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The Soft G

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Team Digital

Basics on the topic The Soft G

Join Dee and Kala and learn all about the soft G.

Transcript The Soft G

"I better take this G out of the hot tub!" "So Kala, if I want to soften the letter G, I don’t do it by warming it up, right?" "That's correct, Dee. You would need to put one of three special letters behind it." Let's find out what Kala means by learning about the soft G. You may already know that the letter G makes a hard /g/ sound as in gum, globe, gate or go. But, the letter G can also make another, softer sound. It can say /j/ just like the letter J. But this doesn't happen all the time. It usually happens when the letter G is followed by one of three special letters. E, I or Y. Say them with Kala! G E, G I, G Y /J/! The E, I and Y work their magic on G, softening the sound it makes in a word. Let’s look at some G E examples! G says /j/ in gem, germ and angel because the letter E comes straight after the letter G in each of these words. If we read these words with the hard /g/ sound, that would be incorrect. For example, germ doesn't sound right. Let’s look at some G I examples giant, engine and giraffe! The word gigantic is also helpful to look at. The first G in gigantic says /j/ because the letter I comes straight after the first G in the word. But, the second G in gigantic still makes the hard /g/ sound because the letter A comes straight after it. Finally, let’s look at an example of G Y! G says /j/ in gymnasium because the letter Y comes straight after the letter G. Now that we know about the soft G, let's try sorting words with /g/ and /j/ sounds. The first word is gym, does this word have a hard or soft G? It has a soft one because the G is followed by the letter Y which makes it say /j/, gym. How about the word golf, does this word have a hard or soft G? It has a hard one because the G is not followed by an E, I or Y. It is followed by an O, so the G says /g/, golf. What about the last example, magic? It has a soft G because the letter I comes straight after it which makes it say /j/, magic. Now that Dee knows the real way to soften the letter G, let's remember! Today we learnt about the soft G which makes the sound: /j/. G can say /j/ when an E, I or a Y come straight after it in a word. When it is followed by any other letter, the G will make a harder /g/ sound. "I think this is a much better use of the hot tub, Kala." "Yes, agreed! This is definitely better than trying to soften the letter G."

The Soft G exercise

Would you like to apply the knowledge you’ve learnt? You can review and practice it with the tasks for the video The Soft G.
  • Which letters follow g when it makes a soft sound?

    Hints

    Look at the pictures next to each gap. What is the next sound in each of those words?

    Listen to the words being said.

    Read this word:

    gap

    Does it start with a /g/ sound or a /j/ sound?

    The word gap starts with a /g/ sound so if the letter a comes after g, the g makes a hard sound, not a soft sound.

    Solution

    If g is followed by e, i or y, it makes a soft /g/ sound.

  • Can you find the matching pairs?

    Hints

    Sound out each word with a hard g and a soft g, which one sounds correct? Then match the correct sounding word with the picture.

    Remember to look for digraphs and split digraphs when sounding out.

    If g is followed by an e, it often makes a soft sound.

    There are two words with a soft g and two words with a hard g.

    Solution

    Here we can see the matching words and pictures.

    Badge and cage have soft g sounds.

    Bag and goat have hard g sounds.

  • Choose the correct spelling.

    Hints

    Even though you might hear the /j/ sound in these words, is it a letter j that is making that sound?

    A word often has a soft g in when the g is followed by e, i or y.

    There are three words with the soft g in.

    Solution

    The words giant, stage and gym all contain the soft g sound. In these words, g is followed by i, e and y.

    The word jam is spelt with a j. The /j/ sound is followed by /a/.

  • Which words have a soft g and which words have a hard g?

    Hints

    Sound out each word with a hard g (/g/) and a soft g (/g/), which one sounds correct?

    Let's look at this word: frog.

    If we sound it out with a hard g we get the word frog.

    If we sound it out with a soft g we get the word froj.

    Which one is correct?

    Remember, if g is followed by an e, the g makes a soft sound.

    Solution

    Get, hug and frog have a hard g sound.

    Edge, gem and page have a soft g sound.

  • Which words have a soft g sound?

    Hints

    Listen carefully. Do you hear a hard /g/ sound like in gate or a soft /g/ sound like in gem?

    There are two correct choices.

    Solution

    Angel and gentle have soft g sounds.

  • Can you find the soft g words?

    Hints

    Sound out each word with a hard g and a soft g, which one sounds correct?

    Remember to look for split digraphs when sounding out.

    Remember, if a g is followed by e, i or y, it often makes a soft sound.

    There are three words with the soft g sound in.

    Solution

    Giraffe, bridge and age have the soft g sound in them.

    Game, dog, dragon and egg have the hard /g/ sound in them.