Vowels: What are Vowels?

What are vowels? There are 5 vowels in English. These are A, E, I, O, U. Vowels can be short or long in sound. Short vowels: cat, hen, pin, cop, sun. Long vowels: cake, see, kite, coat, cute. They are accompanied by 21 consonants. In these examples, the vowels are in bold. Check out our vowels infographic.

Vowel Sentence Examples

Practice vowels in sentences. Although most vowel sounds are short and long, there are some discrepancies which make English orthographically inconsistent. These are schwa sounds, silent letters, and r-controlled vowel sounds. For a better visual download our vowels list for short and long vowel sounds.

• Short vowels
• This is a hat.
• Can you pat me on the back?
• The egg is delicious.
• I have a pet.
• I have a tin of beans.
• The weather is hot today.
• He is a cop.
• Let's go for a run.
• It's fun in the sun.



• Long vowels
• Can you hear the rain?
• I have a birthday cake.
• What can you see?
• I will swim in the sea.
• I eat rice on Monday.
• You need to turn right.
• I live on a boat.
• Can you mow the lawn?
• My pet rabbit is cute.

Vowel Games and Worksheets

Looking for more resources related to vowels? Check out our comprehensive list of worksheets and video games. Download worksheets and play interactive games for free.

• Worksheets>>>
• Vowel sound worksheets
• R-controlled vowel sound worksheets
• Short vowel sound worksheets
• Vowel diphthong games
• Short vowel games
• More grammar games>>>
• More vocabulary games>>>