Year 1 English: Other spellings: ay, ea, ey and ie
Part of the Year 1 English more ways to write a sound chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page · Download worksheet (PDF) · Answers (PDF)
Other spellings: ay, ea, ey and ie
Some sounds can be written in more than one way. The sound in rain can be ai, but it can also be ay, as in day.
Look where the letters go. ay is usually at the end of a word: play, tray, day. ai is usually in the middle: rain, train.
The ea in tea says the same sound as the ee in tree. The ey in key and donkey says that sound too. The ie in pie says the same sound as in bike.
Key ideas
- ay is usually at the end of a word: play, day.
- ai is usually in the middle of a word: rain, train.
- ea can say the ee sound, as in tea and beach.
- ey can end a word: key and donkey.
- ie can say the sound in bike, as in pie.
Method. Say the word, then check which spelling is right.
- Look at the two spellings. Only one of them is a real English word.plai is not the word; play is
- Use the spelling rule. ay is usually at the end of a word, so play ends with ay.The right word is play
- Write the word. play
Check. Look at the picture or the meaning of play to check it. ✓
Watch out. Some words follow a rule. Others you learn by heart.
Key words. A split digraph is a vowel, then one consonant, then e at the end, like the a, k and e in cake.
Method. Name the picture, then write the word with the right letters.
- Look at the picture. Say the name of the thing in a whole word.The picture shows a cup of tea.
- Say the word slowly. Look at every letter, one at a time.t - e - a
- Write the word. Write the letters in the right order.tea
Check. Count the letters in tea: there are 3. ✓
Watch out. Look at every letter. A word with a letter missing or in the wrong place is not right.
Method. Look for the letters ie in each word.
- Look at each word. Find the two letters we want.pie: has ie
pit: does not have ie
pin: does not have ie - Think about the spelling rule. ie can say the sound in bike, and it is at the end of pie.The letters ie are in pie
- Write the answer. pie
Check. Read pie with your finger. The letters ie are in it. ✓
Watch out. Do not mix up ie with the other spellings of the same sound. Learn the words that use it.
Watch out
Watch out: ay and ai can make the same sound, as in day and rain. They are not used in the same place. Check where the letters go.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Write ay and ai on two cards. Ask your child: “Is it at the end of the word, or in the middle?” Then read the word together.
Exercise 3D Other spellings: ay, ea, ey and ie
Key words. A split digraph is a vowel, then one consonant, then e at the end, like the a, k and e in cake.
Method. Name the picture, then write the word with the right letters.
- Look at the picture. Say the name of the thing in a whole word.The picture shows a key.
- Say the word slowly. Look at every letter, one at a time.k - e - y
- Write the word. Write the letters in the right order.key
Check. Count the letters in key: there are 3. ✓
Watch out. Look at every letter. A word with a letter missing or in the wrong place is not right.
Key words. A split digraph is a vowel, then one consonant, then e at the end, like the a, k and e in cake.
Method. Name the picture, then write the word with the right letters.
- Look at the picture. Say the name of the thing in a whole word.The picture shows a pie.
- Say the word slowly. Look at every letter, one at a time.p - i - e
- Write the word. Write the letters in the right order.pie
Check. Count the letters in pie: there are 3. ✓
Watch out. Look at every letter. A word with a letter missing or in the wrong place is not right.
Method. Read the whole word, then find the letters that fit the gap.
- Read the word with the gap. Look at the letters around the gap.pl?
- Think about the whole word. The word must be spelled as a whole word.play: the gap is ay
- Write the missing letters. ay
Check. Put ay into the gap and read play again. ✓
Watch out. Read the whole word, not just the letters near the gap.
Method. Read the whole word, then find the letters that fit the gap.
- Read the word with the gap. Look at the letters around the gap.tr?
- Think about the whole word. The word must be spelled as a whole word.tray: the gap is ay
- Write the missing letters. ay
Check. Put ay into the gap and read tray again. ✓
Watch out. Read the whole word, not just the letters near the gap.
Method. Read the whole word, then find the letters that fit the gap.
- Read the word with the gap. Look at the letters around the gap.d?
- Think about the whole word. The word must be spelled as a whole word.day: the gap is ay
- Write the missing letters. ay
Check. Put ay into the gap and read day again. ✓
Watch out. Read the whole word, not just the letters near the gap.
Method. Read the whole word, then find the letters that fit the gap.
- Read the word with the gap. Look at the letters around the gap.t?
- Think about the whole word. The word must be spelled as a whole word.tea: the gap is ea
- Write the missing letters. ea
Check. Put ea into the gap and read tea again. ✓
Watch out. Read the whole word, not just the letters near the gap.
Method. Read the whole word, then find the letters that fit the gap.
- Read the word with the gap. Look at the letters around the gap.s?
- Think about the whole word. The word must be spelled as a whole word.sea: the gap is ea
- Write the missing letters. ea
Check. Put ea into the gap and read sea again. ✓
Watch out. Read the whole word, not just the letters near the gap.
Method. Read the whole word, then find the letters that fit the gap.
- Read the word with the gap. Look at the letters around the gap.l?f
- Think about the whole word. The word must be spelled as a whole word.leaf: the gap is ea
- Write the missing letters. ea
Check. Put ea into the gap and read leaf again. ✓
Watch out. Read the whole word, not just the letters near the gap.
Method. Read the whole word, then find the letters that fit the gap.
- Read the word with the gap. Look at the letters around the gap.b?ch
- Think about the whole word. The word must be spelled as a whole word.beach: the gap is ea
- Write the missing letters. ea
Check. Put ea into the gap and read beach again. ✓
Watch out. Read the whole word, not just the letters near the gap.
Method. Look for the letters ay in each word.
- Look at each word. Find the two letters we want.day: has ay
dog: does not have ay
dig: does not have ay - Think about the spelling rule. ay is usually at the end of a word, as in day.The letters ay are in day
- Write the answer. day
Check. Read day with your finger. The letters ay are in it. ✓
Watch out. Do not mix up ay with the other spellings of the same sound. Learn the words that use it.
Method. Read the whole word, then find the letters that fit the gap.
- Read the word with the gap. Look at the letters around the gap.tr?n
- Think about the whole word. The word must be spelled as a whole word.train: the gap is ai
- Write the missing letters. ai
Check. Put ai into the gap and read train again. ✓
Watch out. Read the whole word, not just the letters near the gap.
Method. Read the whole word, then find the letters that fit the gap.
- Read the word with the gap. Look at the letters around the gap.p?nt
- Think about the whole word. The word must be spelled as a whole word.paint: the gap is ai
- Write the missing letters. ai
Check. Put ai into the gap and read paint again. ✓
Watch out. Read the whole word, not just the letters near the gap.
Method. Read the whole word, then find the letters that fit the gap.
- Read the word with the gap. Look at the letters around the gap.pl?
- Think about the whole word. The word must be spelled as a whole word.play: the gap is ay
- Write the missing letters. ay
Check. Put ay into the gap and read play again. ✓
Watch out. Read the whole word, not just the letters near the gap.
Method. Read the whole word, then find the letters that fit the gap.
- Read the word with the gap. Look at the letters around the gap.st?
- Think about the whole word. The word must be spelled as a whole word.stay: the gap is ay
- Write the missing letters. ay
Check. Put ay into the gap and read stay again. ✓
Watch out. Read the whole word, not just the letters near the gap.
Method. Compare the two spellings for play, letter by letter.
- Look at plai. ai is usually in the middle of a word, not at the end.plai: ai at the end
- Look at play. ay is usually at the end of a word.play: ay at the end
- Write the right spelling. play
Check. Read play with your finger: p, l, a, y. ✓
Watch out. Check where the letters go in the word.
Method. Look for the letters ey in each word.
- Look at each word. Find the two letters we want.key: has ey
kite: does not have ey
kid: does not have ey - Think about the spelling rule. ey can end a word, as in key and donkey.The letters ey are in key
- Write the answer. key
Check. Read key with your finger. The letters ey are in it. ✓
Watch out. Do not mix up ey with the other spellings of the same sound. Learn the words that use it.
Method. Say the word, then check which spelling is right.
- Look at the two spellings. Only one of them is a real English word.monky is not the word; monkey is
- Use the spelling rule. ey is at the end of monkey. Monkey is the word we use for the animal.The right word is monkey
- Write the word. monkey
Check. Look at the picture or the meaning of monkey to check it. ✓
Watch out. Some words follow a rule. Others you learn by heart.
Method. Sort each word by its spelling pattern, one word at a time.
- Look at each word in turn. Find the letters or the pattern that tells the group.day, tray, stay, rain, train, paint
- Put each word in the group that matches. Keep the groups apart.ay (usually at the end): day, tray, stay
ai (usually in the middle): rain, train, paint - Write the groups. ay (usually at the end): day, tray, stay; ai (usually in the middle): rain, train, paint
Check. Count the words: there are 6 in all, and none are left out. ✓
Watch out. Check every word is in one group only.
Method. Think about where ay is usually found in a word.
- Look at play. The letters ay come at the end of the word.play: p, l, a, y
- Think about the rule. ay is usually used at the end of a word. ai is usually used in the middle.ay at the end
- Write the answer. ay is usually at the end of a word.
Check. Try ai at the end of play: plai. It does not look right. ✓
Watch out. Learn the common places for each spelling.