So let's start with the silent E! Long Vowel Sounds With the Silent E Here, we're just concerned with how to figure out whether a single vowel letter is long or short. For example, AI making the /aye/ sound, or EE and EA making the /yee/ sound, or OA making the /oh/ sound, but that's really beyond the scope of this discussion, and begins to deal with diphthongs. There are also other long vowel sounds that are made by a combination of vowels. Once you understand the above 2 ideas, you'll be able to handle long and short vowel sounds from almost all words, well, almost. Why does the A make the /aye/ sound in TABLE, but make the /a/ 'ah' sound in TAB? Why does letter O make the 'oh' sound in HOPE, and make the /o/ 'awe' sound in HOP? These are two different examples of long and short vowel sounds.ġ) TABLE and TAB are called open and closed syllables making the vowel long or short.Ģ) HOPE and HOP have (or not have) what's called the 'silent E', which is a spelling convention where a letter E makes the preceding vowel a long vowel. Kidding aside, why does the letter A sometimes make the /a/ 'ah' sound, and other times, it makes the /aye/ sound. Ever wonder what makes a long vowel different from a short vowel? Well, here it is. The issue of long and short vowel sounds often leads to confusion for many parents and children alike.

What makes a vowel a vowel