{"id":4510,"date":"2014-12-09T09:00:24","date_gmt":"2014-12-09T14:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/?p=4510"},"modified":"2014-10-31T02:45:48","modified_gmt":"2014-10-31T06:45:48","slug":"the-silent-letter-e-in-english-why-is-it-there","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/english\/the-silent-letter-e-in-english-why-is-it-there\/","title":{"rendered":"The silent letter \u2018e\u2019 in English: Why is it there?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>

Image by loneyvs on Flickr.com.<\/p><\/div>\n

You may have noticed that a number of English words end in the letter \u2018e,\u2019 but this letter \u2018e\u2019 is almost never pronounced \u2013 it is silent. So, why is it there? Does it serve a function, if so, what? Today, if you read on, you are going to find out why this silent \u2018e\u2019 exists and you will also learn some special rules for pronouncing English words that end with a silent \u2018e\u2019.<\/p>\n

First, try to think of any words you know that end with a silent \u2018e.\u2019 Below is a short list of some words I have thought of.<\/p>\n

age
\ncute
\ncode
\nevoke
\nhate
\nhope
\ngrace
\nsqueeze
\nwine<\/p>\n

\u2026and there are so many more!<\/p>\n

Not all the English words that end with a silent \u2018e\u2019 do so for the same reason, but here are some of the major reasons words in English end with a silent \u2018e\u2019:<\/p>\n

The silent \u2018e\u2019 tells us how to pronounce other letters in the word, i.e. it helps with pronunciation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A silent \u2018e\u2019 at the end of a one or two syllable word tells you to use a long vowel sound for the earlier vowel(s) in the word. A long vowel sound is the sound a vowel makes when you say its name, like when you are reciting the alphabet, a-b-c-d-e-f-g\u2026; that is saying a letter\u2019s name. For example: Say the word \u2018wine\u2019 and listen to how the \u2018i\u2019 sounds.\u00a0 Now say the word \u2018win\u2019 and listen to how the \u2018i\u2019 sounds.\u00a0 The \u2018i\u2019 in \u2018wine\u2019 is a long vowel sound and the \u2018i\u2019 in \u2018win\u2019 is a short vowel sound.\u00a0 So, one of the things the silent \u2018e\u2019 at the end of a word does is indicate long vowel sounds for preceding vowels.<\/p>\n

The silent \u2018e\u2019 also indicates when to us softer sounding consonants in some words. For example: Say the words \u2018grace\u2019 and \u2018age,\u2019 the consonants \u2018c\u2019 and \u2018g\u2019 have a softer sound than they do in words like \u2018cat\u2019 and \u2018go.\u2019 The silent \u2018e\u2019 is an indication to you to use these softer sounding consonants in words.<\/p>\n

Sometimes the silent \u2018e\u2019 is needed at the end of a word to make a syllable, i.e. it helps words follow the rules.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Every syllable, in every English word, needs to have a vowel in it. Adding a silent \u2018e\u2019 to the end of a word helps some words follow this rule. For example: Without the silent \u2018e,\u2019 the word “handle” (broken down into two syllables, han-dle) would violate this basic rule of English grammar. Here is a nice side note, this English language rule has no exceptions – all syllables in English need to have a vowel in them!<\/p>\n

Lastly, the silent \u2018e\u2019 also stops some singular words from looking like plural words, i.e. it helps with esthetics and understanding.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Usually plural forms of words in English end in \u2018s,\u2019 there are certainly words in English that end in \u2018s\u2019 that are not plural, but there would be a lot more of these if there were no silent \u2018e.\u2019 For example: Look at the word \u2018moose.\u2019 If there were no \u2018e\u2019 at the end of this word it would be \u2018moos,\u2019 and you might think this word was a plural word if you didn\u2019t already know what it means. Note: The silent \u2018e\u2019 at the end of \u2018moose\u2019 does not indicate the use of a long vowel sound because the preceding vowel is double \u2018oo,\u2019 not just \u2018o\u2019.
\nIn the end the main reason we have for the existence of the silent \u2018e\u2019 in English is that it is trying to be helpful!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"The

You may have noticed that a number of English words end in the letter \u2018e,\u2019 but this letter \u2018e\u2019 is almost never pronounced \u2013 it is silent. So, why is it there? Does it serve a function, if so, what? Today, if you read on, you are going to find out why this silent \u2018e\u2019…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":85,"featured_media":4511,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[134956],"tags":[333537,333536,111848,333535],"class_list":["post-4510","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english-grammar","tag-english-grammar-2","tag-final-e-in-words","tag-silent-e","tag-silent-letter-e-in-english"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t