Common exception words

Some very common words don't follow the usual sound rules, or have a tricky part: ⟦said⟧, ⟦was⟧, ⟦the⟧, ⟦people⟧. They are called common exception words (or tricky words). You can't sound them out completely, so you learn how they look.

Key facts

  • Many are among the words we use most: ⟦the⟧, ⟦said⟧, ⟦was⟧, ⟦you⟧, ⟦they⟧, ⟦are⟧, ⟦were⟧, ⟦one⟧, ⟦school⟧.
  • Find the tricky part: in ⟦said⟧ the letters ⟦ai⟧ sound like the ⟦e⟧ in ⟦bed⟧; in ⟦was⟧ the ⟦a⟧ sounds like ⟦o⟧.
  • Learn them with look, say, cover, write, check: look at the word, say it, cover it, write it, then check it.
  • Words in a family share their tricky part: ⟦could⟧, ⟦would⟧, ⟦should⟧ all end in ⟦ould⟧.
  • Some sound the same as another word, so the sentence tells you which one: ⟦our⟧ and ⟦hour⟧, ⟦whole⟧ and ⟦hole⟧.

Worked examples

Example 1

Which is spelt correctly: ⟦sed⟧, ⟦said⟧ or ⟦sayd⟧?

  1. ⟦said⟧ sounds like it should be ⟦sed⟧.
  2. But it is spelt with ⟦ai⟧: ⟦s-a-i-d⟧.

Answer: ⟦said⟧

Example 2

Fill the gap: ⟦I ___ like a drink.⟧ (⟦wud⟧ or ⟦would⟧?)

  1. ⟦would⟧ is in the family ⟦could⟧, ⟦would⟧, ⟦should⟧.
  2. They all end in ⟦ould⟧: ⟦I would like a drink.⟧

Answer: ⟦would⟧

Example 3

Correct the spelling: ⟦Lots of peeple came.⟧

  1. Look at ⟦people⟧: the tricky part is ⟦eo⟧.
  2. Say it, cover it, write it, check it: ⟦p-e-o-p-l-e⟧.
  3. ⟦Lots of people came.⟧

Answer: ⟦Lots of people came.⟧