When the letter r follows a vowel, the vowel is usually forced to change its sound. That’s why we call it the “Bossy R.”
In most small words with one vowel in the middle, that vowel has a short vowel sound, as in the words cat, hen, sit, and box.
Listen to how the sound of the vowel changes if we replace the last letter of each of these words with the letter r: Can changes to car, hen to her, sit to sir, hunt to hurt.
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