Silent e pattern
Sam remains "Same" :)
Logic
When E sits at the end of the word - it stays silent, but makes the vowel preceding the consonant Long Vowel.
When?
To create a long vowel, there is usually only one consonant between the silent ⟨e⟩ and the preceding vowel. In some cases two consonants may also have the same effect, as in table, paste and bathe, while in other cases no consonants are found, as in tie, toe and due.
History
This pattern is a leftover from Middle English. Hundreds of years ago, that final e wasn't silent—it was actually pronounced as a soft "uh" sound (schwa). Over time, English speakers stopped pronouncing the final e, but the vowel before it stayed stretched out and long.
| Vowel | Without Magic E (Short Sound) | With Magic E (Long Sound) |
|---|---|---|
| A | Tap | Tape |
| A | Mat | Mate |
| I | Kit | Kite |
| I | Pin | Pine |
| O | Hop | Hope |
| O | Not | Note |
| U | Cut | Cute |
| U | Tub | Tube |
Exception
Double Consonant
- The presence of a double consonant may indicate that the ⟨e⟩ is not silent and does not affect the preceding vowel (as in Jesse and posse).
U
- Pronunciation of u as Short vowel even before silent e. (The pronunciation of ⟨u⟩ before silent ⟨e⟩, found mainly in borrowings from French and Latin, is a consequence not of the Great Vowel Shift but of a different series of changes.)
| Word | Pronunciation (IPA) | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| rule | /ruːl/ | French ← Latin |
| brute | /bruːt/ | French ← Latin |
| flute | /fluːt/ | French |
| prune | /pruːn/ | French |
| rude | /ruːd/ | French ← Latin |
| June | /dʒuːn/ | French ← Latin |
| mute | /mjuːt/ | French ← Latin |
| cube | /kjuːb/ | Latin |
| tube | /tjuːb/ (BrE), /tuːb/ (AmE) | Latin |
| acute | /əˈkjuːt/ | Latin |
Words with dg before e
Silent ⟨e⟩ is used in some words with ⟨dg⟩ in which it does not lengthen a vowel: rĭdgɇ, slĕdgɇ, hŏdgɇ-pŏdgɇ. Spelling such words with ⟨j⟩, the other letter that indicates that sound, does not occur in native or nativized English words.
Words with truly silent e
In some words, the e is truly silent and does not affects the pronunciation of the vowels before it.
This is common for Intervocalic Voicing of F to V.
| Word | IPA | Expected if Magic e Worked | Actual Vowel | Why the Silent e? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| give | /ɡɪv/ | */ɡaɪv/ | Short /ɪ/ | English words do not end in bare v; e is orthographic only. |
| live (verb) | /lɪv/ | */laɪv/ | Short /ɪ/ | Final e follows the spelling rule after v. |
| love | /lʌv/ | */loʊv/ | Short /ʌ/ | Silent e does not lengthen the vowel. |
| have | /hæv/ | */heɪv/ | Short /æ/ | Final e is required after v. |
| above | /əˈbʌv/ | */əˈboʊv/ | Short /ʌ/ | Final e retained after v. |
| glove | /ɡlʌv/ | */ɡloʊv/ | Short /ʌ/ | Silent e is orthographic only. |
| dove (bird) | /dʌv/ | */doʊv/ | Short /ʌ/ | Exception to the usual magic-e rule. |
| shove | /ʃʌv/ | */ʃoʊv/ | Short /ʌ/ | Silent e follows v, not the vowel. |
| move* | /muːv/ | — | Long /uː/ | Here the vowel is long for historical reasons, not because of the silent e. |
Words ending with -ive suffix
| Word | IPA | Vowel Before -ive |
|---|---|---|
| active | /ˈæktɪv/ | /ɪ/ |
| captive | /ˈkæptɪv/ | /ɪ/ |
| creative | /kriˈeɪtɪv/ | /ɪ/ |
| native | /ˈneɪtɪv/ | /ɪ/ |
| relative | /ˈrɛlətɪv/ | /ɪ/ |
| sensitive | /ˈsɛnsətɪv/ | /ɪ/ |
| positive | /ˈpɒzətɪv/ (BrE), /ˈpɑːzətɪv/ (AmE) | /ɪ/ |
| negative | /ˈnɛɡətɪv/ | /ɪ/ |
| attractive | /əˈtræktɪv/ | /ɪ/ |
| productive | /prəˈdʌktɪv/ | /ɪ/ |
How to show when final-e is non-silent?
- Doubling (Employee, Refugee)
- Grave accent
- Diaeresis
Affecting Consonants
An example with consonants is the word-pair loath (loʊθ) and loathe (loʊð), where the ⟨e⟩ can be understood as a marker of a voiced ⟨th⟩.