Learn all about the long A sound, including the 8 ways to spell long vowel A: a, a-e, ai, ay, ei, ea, eigh, and ey. Learn how to teach long A and get a FREE printable list of words with long A sounds organized by spelling pattern.
All About Long A
Teaching students all the different ways to spell long vowels will help them become more independent, confident readers:
- Long a says /ā/ like acorn.
- Long e says /ē/ like equal.
- Long i says /ī/ like ice.
- Long o says /ō/ like ocean.
- Long u says /yoo/ like unicorn, OR /oo/ like ruler.
A is the first vowel I teach, and the long A sound can be spelled using 8 different patterns:
- The most common spellings of long A are A, A-E, AI, and AY.
- Less frequent ways to spell /ā/ are EI, EA, EIGH, and EY.
These patterns can be heard at the beginning, middle, or end of words. Long A can be spelled with a silent e, open syllable, or using a vowel team.
👉 For a free, complete, and printable list of 229 long A words, scroll to the bottom of this post and download it. But be sure to read all about long A first!
There are 8 ways to spell long A:
- a like acorn
- a-e like cake
- ai like rain
- ay like day
- ei like reindeer
- ea like steak
- eigh like eight
- ey like hey
Open Syllable Words
The letter A will say its name, or its long sound, when it is the last letter in a syllable. This is called an open syllable.
Long A sound word examples that include open syllables:
| acorn | major | able | navy | patience | apricot |
| bacon | razor | April | native | glacier | ago |
| baby | nature | labor | tomato | mason | naked |
| table | patient | maple | vapor | Katie | Arabia |
| paper | basil | favor | apron | sacred | apex |
| lady | Asia | Jamie | equator | lazy | agency |
| station | nation | acre | volcano | basin | cable |
| radio | potato | stable | agent | label | quotation |
| famous | crazy | Amy | Jason | basis | cradle |
| David | basic | range | tornado | Caleb | radiant |
A-E Words (Long A Silent E)
The letter A will say its name when it follows a Vowel-Consonant-e (VCe) pattern. The E is magic, stays silent, and it makes the A say its name.
That is why we hear the long A sound in these words. This spelling pattern is used at the end of base words.
Long A silent E words:
| cake | age | rate | gate | awake | flame |
| make | lake | race | stage | slave | cape |
| came | case | wave | tale | whale | sale |
| take | safe | save | brave | date | trace |
| place | shape | trade | hate | shade | phrase |
| same | gave | plane | grade | ate | chase |
| name | state | cave | base | frame | pace |
| face | space | ape | cage | parade | escape |
| page | game | Jane | pale | male | create |
| late | blame | snake | plate | cane | became |
AI Vowel Team Words
The vowel team AI is another way to spell long A. This is a spelling that usually comes in the middle of words.
I teach my students this jingle: “A-I in the middle says /ā/.” Make sure you say the letter names “A” and “I” when saying the jingle.
It is common to teach this spelling along with the vowel team AY (keep on reading below!).
Common words with long A in the middle, using the vowel team AI:
| rain | plain | sail | gain | contain |
| wait | paid | detail | faint | faith |
| afraid | laid | grain | pail | fail |
| main | trail | remain | jail | maid |
| tail | raise | chain | aid | snail |
| train | brain | nail | strain | |
| explain | pain | daily | claim | railroad |
| paint | dairy | Spain | waist | tailor |
AY Vowel Team Words
The vowel team AY is another way to spell long A, and this pattern is used at the end of base words. I use this jingle with my students: “A Y at the end says /ā/.” (Again, make sure you say the letter names “A” and “Y” when saying the jingle.)
The great thing about this vowel team is that if they hear /ā/ at the end of a base or root word, it will most likely be spelled with AY.
Common words with long A at the end, using the vowel team AY:
| day | hay | bay | mayor | decay |
| way | stay | pray | maybe | display |
| away | lay | stray | always | subway |
| may | pay | Sunday | yesterday | sway |
| say | gray | highway | payment | betray |
| today | spray | essay | birthday | repay |
| play | okay | crayon | holiday | playmate |
| ray | clay | relay | anyway | beltway |
EI, EA, EIGH, & EY Words (Vowel Teams)
These next four vowel teams are not commonly used to spell the long A sound. Be sure students have mastered the first four most common spellings for Long A before introducing these patterns.
Words with Vowel Team EI to spell long A:
- reindeer
- rein
- vein
- veil
- reign
- beige
Words with Vowel Team EA to spell long A:
- steak
- break
- great
- yea
- breakup
- outbreak
Words with Vowel Team EIGH to spell long A:
- eight
- eighty
- eighteen
- weigh
- weight
- neighbor
- freight
- sleigh
- neigh
Words with Vowel Team EY to spell long A:
- hey
- they
- obey
- grey
- prey
- survey
- convey
- disobey
Tips & Suggestions
- Before teaching long vowels, students should have a firm command of the five short vowel sounds, including all consonants, blends, and digraphs.
- Be sure to explicitly teach these long A patterns one at a time, in sequential order.
- Use a variety of activities to teach these long A spellings! Hands-on activities and multisensory activities are best.
- Get the rest of the printable Long Vowel Word Lists: Long E, Long I, Long O, and Long U!
Related Posts
- Long Vowel Anchor Chart
- Printable Long & Short Vowel Sorts
- 30 Tips for Teaching Letters & Sounds
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How is it going teaching the long vowel A? We’d love to get your feedback! Tag us on Instagram @LiteracyLearn or comment below to let us know how you’re using the words on this list.
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In this post, I’m breaking down long vowel sounds (or long vowel words) to help you teach them when working with struggling readers and spellers.
Looking for long vowel word lists? Download all 5 of my pdf long vowel sounds word lists in my freebies library by joining my email list below.
What is a long vowel sound?
Long vowel sounds are vowels that are pronounced the same as their name. You’ll often hear teachers say that long vowels “say their name”.
Long vowels are very common but they can be tricky because there are so many spellings for each long vowel sound.
There are actually 4 ways to make long vowel sounds:
- Vowels at the end of a syllable make the long sound. For example, in the words me and halo (ha-lo) the vowels are all at the end of a syllable so they make the long sound.
- Silent e makes the previous vowel long. The words bike and phone have a silent e at the end that makes the previous vowel long.
- Vowel teams can make the long sound. Vowel teams work together to make one sound, and usually, it’s a long vowel sound. For example, boat and meat both have vowel teams that make the long sound.
- I or O can be long when they come before two consonants. In words like cold and mind, i and o make a long vowel sound.
Long Vowel Words
Long vowel sound words are words that have vowels that say their name. Below are a few examples:
- Long a – baby, cake, rain, day, they, weigh
- Long e – me, eve, hear, meet, piece, candy
- Long i – silent, bike, light, my
- Long o – go, home, toe, boat, snow
- Long u – music, mule, pew, feud
Long A Sound
The long a sound can be represented by 8 different spelling patterns:
- a – baby
- a_e – cake
- ai – rain
- ay – play
- ei – reindeer
- eigh – weight
- ea – steak
- ey – they
Learn more about teaching the long a sound here, and check out my Long A Words Activities & Worksheets for printable activities.
Long E Sound
The long e sound can be represented by 8 different spelling patterns:
- e – be
- e_e – eve
- ee – meet
- ea – beach
- ei – protein
- ie – piece
- ey – key
- y – candy
For ideas, tips, and tricks when teaching the long e sound, read this post all about teaching the long e vowel sound, and check out my Long E Words Activities & Worksheets for printable activities.
Long I Sound
The long i sound can be represented by 6 different spelling patterns:
- i – silent
- i_e – shine
- ie – pie
- igh – light
- y – my
- y_e – type
You can learn more about teaching the long I sound in this post. And check out my Long I Worksheets set in my shop for printable activities on the long i sound.
Long O Sound
The long o sound can be represented by 5 different spelling patterns:
- o – go
- o_e – phone
- oe – toe
- oa – boat
- ow – snow
You can learn more about teaching long o words and check out my long o worksheets.
Long U Sound
The long u has two sounds: yoo (/y/ /oo/) and oo (/oo/).
The long u sound can be represented by 7 different spelling patterns:
- u – music
- u_e – mule
- ue – rescue
- eu – feud
- ew – few
- oo – food
- ou – soup
Learn more about teaching the long u sound here.
Tips for teaching the long vowel sounds
Teach one spelling pattern at a time!
I don’t mean one vowel sound, but just one spelling pattern. So for example, if you’re working on long a, you would work on the spelling pattern a silent e (cake, same, cave) until students have mastered it, then move on to ai, and so on. You should not be teaching multiple spelling patterns together, even though they make the same sound.
I know that most programs out there combine all the long vowel sound spelling patterns into one lesson, especially in spelling lists, but this does not work for struggling readers. You need to break it down for them and only do one at a time.
Teach the syllable types.
Because syllables have a lot to do with whether vowels make the short or long sound, if students do not already know the 6 syllable types then teach them along with the long vowel sound.
Here are resources for each syllable type:
- closed syllable
- open syllable
- final silent e syllable
- vowel team syllable
- r combination syllable
- consonant le syllable
Use a variety of activities to practice each spelling pattern.
Games, dictation, word sorts, memory or matching with flashcards, word hunts, textured writing, body spelling, and bingo are all fun ways to practice the long vowel sounds.
The main activity that is often overlooked is dictation. It seems so simple but the task involves listening to a word, deciding on the spelling, and transferring that info to written form. These are all skills that struggling readers need to practice.
Teach the spelling generalizations.
Some of the long vowel spelling patterns are spelling rules that make it easy to remember.
For example, ai is usually found at the beginning or middle of a syllable, and ay is usually found at the end of a syllable. [Examples: rain, aim, play, daytime]
Here is another example with long o: oa is usually found at the beginning or middle of a word, and ow is usually found at the end. [Examples: boat, coach, snow]
I made these word lists to help teach the long vowels. I find it handy to have these on hand when playing phonics games or planning activities for long vowel lessons.
Grab them for free below!
Visit my Teachers Pay Teachers shop to see all my literacy products.
Want to remember this? Save Long Vowel Sounds: Word Lists & Activities to your favorite Pinterest board!
Delilah Orpi is the founder of Thrive Literacy Corner. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Special Education, a Master’s degree in TESOL, and is a member of the International Dyslexia Association. She is an experienced educator and literacy specialist trained in Orton Gillingham and Lindamood Bell. Delilah creates literacy resources for educators and parents and writes to create awareness about dyslexia and effective literacy instruction based on the science of reading.
What are long a words in the English language? The long a sound has eight varieties of spelling which can make it tricky. Here you’ll learn a little about long a, the eight ways in which you can spell long a words, and see some examples for each spelling.
What are Long A Words?
A long a is the sound pronounced the way the a is said. For example, the way you say the letter a at the beginning of the alphabet is the long sound for the letter a. So, any word that makes that sound is considered a long a word.
Ways to Spell Long A Words
There are eight ways to spell long a words:
- a – table
- a-e – plane
- ai – train
- ay – today
- ei – beige
- eigh – weight
- ea – break
- ey – hey
You may notice that most of these are in vowel teams, which means that they are working with another vowel to make the long a sound. There are some reasons, rules, and tricks to use to remember the differences.
- a-e: This style has an a and e with a consonant in between. The e is silent in these long words.
- ai: You will find this long a sound either in the beginning or in the middle of a base word. Most of these words also end with the letter n, but not all the time.
- ay: This long a style will be at the end of a base word.
- ei: This pattern is not very common and doesn’t come with any rules. You’ll see some examples below.
- eigh: You will find this sound pattern at the end of some long a words.
- ea: This long a pattern is the least common way to make the long a sound. You’ll see this vowel team in the middle of long a words.
- ey: There are only ten common words that are spelled with this style.
Learn more with long vowel words English.
List of Long A Words
Here is a list of long a words in each of the eight spelling patterns
a
- Acorn
- Paper
- Baby
- Crazy
- Lady
- Basic
- Maple
- Table
- Fatal
- Potato
- Tomato
- Naval
- Radio
- Shaky
- Bacon
- Halo
a-e
- Cane
- Cake
- Lake
- Same
- Case
- Wave
- Trade
- Flake
- Space
- Cage
- Base
- Came
- Stage
- Space
- Plane
- Shade
- Tame
- Wade
ai
- Train
- Rain
- Fail
- Nail
- Daily
- Afraid
- Raisin
- Grain
- Gain
- Faint
- Trail
- Aim
- Sail
- Maid
- Paid
- Sprain
- Wait
- Waist
- Daily
ay
- Day
- Play
- Tray
- Say
- Clay
- Stay
- Pray
- May
- Spray
- Gray
- Hay
- Pay
- Bay
- Tray
- Away
- Today
- Relay
- Stray
- Yay
ei
- Beige
- Their
- Deign
- Vein
- Reign
- Heir
- Rein
- Reindeer
eigh
- Eight
- Weight
- Weigh
- Sleigh
- Freight
- Neigh
- Neighbor
ea
- Tear
- Bear
- Wear
- Swear
- Pear
- Steak
- Break
- Great
ey
- Hey
- They
- Grey
- Prey
- Obey
- Convey
- Purvey
- Survey
- Whey
- Abeyance
With having eight different ways to produce the long a sound in a word, it may be easiest to learn each sound pattern one at a time to get comfortable and familiar with them. There are several fun games and resources available that can be found online to help you learn and differentiate between these eight long a word sound patterns. The most important thing to remember in identifying a long a word is that the sound will be the same as the name of the letter a.
Long A Words | Image
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Last Updated on February 26, 2023
The long a sound can be spelled several ways. The magic e or final e and the open syllable are the most common ways. In addition, the long a sound can be represented in 2 vowel teams (“ai” and “ay”). Of course, there will be exceptions or odd balls- the irregular vowel team (“ei”).
Five Ways to Spell the Long A Sound
- Magic E (VCe or a_e)
- Vowel Team – AI
- Vowel Team – AY
- Irregular Vowel Team – EI
- Open Syllable – Long A
The magic E rule states when a word contains the letter “e” at the end, it is usually silent and the preceding vowel says its name (long sound), e.g., cake and date.
The vowel team rule states when two vowels go walking the first does the talking and the second vowel is silent. The combination of both an “a” and an “i” (double vowels) results in the long a sound. There are many AI words, e.g., maid, brain and paint.
As noted above, when two vowels go walking the first does the talking. The combination of both an “a” and “y” can result in the long a sound. The AY words, e.g., day and say, are not as plentiful as the AI words.
The vowel team rule states when two vowels go walking the first does the talking and the second vowel is silent. Like most things in life, there are exceptions. The combination of the vowels “e” and “i” can result in the long a sound, e.g., eight, sleigh, neigh and weigh.
An open syllable occurs when a vowel is at the end of the syllable (it is not closed by a consonant), e.g., A/pril and ha/zy.
Long A Words
The table below contains 169 long A words. The words are categorized into one of the five ways the long a sound can be spelled – Magic E Rule, Vowel Teams (2), Irregular Vowel Team and Open Syllable.
| Long A Words | Category | Word Family / Sound |
|---|---|---|
| able | Open Syllable Rule | initial sound |
| ace | Magic E Rule | -ace |
| acorn | Open Syllable Rule | initial sound |
| acre | Open Syllable Rule | initial sound |
| afraid | Open Syllable Rule / Vowel Team — AI |
initial sound / -aid |
| age | Magic E Rule | -age |
| agent | Open Syllable Rule | initial sound |
| ail | Vowel Team — AI | -ail |
| aim | Vowel Team — AI | -aim |
| ale | Magic E Rule | -ale |
| angel | Open Syllable Rule | initial sound |
| ape | Magic E Rule | -ape |
| apex | Open Syllable Rule | initial sound |
| apricot | Open Syllable Rule | initial sound |
| April | Open Syllable Rule | initial sound |
| apron | Open Syllable Rule | initial sound |
| Asia | Open Syllable Rule | initial sound |
| ate | Magic E Rule | -ate |
| baby | Open Syllable Rule | medial sound |
| bade | Magic E Rule | -ade |
| bail | Vowel Team — AI | -ail |
| bait | Vowel Team — AI | -ait |
| bake | Magic E Rule | -ake |
| bale | Magic E Rule | -ale |
| bane | Magic E Rule | -ane |
| base | Magic E Rule | -ase |
| basic | Open Syllable Rule | medial sound |
| basis | Open Syllable Rule | medial sound |
| baste | Magic E Rule | -aste |
| bay | Vowel Team — AY | -ay |
| blade | Magic E Rule | -ade |
| blame | Magic E Rule | -ame |
| blaze | Magic E Rule | -aze |
| brace | Magic E Rule | -ace |
| braid | Vowel Team — AI | -aid |
| brain | Vowel Team — AI | -ain |
| braise | Vowel Team — AI | -aise |
| brake | Magic E Rule | -ake |
| brave | Magic E Rule | -ave |
| bray | Vowel Team — AY | -ay |
| cage | Magic E Rule | -age |
| cake | Magic E Rule | -ake |
| came | Magic E Rule | -ame |
| cane | Magic E Rule | -ane |
| cape | Magic E Rule | -ape |
| case | Magic E Rule | -ase |
| cave | Magic E Rule | -ave |
| chain | Vowel Team — AI | -ain |
| chaise | Vowel Team — AI | -aise |
| chase | Magic E Rule | -ase |
| chaste | Magic E Rule | -aste |
| claim | Vowel Team — AI | -aim |
| clay | Vowel Team — AY | -ay |
| crane | Magic E Rule | -ane |
| crate | Magic E Rule | -ate |
| crave | Magic E Rule | -ave |
| craze | Magic E Rule | -aze |
| crazy | Open Syllable Rule | medial sound |
| dale | Magic E Rule | -ale |
| dame | Magic E Rule | -ame |
| date | Magic E Rule | -ate |
| Dave | Magic E Rule | -ave |
| day | Vowel Team — AY | -ay |
| daze | Magic E Rule | -aze |
| detail | Vowel Team — AI | -ail |
| drain | Vowel Team — AI | -ain |
| drake | Magic E Rule | -ake |
| drape | Magic E Rule | -ape |
| eight | Irregular Vowel Team — EI | — |
| enable | Open Syllable Rule | medial sound |
| equator | Open Syllable Rule | medial sound |
| explain | Vowel Team — AI | -ain |
| face | Magic E Rule | -ace |
| fade | Magic E Rule | -ade |
| fail | Vowel Team — AI | -ail |
| faint | Vowel Team — AI | -aint |
| fake | Magic E Rule | -ake |
| fame | Magic E Rule | -ame |
| fate | Magic E Rule | -ate |
| faze | Magic E Rule | -aze |
| flail | Vowel Team — AI | -ail |
| flake | Magic E Rule | -ake |
| flame | Magic E Rule | -ame |
| flavor | Open Syllable Rule | medial sound |
| frail | Vowel Team — AI | -ail |
| frame | Magic E Rule | -ame |
| fray | Vowel Team — AY | -ay |
| gage | Magic E Rule | -age |
| Gail | Vowel Team — AI | -ail |
| gain | Vowel Team — AI | -ain |
| gait | Vowel Team — AI | -ait |
| gale | Magic E Rule | -ale |
| game | Magic E Rule | -ame |
| gape | Magic E Rule | -ape |
| gate | Magic E Rule | -ate |
| gave | Magic E Rule | -ave |
| gay | Vowel Team — AY | -ay |
| gaze | Magic E Rule | -aze |
| glade | Magic E Rule | -ade |
| glaze | Magic E Rule | -aze |
| grace | Magic E Rule | -ace |
| grade | Magic E Rule | -ade |
| grain | Vowel Team — AI | -ain |
| grape | Magic E Rule | -ape |
| grate | Magic E Rule | -ate |
| grave | Magic E Rule | -ave |
| gravy | Open Syllable Rule | medial sound |
| gray | Vowel Team — AY | -ay |
| graze | Magic E Rule | -aze |
| hail | Vowel Team — AI | -ail |
| hale | Magic E Rule | -ale |
| haste | Magic E Rule | -aste |
| hate | Magic E Rule | -ate |
| hay | Vowel Team — AY | -ay |
| haze | Magic E Rule | -aze |
| hazy | Open Syllable Rule | medial sound |
| jade | Magic E Rule | -ade |
| jail | Vowel Team — AI | -ail |
| Jake | Magic E Rule | -ake |
| Jane | Magic E Rule | -ane |
| jay | Vowel Team — AY | -ay |
| Kate | Magic E Rule | -ate |
| label | Open Syllable Rule | medial sound |
| labor | Open Syllable Rule | medial sound |
| lace | Magic E Rule | -ace |
| ladle | Open Syllable Rule | medial sound |
| lady | Open Syllable Rule | medial sound |
| laid | Vowel Team — AI | -aid |
| lain | Vowel Team — AI | -ain |
| lake | Magic E Rule | -ake |
| lame | Magic E Rule | -ame |
| lane | Magic E Rule | -ane |
| late | Magic E Rule | -ate |
| lay | Vowel Team — AY | -ay |
| lazy | Open Syllable Rule | medial sound |
| mace | Magic E Rule | -ace |
| made | Magic E Rule | -ade |
| maid | Vowel Team — AI | -aid |
| Vowel Team — AI | -ail | |
| maim | Vowel Team — AI | -aim |
| main | Vowel Team — AI | -ain |
| make | Magic E Rule | -ake |
| male | Magic E Rule | -ale |
| mane | Magic E Rule | -ane |
| mate | Magic E Rule | -ate |
| may | Vowel Team — AY | -ay |
| maze | Magic E Rule | -aze |
| nail | Vowel Team — AI | -ail |
| name | Magic E Rule | -ame |
| nape | Magic E Rule | -ape |
| navy | Open Syllable Rule | medial sound |
| nay | Vowel Team — AY | -ay |
| neigh | Irregular Vowel Team — EI | -eigh |
| obtain | Vowel Team — AI | -ain |
| okay | Vowel Team — AY | -ay |
| pace | Magic E Rule | -ace |
| page | Magic E Rule | -age |
| paid | Vowel Team — AI | -aid |
| pail | Vowel Team — AI | -ail |
| pain | Vowel Team — AI | -ain |
| paint | Vowel Team — AI | -aint |
| pale | Magic E Rule | -ale |
| pane | Magic E Rule | -ane |
| paper | Open Syllable Rule | medial sound |
| paste | Magic E Rule | -aste |
| pave | Magic E Rule | -ave |
| pay | Vowel Team — AY | -ay |
| place | Magic E Rule | -ace |
| plain | Vowel Team — AI | -ain |
| plane | Magic E Rule | -ane |
| plate | Magic E Rule | -ate |
| play | Vowel Team — AY | -ay |
| potato | Open Syllable Rule | medial sound |
| praise | Vowel Team — AI | -aise |
| pray | Vowel Team — AY | -ay |
| quail | Vowel Team — AI | -ail |
| quaint | Vowel Team — AI | -aint |
| quake | Magic E Rule | -ake |
| quay | Vowel Team — AY | -ay |
| race | Magic E Rule | -ace |
| radio | Open Syllable Rule | medial sound |
| rage | Magic E Rule | -age |
| raid | Vowel Team — AI | -aid |
| rail | Vowel Team — AI | -ail |
| rain | Vowel Team — AI | -ain |
| raise | Vowel Team — AI | -aise |
| rake | Magic E Rule | -ake |
| rate | Magic E Rule | -ate |
| rave | Magic E Rule | -ave |
| ray | Vowel Team — AY | -ay |
| raze | Magic E Rule | -aze |
| relation | Open Syllable Rule | medial sound |
| remain | Vowel Team — AI | -ain |
| sage | Magic E Rule | -age |
| sail | Vowel Team — AI | -ail |
| saint | Vowel Team — AI | -aint |
| sale | Magic E Rule | -ale |
| same | Magic E Rule | -ame |
| sane | Magic E Rule | -ane |
| save | Magic E Rule | -ave |
| say | Vowel Team — AY | -ay |
| scale | Magic E Rule | -ale |
| scrape | Magic E Rule | -ape |
| shade | Magic E Rule | -ade |
| shake | Magic E Rule | -ake |
| shale | Magic E Rule | -ale |
| shame | Magic E Rule | -ame |
| shape | Magic E Rule | -ape |
| shave | Magic E Rule | -ave |
| skate | Magic E Rule | -ate |
| slain | Vowel Team — AI | -ain |
| slave | Magic E Rule | -ave |
| slay | Vowel Team — AY | -ay |
| sleigh | Irregular Vowel Team — EI | -eigh |
| snail | Vowel Team — AI | -ail |
| snake | Magic E Rule | -ake |
| space | Magic E Rule | -ace |
| spade | Magic E Rule | -ade |
| Spain | Vowel Team — AI | -ain |
| sprain | Vowel Team — AI | -ain |
| spray | Vowel Team — AY | -ay |
| stage | Magic E Rule | -age |
| stain | Vowel Team — AI | -ain |
| stake | Magic E Rule | -ake |
| stale | Magic E Rule | -ale |
| state | Magic E Rule | -ate |
| station | Open Syllable Rule | medial sound |
| stave | Magic E Rule | -ave |
| stay | Vowel Team — AY | -ay |
| strain | Vowel Team — AI | -ain |
| strait | Vowel Team — AI | -ait |
| stray | Vowel Team — AY | -ay |
| sway | Vowel Team — AY | -ay |
| table | Open Syllable Rule | medial sound |
| tablecloth | Open Syllable Rule | medial sound |
| tail | Vowel Team — AI | -ail |
| taint | Vowel Team — AI | -aint |
| take | Magic E Rule | -ake |
| tale | Magic E Rule | -ale |
| tame | Magic E Rule | -ame |
| tape | Magic E Rule | -ape |
| taste | Magic E Rule | -aste |
| tomato | Open Syllable Rule | medial sound |
| trace | Magic E Rule | -ace |
| trade | Magic E Rule | -ade |
| trail | Vowel Team — AI | -ail |
| train | Vowel Team — AI | -ain |
| trait | Vowel Team — AI | -ait |
| tray | Vowel Team — AY | -ay |
| vacation | Open Syllable Rule | medial sound |
| vain | Vowel Team — AI | -ain |
| vane | Magic E Rule | -ane |
| vapor | Open Syllable Rule | medial sound |
| vase | Magic E Rule | -ase |
| vibration | Open Syllable Rule | medial sound |
| volcano | Open Syllable Rule | medial sound |
| wade | Magic E Rule | -ade |
| wage | Magic E Rule | -age |
| wail | Vowel Team — AI | -ail |
| wain | Vowel Team — AI | -ain |
| wait | Vowel Team — AI | -ait |
| wake | Magic E Rule | -ake |
| wane | Magic E Rule | -ane |
| waste | Magic E Rule | -aste |
| wave | Magic E Rule | -ave |
| way | Vowel Team — AY | -ay |
| weigh | Irregular Vowel Team — EI | -eigh |
| whale | Magic E Rule | -ale |
| x-ray | Vowel Team — AY | -ay |
Long A Worksheets
We created 30 worksheets to assist a child in learning the various ways the long A sound can be spelled.
| Long A Worksheets | Long A Words |
|---|---|
| Magic E Worksheet 1 | lace, face, pace & race |
| Magic E Worksheet 2 | cage, page & stage |
| Magic E Worksheet 3 | bake, cake, make, rake, take & snake |
| Magic E Worksheet 4 | came, game, name, same, flame & blame |
| Magic E Worksheet 5 | made, trade & grade |
| Magic E Worksheet 6 | Jane, crane, cane & plane |
| Magic E Worksheet 7 | cape, gape, tape, grape & ape |
| Magic E Worksheet 8 | date, fate, late & gate |
| Magic E Worksheet 9 | haste, paste, waste & taste |
| Magic E Worksheet 10 | Dave, cave, gave & wave |
| Magic E Worksheet 11 | male, sale, scale & whale |
| Magic E Worksheet 12 | chase, case, base & vase |
| Magic E Worksheet 13 | daze, faze, maze, graze & blaze |
| AI worksheet 1 | laid, raid, staid, maid, paid & braid |
| AI worksheet 2 | hail, mail, tail & pail |
| AI worksheet 3 | jail, bail, fail & wail |
| AI worksheet 4 | Gail, quail, flail & trail |
| AI worksheet 5 | rail, nail, sail & snail |
| AI worksheet 6 | gain, main, pain, rain & vain |
| AI worksheet 7 | chain, brain, plain, grain & train |
| AY Worksheet 1 | bay, ray, day, say & okay |
| AY worksheet 2 | hay, jay, may, lay, way & pay |
| AY worksheet 3 | spray, gray, stray, pray & tray |
| AY worksheet 4 | clay, play, sway, stay & x-ray |
| AY worksheet 5 | gay, nay, quay, bray & fray |
| AI and AY worksheet 1 | pay, paid, stay, staid, lay & laid |
| EI Worksheet 1 | eight, neigh, sleigh & weigh |
| Homophone Worksheet | ate, eight, way & weigh |
| Open Syllable Worksheet 1 | able, acorn, also & April |
| Open Sylllable Worksheet 2 | baby, lady, table & gravy |
Source: Fry, E.B., Ph.D. & Kress, J.E., Ed.D. (2006). The Reading
Teacher’s Book of Lists 5th Edition. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass
Reader Interactions
We have 26 alphabets in English Grammar out of which 5 are vowels (a,e,i,o,u) and rest 21 are consonants. Pronunciation of every vowel is different from the other which gives rise to different types of sounds wherever they are used.
Today we are going to discuss about vowel ‘a’ and learn different sounds it produces whenever it is used in a word.
One of the first encounters for a student is this concept of long and short vowel sounds, such as ‘a’. Short a, written phonetically as /æ/, makes the vowel sound of a, as in cap, tap, fat and bat.
Following ESL phonics extensive list introduces students to “short a” and “long a” sound words.
| act | apt | ask | bat | bad | bag | cat |
| cap | cab | dad | dab | dan | fan | fat |
| fad | gap | gab | gal | gas | ham | has |
| had | hat | jab | jam | lab | lad | lag |
| lap | man | mad | mat | map | nap | pan |
| Pam | pad | pal | ran | ram | rag | rat |
| Sam | sad | sag | sat | sap | tab | tan |
| tad | tag | tap | van | vat | yam | zap |
| Actor | Album | Camel | Dagger | Factory | Hammer | Atlas |
| Panic | Rabbit | Saddle | Bandit | Ladder | January | Active |
Carefully go through the words given in above table and try to pronounce them. You’ll observe a pattern that we don’t have to stress on the vowel ‘a’ therefore we hear a soft ‘a’ sound.
Notice all three-letter words and vowel ‘a’ which is used between two consonants, these types of words are called CVC words.
Now Let us move to the long ‘a’ vowel words section where you would have to stress the vowel ‘a’ to pronounce the words correctly.
Long ‘A’ Vowel Sound Words
The long /a/ sound is pronounced like the word ‘Alien’. It is quite similar to sound what you hear in words like “Acorn” or “Apron.”
There are four ways of spelling Long ‘a’ sounds:
1. Using Letter A: You can spell the long /a/ sound with just the letter a.
| Alien | Agent | Apron | Acorn |
| Basic | Data | Fatal | Basin |
2. Using Split Digraph A _ E : These words spell the long /a/ sound using a split digraph a_e where a is in the middle of the word and an e at the end of the word.
| Bake | Cake | Shake | Make | Fake | Snake |
| Fade | Made | Maid | Laid | Shade | Kate |
| Same | Fame | Name | Game | Lame | Flame |
| Cane | Mane | Main | Lane | Insane | Plane |
3. AI and AY Words: The long /a/ sound is spelled with the letters ai and ay, at the end of some words.
| Aim | Fail | Snail | Pain | Chain |
| Stain | Vain | Paint | Faint | Waist |
| Claim | Sail | Tail | Wait | Strain |
| Day | Hay | Lay | Pay | Ray |
| Tray | Stay | Sway | Play | Pray |
4. Using EI Words: The long /a/ sound is spelled with the letters ei usually at the middle of the word.
| Reins | Vein | Veil | Reign | Neigh |
| Weigh | Sleigh | Eight | Freight | Weight |
Notice that whenever you pronounce these words you’ll hear a sharp ‘a’ sound that is why they are called Long ‘a’ vowel words.
We hope you have found this post useful for your child. Practice sounding out these words to help your child build his/her phonics skills. Use the following image for a quick revision.
Keep exploring EnglishBix to find more resources related to Elementary Grades.
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Long Vowel Sounds «-a» Word List
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Long Vowel Sounds «-a» Word List
Here’s a useful word list with long vowel sounds to use with your ESL students.
Long vowel sound spelling patterns are quite difficult for students to learn. First they must understand that more than one letter can be used to represent one sound and then learn the various ways that the sound can be represented in print.
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|
|
/ā/ as in ape. |
 |
 |
How to spell the long /ā/ sound: |
Some words need just the letter a, for example:
| acorn | apron | alien | agent |
| basic | basin | data | fatal |
Sometimes, we need to add another letter somewhere in the word:
| a-e as in snake. | ai as in train. | ay as in pray. | ei as in reindeer. |
| We use a split digraph a-e: add an e on the end (to make the a say its name). |
Or, we use ai. | Or, we put ay on the end of a word. | Rarely, we use ei. See Unit 21 for more on these words. |
|
Some examples: ale amaze
2 
…and many more. |
Some examples: aid again
2
…and many more. |
Some examples: day away
2
2
|
Some examples: reins*
2
|
Notes:
1) Words marked * are homophones. See page 6 of this unit.
2) Words ending in —ace are in Unit 20.
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sound.
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Long Vowel Sound A: Patterns, Rules, and Audio
Long Vowel Sound A: Patterns, Rules, and Audio
Long vowel sound A is easy to say, it sounds like the “a” in “game.” If you can say the letter “A”, then you’ve mastered the sound that Long A makes. Recognizing when an “a” should be a Long A or Short A is much harder. In this lesson, we’ll walk you through common Long A patterns so you can correctly identify Long A’s in every word you read and learn.
If you need any more phonics help, check out our Vowels Home Page for lessons, flashcards, and articles.
If you want to learn about other Long Vowels, take a look at these lessons:
- Long Vowel E
- Long Vowel I
- Long Vowel O
- Long Vowel U
How to Pronounce the Long A
The IPA symbol for Long A is /eɪ/. It makes a sound like the “a” in “ape” or “lake.” Listen below to hear the Long Vowel Sound A in an Ameican accent.
In contrast, a Short A sounds like “a” in “ant” or “apple.” Listen below to hear a Short A vowel sound.
Long Vowel Sound A Worksheet
Download and print our free long A patterns worksheet to start practicing. Includes Long A patterns, examples, and some pictures to color.
1. Long A Pattern: “Magic E Words” (a_e)
The first, and most important strategy for identifying a Long A vowel, is words with Magic E. With Magic E words, the “e” hops over a letter and turns the “a” from a Short A into a Long A. For example, a word like “nap” (with a Short A) becomes “nape” (with a Long A) when you add an “e”.
Important Words with “Magic E Words” (a_e)
- Name
- Same
- Game
- Plate
- Grade
Important Exceptions to “a_e”
- words ending in -are: share, care, rare, etc. (the “a” sounds more like a short /e/)
2. Long A Pattern: ai
This is another fairly reliable pattern for spotting a Long A vowel. Though, like most things in English, it is not going to be correct every time. The pattern “ai” will generally work to indicate a Long A, but I will list some of the notable exceptions below.
Important Words with “ai”
- Rain
- Train
- Wait
- Paint
Important Exceptions to “ai”
- -air words like “hair” or “fair” or “chair” (pronounced the same as the -are words above)
- Said (the “ai” makes an /e/ sound)
- Again (sometimes pronounced with a Long A, but typically we use a short /e/ in this word)
3. Long A Pattern: ay
The Long A pattern “ay” is a very reliable pattern to determine whether an “a” is long or not. Typically, this pattern happens at the end of words, though you may see it in the middle of words as well. Besides one fairly common exception (see below), your child can be fairly certain that if they see an “ay,” then they will need to pronounce it as a Long A vowel.
Important Words with “ay”
- Day
- Play
- May
- Gray (Grey in British English, but same Long A)
- Okay
Important Exceptions to “ay”
- Says (/s/ /e/ /z/) (This can be a little confusing because “say” does use the long A)
4. Long A Pattern: ei
This is a bit of a weird one because it doesn’t actually contain an “a” in it. But yes, unfortunately, there are words in English that use “ei” as a Long A sound. It is best to just memorize the important ones, and luckily there are not too many. The “ei” pattern is made more difficult because “ei” can represent other sounds as well like long E (weird) or short /e/ (their).
Important Words with “ei” (Long A sound)
- Eight
- Neighbor
- Weigh
- Weight
- Sleigh
Important Exceptions to “ei”
There are many, many words that have “ei,” but do not make a Long A sound. It would be easier to learn the ones that do, and assume that the others do not.
5. Long A Pattern: Open Syllable (a)
Most words with just a single “a” should be pronounced with a short /a/. However, there are some words that do not follow this rule. Instead, you will have to memorize these exceptions to the rule. These words usually are examples of what are called “Open Syllables.” These syllables end with a vowel, and when this happens we get a long vowel instead of the normal short vowel.
Important Words with Open Syllable “a” (Long A Sound)
- Able
- April
- Asia
- Baby
- Crazy
- Lazy
- Tomato
- Table
Important Exceptions to Open Syllable “a” (Long A Sound)
As mentioned earlier, most a’s on their own will make a short /a/ sound. It would be easier to memorize these exceptions that follow the Open Syllable rule, rather than checking the syllables of the word each time you encounter an “a.”
6. Further Exceptions: “ey”
The pairing of “ey” almost always results in a long E sound. However, there are a couple of words that use “ey” to make a Long A instead. Of these words, these are the ones most commonly used.
- They
- Hey
- Obey
How do I Practice Long Vowel Patterns?
Once you have gone over the patterns that use Long A, it is best to practice identifying Long A vowels by reading with your child. You can do this by reading to your child and having them try to sound out individual words, or let them read to you. It all depends on what they like, and what level of English they have. For long vowel identification, reading is the best way for children to learn the patterns and to start to become familiar with common exceptions to the rules.
While reading with your child, please make sure that you discourage them from guessing words. Also, do not try to push them to read beyond their level. By taking it slow in the beginning and properly teaching them how to read using long vowel patterns and synthetic phonics, your child will improve in the long run.
For further practice, consider try reading some of our fairy tales written specifically for beginners.
More Long Vowel Practice
If you have questions that you would like answered, feel free to leave us a post in the comment section.
All done with Long A? Check out some of our other phonics lessons:
- Long Vowel E
- Long Vowel I
- Long Vowel O
- Long Vowel U
Spelling can be tough, especially in the English language. Words aren’t necessarily spoken the way they’re written, even in the most simple letter arrangements. Depending on the position of a letter in a word, the number of letters in the word, and a letter’s relationship to the letters around it, that letter can have its sound changed, or remain silent altogether! Vowels, in particular, have two sounds: short or long.
You can learn more about short and long vowel sounds in this guide. Here, we’ll be focusing on just words with a long A sound.
Long and Short Vowels
A vowel sound is considered long when that vowel is read as its name, like the letter A in the words “aim” and “enable.” A vowel is short when this is not the case, as with A in the words “archery” and “bar.” If English is not your first language, you can practice recognizing long and short vowel sounds by putting an accent mark above the long vowels, like so: ā. The letter /ā/ is pronounced “ayy.” Once you start to get used to certain vocabulary words, and the way English pronunciation works, you can slowly phase these accent marks out.
While English can sometimes be unpredictable for first-time learners – phase is pronounced with an f? – there are some patterns you’ll begin to notice that can help you identify certain vowel sounds like the long A.
Most commonly, these patterns will come in the form of a-e words, ai words, ay words, and ei words.
A-E Words
You might approach A in the middle of a word, like “made,” and wonder how you’re supposed to pronounce it. That E at the end should give you the hint you need. The word “made” is pronounced with a long A sound because the E at the end tying the sound together. If that E wasn’t there, you’d be stuck with the word “mad,” which is spoken with a short A sound and means something different. Other A-E words include:
- bake
- cake
- make
- lake
- fake
- stake
- crate
- grate
- flake
- skate
- inflate
- migrate
- imitate
- estimate
- translate
AI Words
Words with the combination of letters ai are usually another good sign that a long A sound is involved, at least where those letters are placed. Some ai words include:
- aim
- gain
- fail
- main
- grail
- chain
- again
- plain
- strain
- remain
- contain
- explain
- maintain
- ascertain
Are you looking to teach English language to ESL students? Learn five effective English language teaching methods in this guide.
AY Words
Another, more obvious indication that a word has a long A sound is the ay combination. The letter A on its own is often not enough to indicate that an “ayy” sound is warranted, but with that added letter Y at the end, it’s practically spelling the long A sound out for you. Some ay words include:
- day
- may
- say
- pay
- gay
- play
- gray
- stay
- tray
- sway
- relay
- essay
- betray
- display
- portray
EI Words
It’s common for English words to use the ei combination to indicate a long A sound, but be wary of its relative rareness. Also be wary not to confuse it with the pronunciation conventions of a language like German, which will always pronounce the ei combination like a long I sound. Some examples of ei words in English include:
- veil
- vein
- reign
- weigh
- eight
- weight
- beige
- freight
Long A Words
While some of these conventions might push you in the right direction on occasion, the rules regarding pronunciation in English are tricky. How do you determine the pronunciation if the letter A is heading the word? You can check out this advanced English grammar course and try to learn the tough stuff, or you can practice vocabulary on a daily basis and grow accustomed to the words of the language. It will sound natural to you in no time.
You can also learn the ins and outs of memorizing vocabulary with this course. See below for some English words with a long A sound that begin with A:
- aim
- ail
- aid
- able
- acorn
- apron
- agent
- aphid
- angel
- alien
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