some more rules for how to pronounce

words ending with silent 'e' today.

Firstly, the letters 'c' and 'g' can have

hard consonant sounds like /k/ and /g/.

However, when the word ends with a

silent 'e' it changes the pronunciation

of these consonants.

'C' and 'g' become soft consonant sounds

/s/ and /ʤ/. So it's pronounced /mais/ not /maik/

and /keiʤ/ not /keig/. Another very similar rule

is for the pronunciation of 'th'.

When a word ends with 'th' and then a silent 'e',

it changes from a /θ/ sound to a /ð/ sound.

The most common example of this

is the word 'the'.

It's pronounced with a /ð/ sound.

Some other examples include

'breath' and 'breathe' and 'bath' and 'bathe'.

These nice and easy rules should help

you when pronouncing new words.

Just remember that the silent 'e'

changes pronunciation.