Community Chat

[Zaimee]

@occasionalrain @Said thousands of times over my 44 years of teaching, 

"English is very tricky."

[CAcableGirl2]

@occasionalrain  not always the same, like chunky...would be ka-hunky if it has a K.

Interesting discussion and I imagine it would be very confusing for those who are learning English as a second language. 

[Porcelain]

From Spellzone dot com.

Spelling the /k/ sound before a vowel: is it c or k?

Why is it c in cat ... but k in kitten?

The most common spelling choice for the /k/ sound is the letter c but sometimes we need to use k.

There are some spelling rules to help with the correct choice for the /k/ sound:

1. If the next vowel is a, o or u, we usually use c. For example:

call, carrot, copy, colour (US - color) cup, cucumber

2. If the next vowel is e or i, we usually use k. For example:

kill, kitchen, keep, kettle

There is a good reason for this rule: When c is followed by e or i, it will make the soft sound /s/ as in cent and circle.

So, if you want the hard sound /ke/ or /ki/, you must use k.

3. If the next letter is a consonant e.g. r or l , we nearly always use c. For example: crab, cricket, close, clap

I just learned something! Very interesting.

[NickNack]

---

@Porcelain wrote:

From Spellzone dot com.

Spelling the /k/ sound before a vowel: is it c or k?

Why is it c in cat ... but k in kitten?

The most common spelling choice for the /k/ sound is the letter c but sometimes we need to use k.

There are some spelling rules to help with the correct choice for the /k/ sound:

1. If the next vowel is a, o or u, we usually use c. For example:

call, carrot, copy, colour (US - color) cup, cucumber

2. If the next vowel is e or i, we usually use k. For example:

kill, kitchen, keep, kettle

There is a good reason for this rule: When c is followed by e or i, it will make the soft sound /s/ as in cent and circle.

So, if you want the hard sound /ke/ or /ki/, you must use k.

3. If the next letter is a consonant e.g. r or l , we nearly always use c. For example: crab, cricket, close, clap

I just learned something! Very interesting.

---

I had completely forgotten those rules @Porcelain, although I don't have a problem with how to use the letters.  I remember learning that in school.

[SilleeMee]

I think it's interesting to note that the letter C came from the letter K a long time ago. There was a conversion from Greek to Latin somewhere along the line and the letter C was born out of that.

[sunshine45]

so who knows why we use them together if the sound is the same?

tackle.....pick......tack.......pickle.....packer?

[hennypenny]

A great question. Love learning something new!

[faeriemoon]

They're not interchangeable.