How is your spelling? Besides knowing the powers of the silent "e" and our handy phrase "i" before "e" except after "c", I continue with another trick to help spell and pronounce troublesome words:
When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking. This means that when there are two vowels in a row, the first usually has a long sound and the second is silent. I warn you that this doesn't apply to all words because English is a language full of exceptions so think of this as more of a guideline.
ee: green, wheel, sleep (The first “e” says its name while the second “e” is silent)
ea: sea, easy, peach (The first “e” says its name while the second “a” is silent)
oa: coat, loan, approach (The first “o” says its name while the second “a” is silent)
ai: mail, paint, fail (The first “a” says its name while the second “i” is silent)
ui - juice, fruit, suit (The first “u” says its name while the second “i” is silent)
ei - ceiling, receive, receipt (The first “e” says its name while the second “i” is silent)
oe - toe, goes, tomatoes (The first “o” says its name while the second “e” is silent)
ue - blue, true, hue (The first “u” says its name while the second “e” is silent)
Not only will this rule will help you put vowels in the right order when spelling, you will also know how to pronounce them correctly when reading.
So there are many instances when these vowels "go walking".
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