R-Controlled Vowels (Bossy R) — Answer Key
Part A: Multiple Choice
Circle the best answer for each question.
1. The ___ has four wheels and drives fast.
A) cat
B) cap
C) can
D) car
Car has 'ar'; cat, cap, can do not — only car fits the meaning.
2. A bird flew past my ___.
A) bar
B) ban
C) bat
D) barn
Barn has 'ar' + n and names a farm building; the others do not fit.
3. I like eating sweet ___ on the cob.
A) con
B) cot
C) cop
D) corn
Corn has 'or' and names the food; con, cot, cop are different words.
4. My little ___ lost her first tooth.
A) gill
B) gig
C) gift
D) girl
Girl uses 'ir' to say /ur/; the other words lack bossy-r.
Part B: Fill in the Blank
Write the correct answer on each line.
1. The brown puppy dog barked at a squirrel.
This one is NOT bossy-r — stay alert for trick sentences.
2. A shooting star lit up the sky.
Star uses 'ar' — a bossy-r word in the -ar family.
3. The big storm blew the roof off.
Storm has 'or' — bossy-r with the st- blend.
4. She has long curly brown hair.
Hair is air-controlled, not the same as bossy-r 'ar'.
5. We sat by the warm glowing fire.
Fire has the 'ire' pattern; r still bosses the vowel here.