The English alphabet has 26 letters. Each letter has an uppercase form used for names and the start of sentences, and a lowercase form used in most writing. Letters represent sounds, but English spelling is not perfectly consistent, so one letter can have multiple sounds and one sound can be spelled in different ways.

Each letter has a standard name that you use when spelling words aloud, giving an email address, or talking about writing. Letter names stay the same even when the letter’s sound changes in a word. Knowing letter names helps you communicate clearly in situations like phone calls, forms, and classroom settings.

Uppercase letters are used at the beginning of a sentence, for the pronoun I, and for proper nouns like people, places, brands, and days of the week. Lowercase letters are used for most other words in a sentence. Many letters look similar across cases, but some change shape a lot, so you should recognize them quickly in reading.

Word/Phrase	Definition	Example
Uppercase	Capital letters used for sentence starts and names	London, Maria, Monday
Lowercase	Small letters used for most writing	a book, the city, on Monday
Proper noun	A name that usually takes uppercase	Amazon, Spain, Mr. Lee
Sentence start	The first letter of a sentence is uppercase	She is here.

English has five main vowel letters: A, E, I, O, U. These letters can represent many different vowel sounds, and sometimes Y can act like a vowel too. Vowel letters are central to syllables, so recognizing vowel patterns helps you read and spell more accurately.

The other letters are consonant letters, and they often represent consonant sounds like /t/, /m/, or /s/. Some consonant letters have more than one common sound, and some consonant sounds are written with two letters together. Learning consonant patterns helps you predict pronunciation and spelling.

In English, the same letter can produce different sounds depending on the word, and the same sound can be spelled in different ways. This means you should learn letters as tools for reading, not as one fixed sound. Paying attention to common patterns like vowel-consonant structure will help you connect spelling to pronunciation.

Rule	Example
A letter name is not the same as its sound in a word	B is named bee, but in boy it is /b/
One letter can have more than one sound	C: cat /k/, city /s/
One sound can have more than one spelling	/f/: fan, phone
Two letters can represent one sound	sh in ship

English pronunciation often depends on letter position and neighboring letters. Some letters have predictable patterns, such as C and G having a softer sound before E, I, or Y in many words. Learning these patterns improves reading fluency and helps you make a good guess when you see a new word.

Rule	Description	Notation	Example
C before E I Y	Often pronounced like /s/ in many common words	/s/	city, cent, cycle
C before A O U	Often pronounced like /k/ in many common words	/k/	cat, cold, cup
G before E I Y	Often pronounced like /dʒ/ in many common words	/dʒ/	general, giant, gym
G before A O U	Often pronounced like /g/ in many common words	/g/	game, go, gum

English frequently uses letter pairs to represent one sound or a common sound sequence. These pairs are important because reading them as separate letters can lead to the wrong pronunciation. Recognizing frequent digraphs helps you decode new words faster.

Word/Phrase	Definition	Example
sh	One consonant sound	ship
ch	One consonant sound	chair
th	One consonant sound in many words	this, think
ph	Often represents /f/	phone
ng	Nasal sound at the end of many words	sing

When you spell aloud in English, you say letter names clearly and in order. This skill is useful for names, addresses, passwords, and customer service situations. You can also add clarifying information like the word type or repetition if something is hard to hear.

Rule	Example
Spell using letter names in order	M-A-R-K
Use pauses to group long strings	A-B-C, then 1-2-3
Repeat if the listener is unsure	That is S, S as in Sam
Confirm by reading back	You said J-O-H-N, John

Alphabetical order is used to organize dictionaries, contact lists, files, and indexes. You compare words letter by letter from the start until you find the first difference. Understanding alphabetical order helps you find information quickly in English materials.