R controlled vowels are best illustrated by which example?

• A. R controlled vowels occur when a vowel is followed by an r, affecting its sound as in carpet
• B. R controlled vowels are long vowels that say their name
• C. R controlled vowels are vowels that remain silent
• D. R controlled vowels are only in diphthongs

Answer: (A)

R-controlled vowels occur when a vowel is followed by a letter r, and the r changes how that vowel sounds. The r acts on the vowel to produce a distinct sound that isn’t the typical short or long vowel you’d expect by itself. In carpet, the combination ar shows this effect: the a doesn’t just sound like a lone short or long a; the r tames and reshapes the vowel into the /ɑr/ sound. This illustrates the idea that the presence of r after the vowel controls the pronunciation.

This differs from long vowels that say their name (like a in cake, which is /eɪ/) and from vowels that are silent (where no vowel sound is heard), or from situations that form diphthongs without the influence of an r. The example with carpet best demonstrates how the r changes the vowel’s sound, which is the hallmark of R-controlled vowels.