Silent Es
Truly silent Es do not affect the pronunciation of the word.
are, come, done, ore
English words don’t end in the letter u or v.
blue, cheque, give, have, love
A silent E may serve to create a syllable.
handle, minute (time), pickle, people
A silent letter E affects the vowel that comes before it, making it sound like its name (a hard or long vowel).
Silent E following an A.
bad, bade; cap, cape; fat, fate; late; rat, rate
Silent E following an E.
pet, Pete
Silent E following an I.
line; rip, ripe; spit, spite
Silent E following an O.
hop, hope; not, note; rose
Silent E following a U.
cut, cute; minute (tiny)
Sometimes, the silent E affects the pronunciation of the consonant that comes before it.
Silent E following a C makes an S sound.
lance; place
Silent E following a G makes a J sound.
badge; charge; luggage
Disappearing silent Es
A silent E is sounded once the following suffixes are added to the word:
—ed note, noted; rate, rated
—er cute, cuter; ripe, riper
—est cute, cutest; ripe, ripest
The silent E is also sounded with the following suffix:
—age line, lineage
The silent E disappears with the following suffixes:
—able compare, comparable; measure, measurable; value, valuable
—age dose, dosage; pasture, pasturage; store, storage; use, usage
—ing charge, charging; hope, hoping; rate, rating; store, storing
—ment abridge, abridgment; argue, argument; judge, judgment (or “judgement”)
The silent E stays put with the following suffixes:
—able manage, manageable
—age acre, acreage; mile, mileage
—ly come, comely; late, lately; love, lovely
—ment achieve, achievement; move, movement; place, placement
