Linguistica: Digraphs e Blends

Digraphs

• Digraphs are two letters that represent one sound.
• Common digraphs include:
  • sh, ch, th, wh, ph, ck, ng
• Some digraphs represent vowel sounds, such as oi, oy, ou, ow.

Blends

• Blends are consonant combinations where each letter makes its own sound.
• Blends are different from digraphs because each letter is pronounced individually.
• Examples of blends include:
  • bl, br, cl, cr, fl, fr, gl, gr, pl, pr, sl, sm, sn.
• The sounds of the letters do not change when combined into blends.

Consonants

• Consonants are speech sounds produced by obstructing the airflow.
• Consonants are typically classified based on the way they are produced, including:
  • Plosives (e.g., p, b, t, d, k, g)
  • Fricatives (e.g., f, v, s, z, sh, th, h, ch)
  • Affricates (e.g., ch, j)
  • Nasals (e.g., m, n, ng)
  • Liquids (e.g., l, r)
  • Approximants (e.g., w, y)
• Consonants are essential parts of spoken language.

Suffixes

• Suffixes are morphemes added to the end of words to change their meanings.
• Suffixes are typically used to derive new words from existing ones.
• Common suffixes include:
  • -ing, -ed, -s, -es, -er, -est
  • -ment, -ful, -less, -ly, -ish, -ness
• They can change the part of speech (e.g., verb to adjective).

Possessives

• Possessives indicate ownership or possession.
• Possessive forms are marked with an apostrophe.
• Plural possessive nouns ending in an s, take only the apostrophe after the s (e.g., boys' toys).
• Singular nouns not ending in an s, require an added apostrophe s (e.g., dog's bone).

Noun

• A noun is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea.
• Some examples of nouns include:
  • cat, house, country, happiness

Pronoun

• A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun.
• Common pronouns include:
  • I, you, he, she, it, we, they, me, him, her, us, them, etc.
• Pronouns help avoid repetition.

Contractions

• Contractions are shortened forms of words where one or more letters are removed.
• Contractions usually involve an apostrophe.
• Examples include:
  • I'm (I am), you're (you are), can't (cannot), it's (it is).

Apostrophe

• An apostrophe (' ) is a punctuation mark used in various ways in English.
• Functions include showing possession, contractions, and omissions or elisions.
• It plays an important role in constructing grammatically correct sentences.