who
pronounUsed to ask which person or people you want to know about, as in 'Who is that?'
pronounUsed to talk about a person you have already mentioned, as in 'My friend Sam, who likes dogs, came to play.'
"who" does not follow standard phonics patterns and should be memorized.
Phonics breakdown
Phonics Rule: Letter W
The letter W makes the /w/ sound, like in 'win', 'wet', and 'web'. The lips round into an O shape.
W is a voiced bilabial approximant — the lips round tightly then open as voice flows. W is sometimes silent (write, wrong) and can act as a vowel in some combinations (aw, ew, ow).
Tip
W rounds your lips — make an O then say /w/!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Letter H
The letter H makes the /h/ sound, like in 'hat', 'hop', and 'hen'. It is a soft breath of air.
H is a voiceless glottal fricative — just a puff of air with no friction. It always appears before a vowel and is sometimes silent (as in 'hour' or 'honest').
Tip
H is a puff of air — breathe out and say /h/!
Examples
Phonics Rule: O says /uː/
In a few little words the single O says 'oo', like in 'do', 'who', and 'to'.
Usually O says its short or long sound, but in a small set of common words a lone O makes the 'oo' sound /uː/ instead — do, who, to, two, into, onto, tomb, womb. These words are learned by heart.
Tip
Who will do it? O says oo!
Examples
What is SnapPhonics?
A phonics reference for teachers, parents and learners. Every English word, broken into the sounds that make it — with audio, syllables, and the rule behind each spelling.
Save words to study lists, build flashcard decks, and scan your own worksheets and books.
