What is the second phoneme in the word 'come'?

What is the second phoneme in the word 'come'?

• A. /k/
• B. /o/
• C. /u/
• D. /m/

Answer: (C)

The second phoneme is the short “uh” sound, written as /ʌ/. In come, the word is sounded out as /kʌm/: the first sound is /k/ from the letter c, the second is the vowel /ʌ/ (the "uh" as in cup), and the final sound is /m/. The final e is silent and doesn’t add a sound. So the second phoneme is /ʌ/, not /k/, /o/, /u/, or /m/.

The second phoneme is the short “uh” sound, written as /ʌ/. In come, the word is sounded out as /kʌm/: the first sound is /k/ from the letter c, the second is the vowel /ʌ/ (the "uh" as in cup), and the final sound is /m/. The final e is silent and doesn’t add a sound. So the second phoneme is /ʌ/, not /k/, /o/, /u/, or /m/.