The silent “e” is a fundamental concept in English spelling, and understanding its various roles is important for both reading and spelling words correctly.
These are the main jobs of the silent “e” in English spellings, helping us understand how words are pronounced and used in different ways.
Silent E Has 7 Jobs
1. Silent E makes the vowel before it say its name, as in cake and mine.
2. Silent E can make c and g soft, as in ice and page.3. Silent E keeps i, u, and v from being the last letter, as in have, clue, and tie.
4. Silent E can show that a word is not plural, as in horse, moose, and please.
5. Silent E adds a vowel to syllables with the consontant -le pattern, as in purple and bottle.
6. Silent E make th say its voiced sound /th/, as in bathe and breathe.
7. Silent E distinguishes the meaning of a word, as in aw and awe.