54 ART OP READING AND WRITING. A. This can hardly be determined by any general rules, but must be learned by practice ; yet there is this one rule that scarce ever fails, namely, All single vowels are short, where only a single consonant comes after them in the saine syllable, as flag, then, pin, not, cur ; and they have a long sound if e be added at the end of a word, after a single consonant, as stage; these, pine, note, cure. The chief exception to this rule are the letters i and o in some few common words, which custom pronounces short, though they have an eat the end ; as give, live, one, some, come, gone, lime, done, dove. 8 Q. When must a have its broad sound? A. Chiefly in two cases : First, a bath generally, its broad sound when i follows it in the same syllable, as call, false, bald, halter ; except in some words that have a double l in the middle, as tallow, sallad, or where f or o consonant follows it, as calf, half, salve. Secondly, a is often pronounced broad, when it comes after a w in the saine syllable ; as war, was, water, swan, swallow, and some few other words. 9 Q. What general exception is there to these two rules concerning the letter a A. a "must be sounded long like other vowels in short words that end in e, though an i come after it, or w before it i as pale, whale, wade, swore, waste. CRAP. VI. Of single Trowels losing their Sound, I QUESTION. DO'the vowels ever quite lose their sound ? Answer. One of the vowels in a diphthong often loses its sound, and sometimes single vowels too. 2 Q. When doth a lose its sound ? A. A single a seldom pr never loses its sound, except in diamond. 8 Q. When doth e lose its sound ? A. e loses its sound in words of two syllables that end in en, ás garden, token; or le as candle, castle.; or re as metre, lucre. Note, In these sorts of words the sound of the vowel may be dropt 9ithout loss; because n, 1, r, are liquids, or half vowels, and bave some imperfect sound 4f their osrh: 4 Q. Is a single e ever pronounced at the end of a word ? A. A single a is never pronouncedat the end of a word, but where there is no other vowel in the ward, as the, he, she, me, we, be. 5 Q. Why thenBoth e stand at the end of so many words, if it must be silent and not pronounced ?
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