are
verbUsed to show what someone or something is like.
verbUsed to say what someone or something is.
verbUsed to show that two things mean the same thing.
verbUsed with a word ending in -ing to show that something is happening now.
verbUsed to tell how old someone is in years.
verbUsed to tell what time of day it is.
"are" does not follow standard phonics patterns and should be memorized.
Phonics breakdown
Phonics Rule: R-Controlled AR
When R comes after A, it changes the sound to /ɑːr/, like in 'car' and 'star'.
When A is followed by R, the R 'bosses' the vowel and changes its sound. Instead of short A or long A, you hear /ɑːr/. R-controlled vowels are sometimes called 'Bossy R'.
Tip
Bossy R takes the car to the farm!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Short E
The letter E makes a short sound, like in 'bed' and 'red'.
When the letter E appears in a closed syllable, it usually makes the short E sound /ɛ/. This is often confused with short I by new readers.
Tip
E says /ɛ/ like an egg on your head.
Examples
What is SnapPhonics?
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