ER, IR, UR Sounds
Related Pages
Phonic Sounds
Consonant Digraph
Other Consonant Sounds
More Lessons On English Grammar
English for Kids
Videos and songs to help First Grade kids learn how to pronounce the ER, IR, UR digraph sounds, Learn words that have the ER, IR, UR sounds.
“er”, “ir”, and “ur” all produce the same sound in many cases. For example, the words her, sir and fur have the same sound. These sounds are considered “r-controlled vowels” because the “r” modifies the sound of the vowel that precedes it.
The following diagram shows some examples of er, ir and ur words. Scroll down the page for more examples.
When to Use “er,” “ir,” and “ur”
Unfortunately, there aren’t perfect rules to determine which spelling to use. However, there are some tendencies:
- “er” is most common: This is the most frequent spelling for this sound. It’s often found at the end of words or syllables.
Examples: teacher, paper, better, under - “ir” often appears in words of Latin origin:
Examples: bird, first, girl, shirt, circle - “ur” often appears after certain consonant sounds like /b/, /f/, /p/, /t/, /k/:
Examples: burn, fur, purple, turn, hurt
The tendencies mentioned above are helpful, but memorization and practice are the most effective ways to learn the correct spellings.
Reading Strategy: er ir ur
In many words, er, ir and ur have the same sound.
UR ER IR - R controlled vowels song
Pronounce ER
ir - Phonics - whirl, girl, dirt
Phonics and the ur sound
fur, burn, surf, curtain, yogurt
er ir ur - Alternative spellings
| Other Digraphs | ||
|---|---|---|
| AR Sound | Er,Ir,Ur | OR Sound |
| Ar,Er,Ir,Or,Ur | Ou, Ow | Oi, Oy |
| OO Sound | ||
Free Printable Worksheets for Consonant Digraphs
These worksheets focus on the consonant digraphs: ch, sh, th, qu and ng.
| Printable Worksheets (Consonant Digraphs) | |
|---|---|
|
Learning "ch" |
Learning "sh" |
|
Learning "th" |
Learning "qu" |
|
Learning "ng" |
|
Free Printable Worksheets for Digraphs
| Printable Worksheets (EE, OO, OU, OI, AW) | |
|---|---|
|
EE Words |
OO Words |
|
OI Words |
AW Words |
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