Vowel Alternation
Welcome! Let's explore how adding suffixes can change vowel sounds in English words.
Remember!
Adding a suffix to the end of a base word sometimes changes the vowel sound in the original word. A base word may have a long-vowel sound that becomes a short-vowel sound after a suffix is added.
For example, the word crime has a long i sound, while the word criminal has a short i sound. The change in vowel sounds between related words is called vowel alternation.
Practice
Activity 1
Activity 2
Activity 3
A. Read each sentence. The underlined word has a long vowel sound. Circle the related word that has a short vowel sound.
1. The nation put together a strong team for the national meet.
2. We are happy to reside in a community with many residents.
3. The storyteller was wise, and she shared her wisdom with us.
4. I will invite him with a hand-delivered invitation.
B. Read the words below. Draw a line from the base word to the related word that has vowel alternation.
|
Base Word |
Related Word |
|
metal |
competition |
|
repeat |
criminal |
|
compete |
reference |
|
crime |
original |
|
origin |
metallic |
|
refer |
repetition |
Answer Keys
A. Here are the related words with short vowel sounds for each sentence:
- The
nation put together a strong team for the national meet.
Circle the related word: national - We are
happy to reside in a community with many residents.
Circle the related word: residents. - The
storyteller was wise, and she shared her wisdom with us.
Circle the related word: wisdom - I will
invite him with a hand-delivered invitation.
Circle the related word: invitation
B. Here are the pairs of base words and related words with vowel alternation:
- metal
- metallic
- competition
- compete
- repeat
- repetition
- crime
- criminal
- refer -
- origin
- original