The Silent e
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The Silent E rule of Modern English involves the changing of vowels due to an e at the end of the word. Historically the final e was pronounced as a schwa /ə/. It also indicated a different stress, and those vowels had a more heavily affected by the Great Vowel Shift.
| Vowel | Vowel with silent e | Compareable vowel tri/digraph | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| bit /bɪt/ | bite /baɪt/ | bight /baɪt/ | |
| sin /sɪn/ | sine /saɪn/ | sign /saɪn/ | |
| pet /pɛt/ | Pete /piːt/ | peat /piːt/ | e_e is rare and has usually been respelled as ee |
| pan /pæn/ | pane /peɪn/ | pain /peɪn/ | |
| rod /ɹɒd/ | rode /roʊd/ | road /roʊd/ | |
| plum /plʌm/ | plume /pluːm/ | loom /luːm/ | Sorry, couldn't find a "minimal triplet" |
