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Unit 7, Part 2: Spelling the long vowel sounds

Page 14 of 16

Unit 7: Short vowels, Part 2: i, o and u

Unit Startpage 13Course Testpage 15page 16page 17page 18Course Testpage 20page 21page 22page 23Course Testpage 25page 26Course Testpage 28Unit End

Page 14 of 16

Spelling the long vowel sound /ū/: u-e, ue, ew

homophones - learn to spell similar sounding words

Homophones from this section:

If you confuse these words the computer spellchecker will not spot your mistake -
so it is especially important to learn them.

new - not old

knew - past tense of 'know'		 Do you like my new coat?

I knew him from school.
Learning tip to help your spelling If you know about knowledge, you'll know about knew.
See Unit 24 for more on silent letters like k.

due - owing

dew - damp		 I have some holiday pay due to me.

There is dew on the grass in the morning.

ewe - sheep

you - not me		 A female sheep is a ewe.

If you want to see more on the /oo/ words, go to Unit 13.

cue -
1) hint
2) snooker rod

queue -line
1) The actor got his cue to go on stage.
2) Use a cue when playing snooker or pool.

There was a long queue of cars at the lights.

duel - fight between two

dual - shared between two		 The swordsmen fought a duel.

The instructor's car has dual controls.
Learning tip to help your spelling Fight a duel with steel swords.
Drive a car with dual controls.

Rule breakers break spelling rules These words are not really homophones as they do not sound the same. They are included here because many people make mistakes with 'minute' meaning time.
minute - very small


minute - a short time		 minute with a long /ī/ sound:
Some bugs are too minute to spot with the naked eye.

minute with the short /ī/ sound in both syllables:
I'll be ready in just a minute.

revue - musical

review - report, survey		 There were some new songs in the revue.

The critic gave the show a good review.

This completes the work on spelling the long /ū/ sound.

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