Alphabet
 
 
 
 
Alphabet

In this lesson you will learn the definition of an alphabet and study examples of the English alphabet.
Alphabet Definition
  • An alphabet is a set of letters, characters, or symbols
  • The English language uses the Roman alphabet which contains 26 letters and consists of vowels and consonants
  • Alphabet case refers to uppercase and lowercase letters.
  • each uppercase, or capital letter, has a corresponding lowercase letter
  • the letters in each uppercase-lowercase pair have the same name, same pronunciation, and are treated identically when sorting in alphabetical order
  • there are rules as to whether uppercase or lowercase letters are to be used in a given context
  • writing meant to get attention (such as on signs) will often use only uppercase
  • the first letter of a proper noun, such as a person's name, or of the name of a city, state, country, etc. is usually written in uppercase
  • in addition to proper nouns, adjectives (those derived from a name, such as Canadian, Shakespearian) are written with the first letter in uppercase, as are the names of days of the week, months, languages, and the pronoun "I"
  • The 26 letters can be written in
  • uppercase letters
  • A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
  • lowercase letters
  • a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
  • manuscript
  • writing style used in printing and electronic communications
  • easy to read since the letters are separated
  • generally slow style of writing
  • cursive
  • any style of handwriting which is designed for quickly writing down notes and letters by hand
  • can be easy or difficult to read depending on the skill of the writer
  • cursive is generally faster to write than manuscript
  • English alphabet writing practice
 
Grammar Tips
Can You Catch These Native Speaker Mistakes?
(Beginner - Listening)

An audio lesson to help with your understanding of common mistakes. The English is spoken at 75% of normal speed. Click here to visit the lesson page with the written script for this audio program.
Commonly Confused Words: Part One
(Beginner - Listening, reading)

A video lesson to help with your understanding of commonly confused words.
The English is spoken at 75% of normal speed.
Click here to visit the lesson page.
Commonly Confused Words: Part One
(Beginner - Listening)

An audio lesson to help with your understanding of commonly confused words. The English is spoken at 75% of normal speed. Click here to visit the lesson page with the written script for this audio program.
Commonly Confused Words: Part Two
(Beginner - Listening, reading)

A video lesson to help with your understanding of commonly confused words.
The English is spoken at 75% of normal speed.
Click here to visit the lesson page.
Commonly Confused Words: Part Two
(Beginner - Listening)

An audio lesson to help with your understanding of commonly confused words. The English is spoken at 75% of normal speed. Click here to visit the lesson page with the written script for this audio program.