Most words follow patterns like vowel teams. But some very common words don’t: said, was, of, they, could, because, friend. If you spell them the way they sound (sed, wuz, uv), they come out wrong. Learn them by heart.
| Sounds like… | Spelled |
|---|---|
| sed | said |
| wuz | was |
| uv | of |
| thay | they |
| cud | could |
| becuz | because |
| frend | friend |
Key idea
Some common words don’t follow the usual patterns. Learn them by heart, and check them every time you write.
Why it works
Many of these words are very old, and they kept old spellings while the way we say them changed. Because we use them so often, learning them pays off in every page you write.
Worked example: Learn a word by heart
friend
- Look at it and say each letter: f-r-i-e-n-d.
- Notice the tricky part: the i before the e that you can’t hear.
- Cover it, write it, then check.
Answer: friend
Common mistake
Spelling these words the way they sound: sed, wuz, uv, thay, becuz. Sounding out works for most words but not these. Look, say, cover, write, check.
For the grown-up. Keep a short list of your child’s tricky words on the fridge and add one or two a week. The site’s Phonics Practice has a set of heart words.