Which pattern is used to form a long vowel sound, such as in 'meat' or 'same'?

Which pattern is used to form a long vowel sound, such as in 'meat' or 'same'?

• A. CVC
• B. CVVC
• C. CVCe
• D. CV

Answer: (D)

Long vowel sounds are shown in spelling by patterns that make the vowel say its name rather than a short sound. In meat, the long sound comes from a vowel team—two vowels together, ea—that forms one long vowel sound. In same, the long sound is created by a trailing silent e after the vowel-consonant group, a pattern often labeled as a silent-e ending. So, long vowels are most reliably signaled by either a vowel team (two vowels together) or by a silent e at the end. The open-syllable pattern (a single vowel after a consonant with no ending e) doesn’t capture these two common long-vowel spellings.

Long vowel sounds are shown in spelling by patterns that make the vowel say its name rather than a short sound. In meat, the long sound comes from a vowel team—two vowels together, ea—that forms one long vowel sound. In same, the long sound is created by a trailing silent e after the vowel-consonant group, a pattern often labeled as a silent-e ending. So, long vowels are most reliably signaled by either a vowel team (two vowels together) or by a silent e at the end. The open-syllable pattern (a single vowel after a consonant with no ending e) doesn’t capture these two common long-vowel spellings.