Hard "C" Sounds
* "C" before "a," "o," "u," and sometimes "r" makes a hard "k" sound:
* cat, coat, cup, crow, crane, cry
* "C" before "e," "i," "y" usually makes a soft "s" sound:
* cent, city, cycle (but there are exceptions, like "cedar" and "circus" where it makes a hard "k" sound)
Hard "G" Sounds
* "G" before "a," "o," "u" makes a hard "g" sound:
* gate, go, gum, grow, guitar
* "G" before "e," "i," "y" usually makes a soft "j" sound:
* gem, giant, gym
* Exception: In some words like "get" or "give," "g" has a hard "g" sound even though it's followed by "e" or "i".
* "G" followed by "h" usually makes a hard "f" sound:
* laugh, tough, enough
Additional Points
* "Ck" and "gk" often make a hard "k" sound:
* back, track, pack, frog, dog, fog
* "Ph" often makes a hard "f" sound:
* phone, graph, photograph
Important Note: English spelling is not perfectly consistent. There are exceptions to every rule, and the best way to learn the spellings of words is to simply memorize them!
Example:
* Cat, coat, cut, cry (hard "c")
* Center, city, cycle (soft "c")
* Gate, go, gum, grow (hard "g")
* Gem, giant, gym (soft "g")
* Get, give (hard "g")
* Laugh, tough, enough (hard "f" sound)
Let me know if you have any other questions!