English alphabet

Remember It

The English Alphabet

A a B b C c D d E e F f G g H h
I i J j K k L l M m N n O o P p
Q q R r S s T t U u V v W w X x
Y y Z z

Learn

Listen to the Alphabet Song (British style)

 

Vowels

A E I O U

 

Consonants

B C D F G H J K
L M N P Q R S T
V W X Y Z

Now listen to the alphabet, and have a go yourself. (Requires Adobe Flash Player and a free Voice Thread account.)

 

 

The Rhyming Alphabet

The following letters rhyme with each other

ä sound ë sound e sound ï sound o sound yü sound r sound z sound
A B F I O Q R Z
H C L Y   U    
J D M     W    
K E N          
  G S          
  P X          
  T            
  V            

 

!Note - The most frequently used English letter is E. The least frequently used is Z.

Handwriting

When you write in English you can print out your letters one at a time, which is easy to read, but can be slow, or you can use "joined up writing", also called "cursive script", which is quicker to write, but can be difficult to read if your handwriting is bad.

Print your letters one at a time.

or

Write using cursive script.

A good sentence for practising your handwriting is:

"The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."


The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

The Phonetic Alphabet

ListenWhen spelling (especially over the phone) use the phonetic alphabet to avoid confusion.Listen
A Alpha B Bravo
C Charlie D Delta
E Echo F Foxtrot
G Golf H Hotel
I India J Juliet
K Kilo L Lima
M Mike N November
O Oscar P Papa
Q Quebec R Romeo
S Sierra T Tango
U Uniform V Victor
W Whisky X X-Ray
Y Yankee Z Zulu

You can listen to me spelling my name here:-

Capitalisation

When writing and when spelling a word for someone it is sometimes necessary to let the person know when letters need to be written in CAPITALS and when they need to be written small.

"How do you spell UNESCO please?"

"Capital U-N-E-S-C-O."

"How do you spell T-Online please?"

"Capital T dash capital O small n-l-i-n-e."

"How do you spell 1&1 Profi please?"

"1 ampersand 1 capital P small r-o-f-i."

 

!Note - In computing we call this "UPPERCASE" and "lowercase".

When writing names use capital and small letters.

First Name/Christian Name
Middle Name
or
(Middle Initial)
Last Name/Surname

Elizabeth

Mary

M

Windsor

John

Wesley

W

Sinclair

 

Naturally speaking

When two letters appear next to each other we say "double __"

Follow the dialogue.

  • What's your full name, please?

  • My first name is Sonja and my last name Pascalli

  • Sorry , what was your last name again?

  • Pascalli.

  • I'm sorry I don't understand. Could you repeat that more slowly, please.

  • Pasc-all-i.

  • How do you write that? Could you spell it, please?

  • P-a-s-c-a-double l-i

  • And your first name please?

  • Sonja

  • Pardon?

  • Sonja - S-o-n-j-a.

  • And what is your telephone number, please?

  • 2-3-8-7-1-8

  • Thank you.

  • You're welcome.

 

Checking understanding - What to say

Mr Bean

"My name is Mr. Bean."

Ear

"............................"

"?"

"My name is ????."

"My name is Mr. Bean."

Mouth

"I'm sorry I didn't hear that. Could you speak a little louder please?"

"I'm sorry, I don't understand."

"Could you repeat your name please?"

Could you spell that please?

Mr Bean

"I said, my name is Mr. Bean!"

"My name is Mr. Bean, your name is --------- and mine is Mr. Bean."

"My name is Mr. Bean."

"B-e-a-n."

 

Please and thank you

The average English person will say please and thank you at least 200 times a day.

We even have a saying, "Mind your ps and qs."

If you don't say "please" when asking for something, someone might say, "What's the magic word?"

You can even say, "Pretty please."

"Thanks" and "ta" are very informal.

In the UK, "You're welcome" is a common response to "Thank you".

In the US, "No problem", is a common response to "Thank you".

What's your full name? Do you have any middle names? Can you spell your name phonetically?

 

!Note - All posts are moderated and then corrected. One correction per person per lesson.

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And there's more...

Congratulations!

You made your way to the bottom of the page! As a reward you get to practise your English a bit more.

Listen to some of the previous comments. (Read out by Amatsu.)

Match It

Match the lowercase and uppercase letters.

Match It!

Remember It

Read and learn the telephone tip and then test your memory.

Sing It

Listen to this song, and read the lyrics. Maybe sing along. It is great for practising

What's your name?

Print Version - You can print this lesson out here

Created

Week 4