The “Short A”
“a”
/æ/
The “Short E” to the “Short A”
- Say the “short e”: /ɛ/ (like in “pet”)
- Widen your lips slightly
- Drop your jaw slightly
- Say the “short a”: /æ/ (like in “pat”)
- Create the sound at the front of your mouth
- The front of your tongue is quite forward, and just behind your lower front teeth.
- Usually spelled with just the letter “a” in CVC (consonant / vowel / consonant) blends. For example: cat, path, chance etc.
- Examples of just VC blends: Alice, act, ask etc.