English is not a phonetic language. That means the same letter or letter combination can be pronounced in different ways. What you read and what you say may sometimes be different. Generally speaking, English has 44 sounds but uses only 26 letters to represent these sounds. Over centuries, English has also absorbed words from other languages. This too affects how words are pronounced in English.
Look at the smoke.
Review of the "E" pattern in English spelling.
Here are words with 'short' vowel sounds in English:
- hat
- hop
- cut
- pin
- pet
Here are words with 'long' vowel sounds when "E" is added at the end.
- hate
- hope
- cute
- pine
- Pete
