1. Classify the words below into 12 categories: 11 that follow one of the general rules above, and one that does not.

    (Revise the general rules for "short" and "long" pronunciation of English vowels followed by a consonant or a consonant + e if necessary.)

    add, back, bank, base, bill, blame, block, branch, bull, bush, case, cash, chance, change, close, cost, crime, cross, cube, drug, eve, excuse, eye, freeze, home, give, gun, have, held, high, joke, jump, just, lack, link, list, might, mind, month, moth, move, one, phrase, place, plan, plot, press, prime, refuse, rise, role, run, sale, scale, sell, shame, shop, sign, since, solve, some, spoke, stage, step, still, strong, tape, those, tip, trick, volume, while, whose, wrong

    1 a + consonant /&/ add, back, bank, branch, cash, lack, plan
    2 e + consonant /e/ held, press, sell, step
    3 i + consonant /I/ bill, link, list, still, tip, trick
    4 o + consonant /Q/ block, cost, cross, month, moth, plot, shop, strong, wrong
    5 u + consonant /U/ bull, bush
    6 u + consonant /V/ drug, jump, just, gun, run
    7 a + consonant + -e /eI/ base, blame, case, change, phrase, place, sale, scale, shame, stage, tape
    8 e + consonant + -e /i;/ eve, freeze
    9 i + consonant + -e /aI/ crime, prime, rise, while
    10 o + consonant + -e /@U/ close, home, joke, role, spoke, those
    11 u + consonant + -e /jU;/ cube, excuse, refuse, volume
    12 exceptions chance, eye, give, have, high, might, mind, move, one, sign, since, solve, some, whose

  2. Now drag the mouse over the empty space on the right column of the table above to see the correct answers.

  3. For more examples, details, exceptions and curiosities you can visit the teflpedia wiki (TEFL or ToEFL stands for "Teaching of English as a Foreign Language").

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