Learning English > English Writing > The English Alphabet (abc...)

The English Alphabet (abc...)

An alphabet is a set of letters or symbols that we use to represent the basic speech sounds of a language in writing.

The English word "alphabet" comes from the Latin word "alphabetum". The Latin word "alphabetum" came from the first two letters of the Greek alphabet, "alpha" and "beta".

Letters of the English Alphabet

The English alphabet has 26 letters.

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

The letters above are "small letters".

The letters of the alphabet are also sometimes called "characters").

Small and Large Letters

Each letter of the English alphabet can be written as a "small letter" or as a "large letter". Large letters are also called "capital letters" or "capitals".

Small and Large Letters

Each letter of the English alphabet can be written as a "small letter" or as a "large letter". Large letters are also called "capital letters" or "capitals".

Small letters	a	b	c	d	e	f	g
Capital letters	A	B	C	D	E	F	G

Small letters	h	i	j	k	l	m	n
Capital letters	H	I	J	K	L	M	N

Small letters	o	p	q	r	s	t	u
Capital letters	O	P	Q	R	S	T	U

Small letters	v	w	x	y	z
Capital letters	V	W	X	Y	Z

In informal English, we sometimes call capitals just "caps".

Small letters are sometimes called "lower case" and large letters "upper case". This is because in the old days of printing, before computers, the metal blocks for setting type were kept in two different boxes or "cases": small letters in the bottom or lower case, large letters in the top or upper case.

Alphabetical Order

The English alphabet starts with the letter A and finishes with the letter Z. It is always written in the same order:

This order is called "alphabetical order". We often write lists in alphabetical order. For example, to write a list of countries in alphabetical order, we start with countries that begin with the letter A, then with countries that begin with B, and so on. For example:

Australia
Brazil
Canada

If more than one word begins with the letter A, we put them in order based on the second letter, and then the third letter, and so on:

Algeria
Argentina
Belgium
Benin
Bermuda

We use alphabetical order for many things, for example:

dictionaries
indexes of books
telephone directories

When you write any list, it is a good idea to use alphabetical order. This makes it easy for your reader to find a particular item in the list.