Common exception words are the everyday words that don't follow the phonics a child has been taught so far: said, was, one, the, because. In Australia you'll usually see the same words on lists called tricky words or sight words, coming home with the spelling list in Prep, Year 1 and Year 2. The name comes from England's national curriculum, which lists 45 for Year 1 and 64 for Year 2.
What makes a word an exception?
Here's the reframe that makes them easier: most of them aren't random. Nearly every one breaks exactly one rule. Find the one phonogram that's misbehaving and the word is suddenly about 80% regular: the rest is ordinary phonics your child already knows. A word to memorise becomes a word to sound out, plus one thing to remember.
Below, all 109 words are grouped by the rule that explains them, following the phonogram rules used in the Spalding method (Phonogram Fun is independent and not affiliated with Spalding Education International). In the tiles, a coral tile is a phonogram making something other than its first sound, and a faded tile is silent. New to phonograms? Start with What is a phonogram?
Year 1 (45 words)
A vowel on the end says its name
a, e, o and u usually say their names at the end of a syllable, and y stands in for i.
- be
- he
- me
- she
- we
- no
- go
- so
- I
- by
- my
She is sh + e: the e is on the end, so it says its name, /ē/. In my and by, y stands in for i and says /ī/.
o and ou say /oo/
The third sound of o, as in do, to and who. In you and your it is the third sound of ou.
- do
- to
- today
- you
- your
Do is d + o, with o saying its third sound, /ōō/. You is y + ou, with ou using its third sound, the same /ōō/.
s says /z/
s has two sounds, /s/ and /z/. On the end of these little words it says /z/, and in was the a says its third sound, /ah/.
- is
- his
- has
- was
Was is the one to watch: w + a + s, where a says /ah/ and s says /z/. Neither is really a rule break: both are sounds those letters already make.
o says /ŭ/
These o's say /ŭ/, which is not one of o's three sounds, so children simply learn them. One and once hide a /w/ at the start too.
- love
- come
- some
- one
- once
One is o + n + e: the o says /ŭ/, the e is silent, and there's a /w/ at the start that isn't written at all. Come and some follow the same pattern without the /w/.
u says /ŏŏ/
The third sound of u, as in put. Full and pull double the l: f, l and s are doubled after a single vowel in a one-syllable word.
- put
- push
- pull
- full
Put is p + u + t, with u's third sound, /ŏŏ/ as in foot. Push is the same sound with sh on the end.
Sounds you already know
Every one of these is a phonogram sound the child has met, just not always its first one: th's second, ey's first, ch's /k/, a's /ah/, ou's /ow/.
- they
- school
- ask
- house
- our
- the
- a
The is th + e: the buzzy th (/th̲/), then e saying its name, though most of us say it quickly. In school, ch says /k/, one of its three sounds, and they uses the buzzy th with ey saying /ā/.
are · were · here · there · where
An r after the vowel changes it, and the final e has no job of its own.
- are
- were
- here
- there
- where
In there, where and were the e on the end is silent and the r changes the sound of the vowel before it.
The true odd ones
These four break the phonogram rules outright. Learn the one odd sound in each, and the rest of the word still sounds out.
- of
- said
- says
- friend
Said (s + ai + d) and says (s + ay + s) both use a letter team that normally says /ā/ to write /ĕ/. In of, f says /v/, and in friend, ie says /ĕ/.
Year 2 (64 words)
i says /ī/ before nd and ld
i and o may say their long sound before two consonants (find, old). Climb keeps a silent b.
- find
- kind
- mind
- behind
- child
- wild
- climb
Find is f + i + n + d, with i saying its name before nd. Child does the same before ld, and climb adds a silent b.
o says /ō/ before ld, st and th
The same rule as find: o says its name before two consonants. Whole writes its /h/ as wh; the y on the end of only says /ĭ/.
- most
- only
- both
- old
- cold
- gold
- hold
- told
- whole
Old, cold and both: o says its name before two consonants. Whole writes /h/ as wh, and only ends with y saying /ĭ/.
a says /ah/ — its third sound
In Australian and UK English a says /ah/ before s, f, th and nt (fast, after, path, plant). Half keeps a silent l; ss doubles by the f-l-s rule.
- after
- fast
- last
- past
- father
- class
- grass
- pass
- plant
- path
- bath
- half
After and father use a's third sound, /ah/, the way most Australians say them. Half has the same /ah/ and a silent l.
oor says /or/ · hour hides its h
oo before r says /or/. Hour starts with a silent h and its ou says /ow/.
- door
- floor
- poor
- hour
Door is d + oo + r, where oo and r together say /or/. Hour starts with a silent h, then ou says /ow/.
ea says /ā/ — its third sound
ea has three sounds: /ē/ (eat), /ĕ/ (bread) and /ā/ (great). Only a few common words use the third.
- great
- break
- steak
Great is g + r + ea + t, with ea using its third sound, /ā/. Break and steak do the same.
o says /oo/ — its third sound
As in do and to: o's third sound. Who writes its /h/ as wh.
- move
- prove
- improve
- who
Move is like do: o says /ōō/, then a silent e. Who writes /h/ as wh.
oul says /ŏŏ/
could, should, would: the ou says /ŏŏ/ (u's third sound) and the l is silent. Learn the three together: they rhyme.
- could
- should
- would
Could is c + ou + l + d: ou says /ŏŏ/ as in foot and the l is silent. Should and would work exactly the same way, so learn all three together.
s says /sh/
Only in sure and sugar (and their family) does s say /sh/.
- sure
- sugar
Sure and sugar are the only common words where s says /sh/.
a says /ĕ/ · y says /ĭ/
Any and many say /ĕ/ for the a. The y on the end of a longer word says /ĭ/ (y's second sound): pretty, busy, every.
- any
- many
- pretty
- busy
- every
- everybody
In any and many the a says /ĕ/. Pretty has e saying /ĭ/, and busy has u saying /ĭ/ and s saying /z/.
Sounds you already know
Regular phonogram sounds, just not the first ones: e's /ē/ in even, au's /aw/ in because, a's /ah/ in water, ey's /ē/ in money.
- children
- even
- because
- water
- again
- parents
- money
Because is b + e + c + au + s + e: e says its name, au says /aw/, s says /z/ and the final e is silent. Every one of those is a sound the phonogram already makes. Money is the odd one out: its o says /ŭ/, like come.
The true odd ones
Eye, people, clothes, beautiful and Christmas break the rules; Mr and Mrs are short for mister and missus, so say the whole word.
- eye
- people
- clothes
- beautiful
- Christmas
- Mr
- Mrs
People is p + e + o + p + l + e, with a silent o and a silent final e. Eye is ey + e, saying /ī/, and Christmas has ch saying /k/ and a silent t.
How to teach a tricky word in 60 seconds
- Say it. Say the word naturally, then slowly, sound by sound. Said: /s/ /ĕ/ /d/. Ask your child how many sounds they hear.
- Find the one rule it breaks. Write the word down and ask which bit isn't doing what you'd expect. In said it's the ai. Name it out loud: here, ai says /ĕ/.
- Sound out the regular part. Everything else is ordinary. Point to the s and the d and let your child say those sounds. They already knew most of the word.
- Write it three times, odd bit in colour. Have them write the word three times, saying the sounds as they go, with the odd phonogram in a different colour. The colour is what their memory holds on to on Friday.
Every sound mentioned on this page is on the 70 phonograms chart, free to print. For a full practice routine for the weekly list, see How to practise spelling words without tears.
Questions parents ask
Are common exception words the same as sight words?
Mostly, yes. Common exception words is the term in England's national curriculum for words that don't follow the phonics a child has been taught yet. Sight words and tricky words are the names most Australian schools use, and those lists usually also include very common words that are perfectly regular, like and, it or can. So every common exception word is a sight word, but not every sight word is an exception.
How many common exception words are there in Year 1 and Year 2?
England's national curriculum lists 45 for Year 1 and 64 for Year 2, 109 in all. Australian schools don't have a single fixed list, but the tricky-word lists that come home tend to include many of the same words, like said, was, one and because.
Does my child have to memorise them?
Far fewer need pure memorising than you'd think. Most break just one rule, so your child can sound out the rest of the word and only remember the odd bit. A handful, such as of, said, friend, eye and people, are genuinely odd and need a bit more practice as whole words.
What order should we learn them in?
Group them by the rule they break, not alphabetically. Learn do, to and who together; could, should and would together; find, kind and mind together. One explanation then covers several words, and each new word is easier than the last.