I used to think English was full of unpredictable words—the kind that make you throw up your hands and say, “English is just crazy.”
But the truth is ...
Far fewer high frequency words are irregular than we’ve been led to believe.
When we look closely, we find that many of them make sense once we understand how English really works—through sound, spelling, and meaning.
For example, let’s think about the word said.
We often point to the “ai” and call it the irregular part. But there’s more to it.
SAID follows the same spelling pattern as LAID and PAID.
say + ed → said lay + ed → laid pay + ed → paid
Yes, the pronunciation shifts—but the spelling pattern is consistent. And that’s one of the most important things we can teach our students when it comes to spelling high frequency words.
This post will get you thinking—but the real transformation happens inside the challenge:
In Day 2 of the Level Up Your High Frequency Word Lessons Challenge, we’ll build on this idea and explore why there aren’t as many irregular words as you might think—and how teaching the structure of English helps these words finally make sense for our students.
Join us for this free 5-day challenge and discover how powerful it can be when we teach the why behind the words.
