enjoyed	coughed
	shoveled	attached
	telephoned	announced

Sometimes the [t] at the end of a verb that has the meaning “in the past” is the suffix -ed.

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Word Scrambles. This Scrambles contains words that all contain the sound [t]. We have given you a start by filling in the three spellings of [t].

Show Answer

No.	Scrambled Word
1	neebtif	b	e	n	e	f	i	t
2	xedat	t	a	x	e	d
3	sledgimp	g	l	i	m	p	s	e	d
4	tricecel	e	l	e	c	t	r	i	c
5	tedtan	a	t	t	e	n	d
6	totoat	t	a	t	t	o	o
7	toekaut	o	u	t	t	a	k	e
8	slattaic	c	a	t	a	i	l	s
9	stingbumit	s	u	b	m	i	t	t	i	n	g
10	wetrir	w	r	i	t	e	r
11	mobtot	b	o	t	t	o	m
12	truelt	t	u	r	t	l	e
13	cattrat	a	t	t	r	a	c	t
14	tolthret	t	h	r	o	t	t	l	e
15	greettred	r	e	g	r	e	t	t	e	d
16	rotte	o	t	t	e	r
17	tleeng	g	e	n	t	l	e
18	hugelad	l	a	u	g	h	e	d
19	beltee	b	e	e	t	l	e
20	cutetle	l	e	t	t	u	c	e
21	latett	t	a	t	t	l	e

Some Verbs Ending with <t>

Sometimes the suffix -ed sounds like [t].

Nowadays when we want to add the meaning “in the past” to a verb, we nearly always just add the suffix -ed. But long ago with some verbs the suffix that meant “in the past” not only sounded like [t], it was sometimes spelled <t>. A few of those old verbs are still with us. For example: feel and felt, as in “I feel good now, but yesterday I felt pretty bad.”

Examples

In feel the vowel sound is long.

In felt the vowel is short.

In feel the vowel is spelled <ee>.

In felt the vowel is spelled <e>.

In felt the [t] is spelled <t>.

Review

In the left column below there are more old past tense verbs with -t. Write out the present tense form for each one and fill in the two columns on the right, as we have done for felt.

		How is the vowel pronounced and spelled in...
Past Tense Verb	Present Tense Verb	the present tense verb?	the past tense verb?
felt	feel	[e¯] = <ee>	[e] = <e>
kept
slept
crept

Here are more verbs that have old past tense forms that end with <t>. This time we've given you the present tense form, and you are to fill in the past tense form:

		How is the vowel pronounced and spelled in...
Present Tense Verb	Past Tense Verb	the present tense verb?	the past tense verb?
deal	dealt	[e¯] = <ea>	[e] = <ea>
sweep
send
mean
weep
spend
build
bend
lend

leave

Here are some more that have more elaborate changes:

		How is the vowel pronounced and spelled in...
Present Tense Verb	Past Tense Verb	the present tense verb?	the past tense verb?
buy	bought	[i] = <uy>	[o] = <ou>
catch
bring
seek
teach
think

Show Answer

		How is the vowel pronounced and spelled in...
Past Tense Verb	Present Tense Verb	the present tense verb?	the past tense verb?
felt	feel	[e¯] = <ee>	[e] = <e>
kept	keep	[e¯] = <ee>	[e] = <e>
slept	sleep	[e¯] = <ee>	[e] = <e>
crept	creep	[e¯] = <ee>	[e] = <e>

		How is the vowel pronounced and spelled in...
Present Tense Verb	Past Tense Verb	the present tense verb?	the past tense verb?
deal	dealt	[e¯] = <ea>	[e] = <ea>
sweep	swept	[e¯] = <e>	[e] = <e>
send	sent	[e¯] = <e>	[e] = <e>
mean	meant	[e¯] = <ea>	[e] = <ea>
weep	wept	[e¯] = <ee>	[e] = <e>
spend	spent	[e] = <e>	[e] = <e>
build	built	[i] = <ui>	[i] = <ui>
bend	bent	[e] = <e>	[e] = <e>
lend	lent	[e] = <e>	[e] = <e>
	lose	[u¯] = <o>	[o] = <o>
leave	left	[e¯] = <ea>	[e] = <e>

		How is the vowel pronounced and spelled in...
Present Tense Verb	Past Tense Verb	the present tense verb?	the past tense verb?
buy	bought	[i] = <uy>	[o] = <ou>
catch	caught	[a] = <a>	[o] = <au>
bring	brought	[i] = <i>	[o] = <ou>
seek	sought	[e¯] = <ee>	[o] = <ou>
teach	taught	[e¯] = <ea>	[o] = <au>
think	thought	[i] = <i>	[o] = <ou>

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Word Flow. In this flow you can trace out fourteen words: seven present tense verbs and their past tense forms that end in -t.

Show Answer

Present Tense	Past Tense
bend	bent
lend	lent
mean	meant
send	sent
spend	spent
sweep	swept
weep	wept

Reasons for Some Unusual Spellings of [t]

The sound [t] is spelled one of these three ways more than ninety-nine times out of a hundred: <t>, <tt>, and <ed>.

If you remember the places where <tt> occurs and remember that -ed is always a verb suffix, you should have little trouble knowing which spelling to use. There are some other spellings of [t], though, that are very rare but still worth looking at.

For instance, The sound [t] is spelled <ght> only after [ī] spelled <i> or <ei>, after [ā] spelled <ai> or <ei>, or after [o] spelled <au> or <ou>. The sound [t] can also be spelled <tw>, <bt>, and <cht>.

[t] = <tw>. The sound [t] is spelled <tw> in only one word: two. Long ago two was pronounced [twō].

[t] = <bt>. The sound [t] is spelled <bt> in only three common words: debt, doubt, and subtle. All three were Latin words, used a long time ago by the Romans. Our word debt comes from the Latin word debitum. Our word doubt comes from the Latin word dubitare. Our word subtle comes from the Latin word subtilis.

[t] = <cht>. Long ago the Dutch called a fast sailing ship a jaghte. The English borrowed the word and spelled it several different ways, including <yaught>. Back then the <gh> was pronounced with a sound a little like our [ch], so in time the <gh> spelling changed to <ch>. But then over the centuries people stopped pronouncing the <ch>, so we now have a word pronounced [yot] and spelled yacht. This is the only word we have in which [t] is spelled <cht>.

Examples

A word in which [t] is spelled <tw> is two.

Three words in which [t] is spelled <bt> are debt, doubt, and subtle.

One word in which [t] is spelled <cht> is yacht.

Review

Underline the letters that spell [t] in the following words.
$\begin{align*} & \text{alight} && \text{fight} && \text{lightning} && \text{sight}\\ & \text{aught} && \text{flight} && \text{midnight} && \text{sleight}\\ & \text{bought} && \text{fought} && \text{might} && \text{slight}\\ & \text{bright} && \text{freight} && \text{naught} && \text{slaughter}\\ & \text{brought} && \text{fright} && \text{naughty} && \text{sought}\\ & \text{caught} && \text{haughty} && \text{night} && \text{straight}\\ & \text{daughter} && \text{height} && \text{ought} && \text{taught}\\ & \text{delight} && \text{knight} && \text{plight} && \text{thought}\\ & \text{eight} && \text{light} && \text{right} && \text{weight} \end{align*}$

Sort the above words into the following four groups.

Words with...
[ī] spelled <i> or <ei>			[ā] spelled <ai> or <ei>

Words with [o] spelled...
<au>		<ou>

The sound [t] is spelled <ght> only after [ī] spelled _____ or _____, after [ā] spelled _____ or _____, or after [o] spelled _____ or _____.

Several words related to two contain <tw>, and all have a meaning that includes the idea of “two.” Answer Yes or No to the question, "Do you hear the <w>?"

Word	Do you hear the <w>?
4. twice
5. twin
6. twelve
7. between
8. twilight
9. twist
10. twine
11. twig
12. twenty

Show Answer

$\begin{align*} & ali \underline{ght} && fi \underline{ght} && li \underline{ght}ning && si \underline{ght} \\ & au \underline{ght} && fli \underline{ght} && midni \underline{ght} && slei \underline{ght} \\ & bou \underline{ght} && fou \underline{ght} && mi \underline{ght} && sli \underline{ght} \\ & bri \underline{ght} && frei \underline{ght} && nau \underline{ght} && slau \underline{ght}er \\ & brou \underline{ght} && fri \underline{ght} && nau \underline{ght}y && sou \underline{ght} \\ & cau \underline{ght} && hau \underline{ght}y && ni \underline{ght} && strai \underline{ght} \\ & dau \underline{ght}er && hei \underline{ght} && ou \underline{ght} && tau \underline{ght} \\ & deli \underline{ght} && kni \underline{ght} && pli \underline{ght} && thou \underline{ght} \\ & ei \underline{ght} && li \underline{ght} && ri \underline{ght} && wei \underline{ght} \end{align*}$

Words with...
[ī] spelled <i> or <ei>			[ā] spelled <ai> or <ei>
alight	height	night	eight
bright	knight	plight	freight
delight	light	right	straight
fight	lightning	sight	weight
flight	midnight	sleight
fright	might	slight

Words with [o] spelled. . .
<au>		<ou>
aught	naught	bought	ought
caught	naughty	brought	sought
daughter	slaughter	fought	thought
haughty	taught

The sound [t] is spelled <ght> only after [ī] spelled <i> or <ei>, after [ā] spelled <ai> or <ei>, or after [o] spelled <au> or <ou>.

Word	Do you hear the <w>?
4. twice	Yes
5. twin	Yes
6. twelve	Yes
7. between	Yes
8. twilight	Yes
9. twist	Yes
10. twine	Yes
11. twig	Yes
12. twenty	Yes

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Word Changes. Follow the instructions very carefully and then fill in the blanks to complete the sentence at the end:

Write the word debt: debt
Change the vowel from <e> to <ou>: _______________
Change the first consonant to the letter that comes two letters before it in the alphabet, and change the letter before the <t> to <gh>: _______________
Change the first consonant to the letter that comes right after <s> in the alphabet, and change the first vowel to the first letter of the alphabet: _______________
Change the first consonant to the second consonant in the alphabet: _______________
Change the first consonant to the next-to-last letter in the alphabet; delete the second vowel letter; and change the second consonant to the letter that comes four places before it in the alphabet: _______________

The sailor went into (Word #1) when he (Word #3) a (Word #6).

Show Answer

Write the word debt: debt
Change the vowel from <e> to <ou>: doubt
Change the first consonant to the letter that comes two letters before it in the alphabet, and change the letter before the <t> to <gh>: bought
Change the first consonant to the letter that comes right after <s> in the alphabet, and change the first vowel to the first letter of the alphabet: taught
Change the first consonant to the second consonant in the alphabet: caught
Change the first consonant to the next-to-last letter in the alphabet; delete the second vowel letter; and change the second consonant to the letter that comes four places before it in the alphabet: yacht

The sailor went into debt when he bought a yacht.

Overview

Examples

Review

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Spelling [t]

Examples

Review

When [t] is Spelled <tt>

Examples

Review

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The Sound [t] and Twinning

Examples

Review

The Sound [t] and Assimilation

Examples

Review

The Sound [t] and the VCC Pattern

Examples

Review

Words with <ttle> and <tle>

Examples

Review

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[t] Spelled <ed>

Examples

Review

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Some Verbs Ending with <t>

Examples

Review

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Reasons for Some Unusual Spellings of [t]

Examples

Review

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