Year 4 English: The ay sound spelt ei, eigh, ey and aigh
Part of the Year 4 English spelling patterns in depth chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
The ay sound spelt ei, eigh, ey and aigh
The ay sound, as in play, can be spelt in four ways in these words.
ei is in veil, reign and beige. eigh is in freight, weight, eighteen and neigh. ey is in convey, survey and disobey. aigh is in straighten and straightforward.
| Spelling | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ei | veil | a thin cloth that covers the face |
| eigh | weight | how heavy something is |
| ey | convey | to carry something, or pass on a message |
| aigh | straighten | to make something straight |
Key ideas
- The ay sound, as in play, can be spelt ei, eigh, ey or aigh.
- Eigh is in weight, eighteen and freight.
- Ey is at the end of convey, survey and disobey.
- Aigh is in straighten and straightforward.
Method. Match the meaning to the word, then check its spelling.
- Read the meaning. Think about what the clue describes.to rule as a king or queen, or the time when a king or queen rules
- Find the word that matches. Think of the one word with this meaning.reign
- Check the tricky part. The ei makes the ay sound, as in play. Reign is about ruling a country.Tricky part: ei
- Write the answer. reign
Check. Read reign and check each letter against the word. ✓
Watch out. The ei makes the ay sound, as in play. Reign is about ruling a country.
Method. Think what the sentence means, then choose the word that fits the gap and its spelling.
- Read the sentence with the gap. Think what the sentence means.My cousin is ___ years old this summer.
- Find the word that fits the meaning. the number after seventeeneighteen
- Put the word in the gap. Read the sentence again. It makes sense.My cousin is eighteen years old this summer.
- Write the answer. eighteen
Check. Read the whole sentence with eighteen in it. ✓
Watch out. The eigh makes the ay sound, as in play. The word starts with eight.
Method. Say the whole word, then fill the box with the tricky letters.
- Say the whole word. Read every letter in order.convey
- Look at the empty box. The box stands for 2 letter(s) in a row.2 missing letter(s)
- Write the missing letters. The ey makes the ay sound, as in play.ey
Check. Put ey back in the box and read convey. ✓
Watch out. The ey makes the ay sound, as in play.
Watch out
Watch out: the ei in receive, ceiling and deceive makes the ee sound, as in see, not the ay sound. Weight and wait sound the same, but only weight has the eigh spelling.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Write the four spellings on four cards: ei, eigh, ey and aigh. Ask your child to sort the words into the right card, using the letters, not the sound.
Exercise 1E Practice: ei, eigh, ey and aigh
Method. Match the meaning to the word, then check its spelling.
- Read the meaning. Think about what the clue describes.a thin piece of cloth that covers the face or the head
- Find the word that matches. Think of the one word with this meaning.veil
- Check the tricky part. The ei makes the ay sound, as in play.Tricky part: ei
- Write the answer. veil
Check. Read veil and check each letter against the word. ✓
Watch out. The ei makes the ay sound, as in play.
Method. Match the meaning to the word, then check its spelling.
- Read the meaning. Think about what the clue describes.a pale brown-yellow colour, like sand
- Find the word that matches. Think of the one word with this meaning.beige
- Check the tricky part. The ei makes the ay sound, as in play. Beige is a colour word.Tricky part: ei
- Write the answer. beige
Check. Read beige and check each letter against the word. ✓
Watch out. The ei makes the ay sound, as in play. Beige is a colour word.
Method. Match the meaning to the word, then check its spelling.
- Read the meaning. Think about what the clue describes.goods that are carried by lorry, ship or aeroplane
- Find the word that matches. Think of the one word with this meaning.freight
- Check the tricky part. The eigh makes the ay sound, as in play.Tricky part: eigh
- Write the answer. freight
Check. Read freight and check each letter against the word. ✓
Watch out. The eigh makes the ay sound, as in play.
Method. Think what the sentence means, then choose the word that fits the gap and its spelling.
- Read the sentence with the gap. Think what the sentence means.Please check the ___ of the parcel on the scales.
- Find the word that fits the meaning. how heavy something isweight
- Put the word in the gap. Read the sentence again. It makes sense.Please check the weight of the parcel on the scales.
- Write the answer. weight
Check. Read the whole sentence with weight in it. ✓
Watch out. The eigh makes the ay sound, as in play. Wait has ai, so the two words are spelt differently.
Method. Think what the sentence means, then choose the word that fits the gap and its spelling.
- Read the sentence with the gap. Think what the sentence means.The horse gave a loud ___ when it saw the apples.
- Find the word that fits the meaning. the loud call that a horse makesneigh
- Put the word in the gap. Read the sentence again. It makes sense.The horse gave a loud neigh when it saw the apples.
- Write the answer. neigh
Check. Read the whole sentence with neigh in it. ✓
Watch out. The eigh makes the ay sound, as in play.
Method. Think what the sentence means, then choose the word that fits the gap and its spelling.
- Read the sentence with the gap. Think what the sentence means.The instructions for the game were very ___.
- Find the word that fits the meaning. simple and clear, with no difficultystraightforward
- Put the word in the gap. Read the sentence again. It makes sense.The instructions for the game were very straightforward.
- Write the answer. straightforward
Check. Read the whole sentence with straightforward in it. ✓
Watch out. The aigh makes the ay sound, as in play. Straight is in the middle of the word.
Method. Say the whole word, then fill the box with the tricky letters.
- Say the whole word. Read every letter in order.survey
- Look at the empty box. The box stands for 2 letter(s) in a row.2 missing letter(s)
- Write the missing letters. The ey makes the ay sound, as in play.ey
Check. Put ey back in the box and read survey. ✓
Watch out. The ey makes the ay sound, as in play.
Method. Say the whole word, then fill the box with the tricky letters.
- Say the whole word. Read every letter in order.disobey
- Look at the empty box. The box stands for 2 letter(s) in a row.2 missing letter(s)
- Write the missing letters. The ey makes the ay sound, as in play.ey
Check. Put ey back in the box and read disobey. ✓
Watch out. The ey makes the ay sound, as in play.
Method. Say the whole word, then fill the box with the tricky letters.
- Say the whole word. Read every letter in order.straighten
- Look at the empty box. The box stands for 4 letter(s) in a row.4 missing letter(s)
- Write the missing letters. The aigh makes the ay sound, as in play.aigh
Check. Put aigh back in the box and read straighten. ✓
Watch out. The aigh makes the ay sound, as in play.
Method. Compare the wrong spelling with the word we want.
- Look at streightforward. Compare it with the word straightforward.streightforward is not right
- Find the tricky part. The aigh makes the ay sound, as in play. Straight is in the middle of the word.Tricky part: aigh
- Write the word correctly. straightforward
Check. Read straightforward and check each letter. ✓
Watch out. The aigh makes the ay sound, as in play. Straight is in the middle of the word.
Method. Compare the wrong spelling with the word we want.
- Look at wait. Compare it with the word weight.wait is not right
- Find the tricky part. The eigh makes the ay sound, as in play. Wait has ai, so the two words are spelt differently.Tricky part: eigh
- Write the word correctly. weight
Check. Read weight and check each letter. ✓
Watch out. The eigh makes the ay sound, as in play. Wait has ai, so the two words are spelt differently.
Method. Compare the wrong spelling with the word we want.
- Look at survay. Compare it with the word survey.survay is not right
- Find the tricky part. The ey makes the ay sound, as in play.Tricky part: ey
- Write the word correctly. survey
Check. Read survey and check each letter. ✓
Watch out. The ey makes the ay sound, as in play.
Method. Look at the letters that make the ay sound in each word.
- Find each spelling. veil has ei, freight has eigh, survey has ey and straighten has aigh.ei, eigh, ey, aigh
- Write the answer. ei: veil. eigh: freight. ey: survey. aigh: straighten.
Check. Each word is in the right list. ✓
Watch out. Sort by the letters in the word.
Method. Find the word whose spelling makes a different sound.
- Look at reign and veil. Both have ei, which makes the ay sound.reign, veil
- Look at receive. The ei in receive makes the ee sound, as in see.receive: ee sound
- Write the answer. receive
Check. receive has the ee sound, as in see. ✓
Watch out. The ei after c can make the ee sound.
Method. Compare the sound of ei in ceiling with the ay sound in play.
- Look at ceiling. The ei comes after c.c-ei-ling
- Compare with play. The ei in ceiling makes the ee sound, as in see, not the ay sound.ee sound, as in see
- Write the answer. No. In ceiling the ei makes the ee sound, as in see.
Check. ceiling has the ee sound. ✓
Watch out. Learn the words where ei makes the ee sound.
Method. Compare the letters in each word.
- Look at weight. Weight has the letters eigh.weight: eigh
- Look at wait. Wait has the letters ai.wait: ai
- Write the answer. No. Weight has eigh, and wait has ai, so the spellings are different.
Check. The spellings are different. ✓
Watch out. Words that sound alike can have different spellings.
Method. Use each word in a sentence that makes sense.
- Use convey. Convey means to carry something, or to pass on a message.Please convey my thanks to the cook.
- Use disobey. Disobey means to not do what you have been told.Do not disobey the safety rules.
- Write the answer. Accept any two correct sentences, for example: Please convey my thanks to the cook. Do not disobey the safety rules.
Check. Check the ey at the end of each word. ✓
Watch out. Check the spelling of each word.
Method. Use each word so that its meaning is clear.
- Use eighteen. Eighteen is the number after seventeen.My cousin is eighteen in May.
- Use neigh. A neigh is the loud call that a horse makes.The horse gave a loud neigh.
- Write the answer. Accept any two correct sentences, for example: My cousin is eighteen in May. The horse gave a loud neigh.
Check. Both words have eigh. ✓
Watch out. Check the eigh in each word.