Diphthongs; /i/, /ai/, /au/, /ei/, /e/, - SS2 English Lesson Note

Diphthong is a combination of two vowel sounds within the same syllable. The first element of a diphthong is called the starting point, and the second element is called the glide. The glide is a gradual movement from the starting point to the second vowel sound.

English has 8 diphthongs, which are:

/ai/ as in light, buy, sigh
/eɪ/ as in play, day, they
/ɔɪ/ as in boy, oil, toy
/eə/ as in pair, air, bear
/ɪə/ as in dear, beer, fear
/ʊə/ as in sure, cure, pure
/aʊ/ as in out, town, house
/əʊ/ as in slow, show, no

Here are some words associated with each diphthong:

/ai/ - light, buy, sigh, sight, might, right, fight, bite, kite
/eɪ/ - play, day, they, say, way, may, lay, hay, pay
/ɔɪ/ - boy, oil, toy, joy, noise, voice, choice, spoil, boil
/eə/ - pair, air, bear, pear, hair, fair, there, care, where
/ɪə/ - dear, beer, fear, pier, here, near, tear, wear, year
/ʊə/ - sure, cure, pure, lure, moor, tour, our, hour, sour
/aʊ/ - out, town, house, doubt, shout, cloud, found, round, now
/əʊ/ - slow, show, no, go, low, blow, know, grow, throw
Some sentences that use the diphthongs:
- The light was on in the room.
- I play the piano.
- The boy is playing with his toy.
- The pair of shoes are new.
- The dear old lady is sitting on the bench.
- The sure thing is to do it now.
- The out of town trip was fun.
- The slow train is coming.