English Letter Box

Three letter words are the foundation of English; fundamentals like “and” and “the” make the language work. They occur in virtually every conversation. The following list of common three-letter words -- organized by part of speech -- are words that we use often. These words make up a big part of our language whether we are talking, texting, emailing or writing, enabling us to construct sentences and communicate effectively.

Large pile of Scrabble letter tiles

Design your own tattoo with hundreds of tattoo lettering styles. Create tribal tattoo lettering, old english tattoo lettering, chinese tattoo lettering, gangster tattoo lettering, celtic tattoo lettering and more! Small lamp-post boxes were first introduced in 1896 for use in London squares and later in other areas, particularly rural locations. By 1860 over 2,000 roadside letter boxes had been set up in all parts of the United Kingdom; by the end of the century there were over 33,500, with many more found throughout the British Empire. Notable Manufacturers. A rectangular hole in the door or in a wall near the entrance of a house or other building, through which letters, etc. Nathan Griffith/Corbis/GettyImages. (US mailbox) a metal container in the street or other public place in which you can put letters. Whether you're looking for common three letter words to maximize your Scrabble score or to fit in with the poem you're writing, this extensive word list should have you covered.

Now that you have thought about this, do you play Scrabble? Think of the ways these common three letter words could help you earn points and possibly win the game. That three letter word could be the one word that makes you Scrabble champion.

English Writing Letter

Adjectives and Adverbs

Adjectives are descriptive words that explain or specify things about nouns. Adverbs are distinct from adjectives in that they modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs, not nouns. However, many three letter words in English can function as both.

All: The entire amount, the full extent
Any: One of a group, no matter which; a randomly chosen individual
How: In what way, in a particular fashion, can be used in questions (e.g. 'How are you today?”) or statements (e.g., “She knew how to fix the car.”)
Mad: Most commonly means angry or upset; also an out-of-date way of describing someone with a mental illness, and by extension anything strange or bizarre
New: The opposite of old, something fresh or unprecedented
Now: At the current time, immediately
Old: Something which has existed for a long time
Well: The adverbial form of good, meaning “done in a good way” or “happened in a positive fashion”

Articles

Articles are a special kind of word in English. There are only two in the whole language, and they are used to differentiate between a specific noun and a general one.

The: Article that refers to a definite noun (e.g., “the bank,” “the shop,” and “the house”)

Conjunctions

Conjunctions are words that hold sentences together. Being some of the simplest English words, they often have simple, three-letter spellings.

And: The basic conjunction linking two words together (e.g., “The couple went out for dinner and a movie.” )
But: With the exception of (e.g., “Everyone but Joe enjoyed the party.”)
Nor: Not that and also not the following (e.g., “I like neither Peter nor Paul.”)
Yet: Although or in spite of (e.g., “The runner suffered cramps at the beginning yet managed to win her race.”)

Nouns

Nouns are people, places, things or ideas.

Boy: A young male person
Can: A cylindrical container, usually made of thin metal
Car: A powered, four-wheeled passenger vehicle for driving on roads
Dad: Familiar form of address for a father
Day: A time period equal to one rotation of the Earth, or only the part of that period between sunrise and sunset
Dew: Condensed moisture, as in the water found on grass after a cool night
Gym: A room for athletics
Ink: Liquid used to write, most often found inside a pen
Jet: A stream of water
Key: Small metal tool used to open a door or start a car
Log: A large piece of wood, particularly a section cut from a tree
Man: Aan adult male
Mom: Familiar form of address for a mother
One: The first number; a single object, person, place or idea
Pal: A casual word for friend
Saw: A serrated blade with a handle, used as a tool to cut wood or other materials
Urn: A decorative container with a narrow neck and rounded body
Vet: Short for veterinarian, a doctor who treats animals
Way: A path or road; a method of doing something
Yap: A shrill bark
Zoo: An entertainment venue where people see interesting and unusual animals

Prepositions

Prepositions connect words or phrases to particular other words. Unlike conjunctions, prepositions describe the relationship between parts of a sentence.

For: Because, since, or to indicate purpose (e.g., “I brought a bouquet for your mother.)

Pronouns

Pronouns are words that replace nouns in a sentence. This avoids repetition of information the reader already knows.

Her: The possessive form of 'she'
Him: A male human being
His: The possessive form of “he”
Our: The possessive form of the plural personal pronoun “we”
She: The standard female nominative pronoun (e.g., “Maria owned a house. She also had two cars and a cat.”)
Who: What person? 'Who' can be used in questions (e.g., “Who is your girlfriend?”) or statements (e.g., “His girlfriend, who is named Candy, visited last night.”)
You: The second person pronoun; the person to whom something is said or done (e.g., “I sent you a letter yesterday.”)

Verbs

Verbs express an action or occurrence.

Act: To do something
Are: Present tense of the verb “to be” (e.g., They are English teachers.)
Bar: To shut out, to not let in
Eat: To consume food
Get: To come into possession of something
Has: Past tense of the verb to have; to own or possess
Let: To allow, to give permission to
Nap: To take a brief sleep, to doze
Out: To reveal something
Put: To place something in a spot of your choice
Ram: To hit or strike with force
Say: To speak words
See: To look or perceive with one's eyes
Tan: To turn golden brown from the sun
Use: To employ for a task (e.g., “You can use that pen to sign your name.”)
Was: Past tense of the verb “to be” (e.g., “He was working yesterday.”)
Wed: To get married

Three Letters FTW

FTW is shorthand for “For The Win,” one of many three letter abbreviations that also appear in English. Check out the rest at our list of common abbreviations in English. Three letter words are among the most basic, and therefore most important, components of the English language. Learning them is a vital step in mastering English.

English Style Letter Box

Plus, knowing your three letter words can make you really good at Scrabble! We at YourDictionary also host the best Scrabble tool on the Internet. Scrabble and other word games are the most fun way to master the English language. Have a look at three letter words in Scrabble to get started.

Phonics Rules

The vowels are 'a,e,i,o, and u'; also sometimes 'y' & 'w'. This also includes the diphthongs 'oi,oy,ou,ow,au,aw, oo' and many others.
The consonants are all the other letters which stop or limit the flow of air from the throat in speech. They are: 'b,c,d,f,g,h,j,k,l,m,n,p,qu,r,s,t,v,w,x,y,z,ch,sh,th,ph,wh, ng, and gh'.
1. Sometimes the rules don't work.
There are many exceptions in English because of the vastness of the language and the many languages from which it has borrowed. The rules do work however, in the majority of the words.
2. Every syllable in every word must have a vowel.
English is a 'vocal' language; Every word must have a vowel.
3. 'C' followed by 'e, i or y' usually has the soft sound of 's'. Examples: 'cyst', 'central', and 'city'.
4. 'G' followed by 'e, i or y' usually has the soft sound of 'j'. Example: 'gem', 'gym', and 'gist'.
5. When 2 consonants are joined together and form one new sound, they are a consonant digraph. They count as one sound and one letter and are never separated. Examples: 'ch,sh,th,ph and wh'.
6. When a syllable ends in a consonant and has only one vowel, that vowel is short. Examples: 'fat, bed, fish, spot, luck'.
7. When a syllable ends in a silent 'e', the silent 'e' is a signal that the vowel in front of it is long. Examples: 'make, gene, kite, rope, and use'.
8. When a syllable has 2 vowels together, the first vowel is usually long and the second is silent. Examples: 'pain, eat, boat, res/cue, say, grow'. NOTE: Diphthongs don't follow this rule; In a diphthong, the vowels blend together to create a single new sound. The diphthongs are: 'oi,oy,ou,ow,au,aw, oo' and many others.
9. When a syllable ends in any vowel and is the only vowel, that vowel is usually long. Examples: 'pa/per, me, I, o/pen, u/nit, and my'.
10. When a vowel is followed by an 'r' in the same syllable, that vowel is 'r-controlled'. It is not long nor short. 'R-controlled 'er,ir,and ur' often sound the same (like 'er'). Examples: 'term, sir, fir, fur, far, for, su/gar, or/der'.

Basic Syllable Rules

1. To find the number of syllables:
---count the vowels in the word,
---subtract any silent vowels, (like the silent 'e' at the end of a word or the second vowel when two vowels a together in a syllable)
---subtract one vowel from every diphthong, (diphthongs only count as one vowel sound.)
---the number of vowels sounds left is the same as the number of syllables.
The number of syllables that you hear when you pronounce a word is the same as the number of vowels sounds heard. For example:
The word 'came' has 2 vowels, but the 'e' is silent, leaving one vowel sound andone syllable.
The word 'outside' has 4 vowels, but the 'e' is silent and the 'ou' is a diphthong which counts as only one sound, so this word has only two vowels sounds and therefore, two syllables.
2. Divide between two middle consonants.
Split up words that have two middle consonants. For example:
hap/pen, bas/ket, let/ter, sup/per, din/ner, and Den/nis. The only exceptions are the consonant digraphs. Never split up consonant digraphs as they really represent only one sound. The exceptions are 'th', 'sh', 'ph', 'th', 'ch', and 'wh'.
3. Usually divide before a single middle consonant.
When there is only one syllable, you usually divide in front of it, as in:
'o/pen', 'i/tem', 'e/vil', and 're/port'. The only exceptions are those times when the first syllable has an obvious short sound, as in 'cab/in'.
4. Divide before the consonant before an '-le' syllable.
When you have a word that has the old-style spelling in which the '-le' sounds like '-el', divide before the consonant before the '-le'. For example: 'a/ble', 'fum/ble', 'rub/ble' 'mum/ble' and 'this/tle'. The only exception to this are 'ckle' words like 'tick/le'.
5. Divide off any compound words, prefixes, suffixes and roots which have vowel sounds.
Split off the parts of compound words like 'sports/car' and 'house/boat'. Divide off prefixes such at 'un/happy', 'pre/paid', or 're/write'. Also divide off suffixes as in the words 'farm/er', 'teach/er', 'hope/less' and 'care/ful'. In the word 'stop/ping', the suffix is actually '-ping' because this word follows the rule that when you add '-ing' to a word with one syllable, you double the last consonant and add the '-ing'.

Accent Rules

When a word has more than one syllable, one of the syllables is always a little louder than the others. The syllable with the louder stress is the accented syllable. It may seem that the placement of accents in words is often random or accidental, but these are some rules that usually work.
1. Accents are often on the first syllable. Examples: ba'/sic, pro'/gram.
2. In words that have suffixes or prefixes, the accent is usually on the main root word. Examples: box'/es, un/tie'.
3. If de-, re-, ex-, in-,po-, pro-, or a- is the first syllable in a word, it is usually not accented. Examples: de/lay', ex/plore'.
4. Two vowel letters together in the last syllable of a word often indicates an accented last syllable. Examples: com/plain', con/ceal'.
5. When there are two like consonant letters within a word, the syllable before the double consonants is usually accented. Examples: be/gin'/ner, let'/ter.
6. The accent is usually on the syllable before the suffixes -ion, ity, -ic, -ical, -ian, -ial, or -ious, and on the second syllable before the suffix -ate. Examples: af/fec/ta'/tion, dif/fer/en'/ti/ate.
7. In words of three or more syllables, one of the first two syllables is usually accented. Examples: ac'/ci/dent, de/ter'/mine.

Dennis Doyle ddoyle@glendale.cc.ca.us