Focused phonics guideConsonant patterns
Why does c sound different in cat and city?
Quick answer
C commonly represents /k/ in cat and cup, but often represents /s/ before e, i or y, as in cent, city and cycle. The e-i-y clue is useful but not exception-free.
Pattern to notice
Soft C and hard C
c
How to teach this pattern
- Contrast hard-c and soft-c words and inspect what follows c.
- Use the e-i-y clue as a prediction that is checked against a known word.
Common confusions to watch for
- Assuming c always represents /k/ because that was its first taught sound.
- Presenting the e-i-y clue as an absolute rule.
Simple practice ideas
- Sort c words by /k/ and /s/.
- Highlight the letter after c and predict the likely sound before reading.
Learning sequence
Helpful first
What can come next
Explore related phonics patterns
More from consonant patterns
These links are selected from the published Tiny Steps phonics graph, prioritising nearby patterns in the same family before adjacent curriculum concepts.
Soft G and hard GG commonly represents hard /g/ as in game, but often represents /j/ before e, i or y, as in gem and giant. The context clue is useful but has exceptions.CH digraphIn early phonics, ch is commonly taught as one grapheme representing /ch/ in words such as chat, chip and much. Less common pronunciations can be introduced later.KN and the silent KIn familiar words beginning with kn, the spelling represents /n/: knot sounds like not. Children can recognise the written pair while attending to the single initial sound.NG digraphN and g frequently work together as the grapheme ng, representing /ng/ in words such as sing, ring and long.
Related Tiny Steps resources
Keep the pattern inside the bigger reading pathway
Need help finding the actual gap?
Use an assessment when practice alone is not showing what is stuck.
The focused guide explains one pattern. A broader assessment can separate sound knowledge, blending, decoding, spelling and fluency needs.