Silent e Words Rules

The Tricky Silent E

Give, shave, time, line, hike, large, cute, rose, budge, late, date, fine.

What do all of these words have in common? They all end with a silent e, an 'e' at the end of the word that is not pronounced. However, while the 'e' is silent, it does affect how the words it is used in are pronounced. There are a few different rules to keep in mind with the silent 'e,' so let's take a look at them.

Say Your Name

The most basic thing a silent 'e' can do, especially for small words, is change the pronunciation of the vowel sound. All vowels have two sounds: a short vowel sound and a long vowel sound. When a vowel is by itself, it typically says its short vowel sound, as in these words:

• Hat
• Led
• Bit
• Cod
• Cut

But if you add a silent 'e,' it changes the vowel sound to a long vowel, which sounds just like the vowel's name:

• Hate
• Lede
• Bite
• Code
• Cute

Now, the silent 'e' can only do this when there is only one consonant letter between it and the vowel, as there are in these words. You can think of the 'e' as jumping over that consonant and telling the vowel, 'Say your name!'

And as is always the case in English, there are some exceptions. 'Have' and 'give' are probably the two most common words that don't follow the rule.

When the E Can't Jump Over

As we already mentioned, the 'e' can only jump over one letter to make the vowel say its name. So in words like these, the vowel still says its regular short sound:

• Large
• Budge
• Dance

In addition, because the 'e' can't jump over two letters, you want to double the last consonant whenever making a verb past tense and adding an '-ed' ending. This way, the sound of the vowel doesn't change.

• Hop - hopped
• Slip - slipped
• Rub - rubbed

The 'C' and 'G' rule

One final rule to keep in mind with the final 'e' has to do with the times when it comes after a 'c' or a 'g.'

Most of the time, 'c' makes a sound like the letter 'k,' as in 'cat' or 'cake.' But when a word ends in '-ce,' the 'c' sounds like an 's,' as in these words:

• Lace
• Dance
• Spice
• Space
• France

As you see, the 'c' rule works whether the 'e' is jumping over and making the vowel say its name or not.

And 'g' normally makes a sound like in the word 'hug.' But when followed by an 'e' it makes a sound like the letter 'j,' so 'hug' becomes 'huge.' Here are some other words that end in '-ge:'

• Large
• Cage
• Budge
• Page