Of course, there are also sounds made by consonants that can be repeated over and over without a vowel sound. In other languages, like Polish, long strings of consonants are more common. There are exceptions, of course-take the word “strengths” for example, which has a string of five consonants (though it only has three consonant sounds in a row: ng, th, and s). You will also find that most words in English won’t have more than three consonants in a row, because otherwise it gets to be too difficult for English-speakers to say it. There are strings of consonants that are sometimes written like full words, like “hmm.” However, these are just sounds rather than actual words. So, while every word has to have a vowel, not every word has to have a consonant. Words in English need vowels to break up the sounds that consonants make. For instance, in English you can have vowels that are entire words, such as “a” or “I.” You won’t see a consonant that is a word by itself, however.
There are, of course, other differences between vowels and consonants. However, in words like “beyond,” it acts as a bridge between the “e” and the “o,” and there is some partial closure, making “y” a consonant.Īnother forgotten letter that has the same qualities as “y” is “w.” While “w” is almost always a consonant, it is considered a vowel at the end of words like “wow” or “how.” You can see for yourself when saying these words that your mouth doesn’t fully close while pronouncing the letter. In words like “myth” or “hymn,” the letter takes on a sound like a short “i” and the mouth and throat don’t close when the sound is made. Depending on which word “y” is being used in, it can represent different sounds. The difference explains why “y” is only “sometimes” a vowel. That means that at some point, the sound is stopped by your teeth, tongue, lips, or constriction of the vocal cords. In contrast, a consonant is a sound that is made with the air stopping once or more during the vocalization.
But did you ever ask yourself why the letters were divided into two separate groups?īasically, a vowel is a sound that is made with the mouth and throat not closing at any point. You already know that vowels in the English alphabet are a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y, while the rest of the letters are called consonants. Mark asks: Why is “y” only sometimes a vowel? When is it a vowel and when is it a consonant?
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