LinguaTwenty-six letters, two shapes each
English is written with twenty-six letters. Every letter has a big shape and a small shape: A and a are the same letter. The small shape is the one you meet almost everywhere – in books, on signs, in messages. The big shape is used at the start of a sentence and at the start of a name. Start with six letters and learn to draw them, not just to recognise them: the hand remembers what the eye forgets.
Big A: two slanted strokes down, then the bar across. Small a: the round part first, then the line down its right side.
Big B: the long line down first, then the two bellies. Small b: the line down, then one belly at the bottom.
One stroke for both shapes: start at the top right and curve left and down, like an open circle.
Big D: the line down, then one wide belly. Small d: the round part first, then a long line down its right side – the opposite of b.
Big E: the line down, then three bars – top, middle, bottom. Small e: one stroke that starts with a small line across and curls round.
Big F: the line down, then the top bar and the middle bar – an E without its foot. Small f: a hook at the top, then the little bar across.
| Letter | Its name | A word with it |
|---|---|---|
| Aa | ay | apple |
| Bb | bee | bed |
| Cc | see | cat |
| Dd | dee | dog |
| Ee | ee | egg |
| Ff | ef | fish |
A letter has a name and a sound, and they are not the same thing. The letter c is called see, but in cat it says a short k. Say the name when you spell a word out loud; use the sound when you read one.
a bed
a face
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| apple | apple | An apple. |
| bed | bed | A bed. |
| cat | cat | A cat. |
| dog | dog | A dog. |
| egg | egg | An egg. |
| fish | fish | A fish. |
| face | face | A face. |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- trace the letter: 3
- multiple choice: 4
- fill the gap: 1
- match the pairs: 1
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
Write the capital letter that begins the word apple.
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.