short e /ɛ/ spellings in American English pronunciation

The common short e spellings are the consonant-vowel-consonant patterns ('bed' and 'yes') and the 'ea' spelling ('head' and 'dead'). The words 'said, says, friend, guest,' and 'again' are non-phonetic words pronounced with the short e sound.

Introduction to Short Vowels > How to pronounce 'short e’ /ɛ/ > Common 'short e’ /ɛ/ spellings > Practice pronouncing 'short e’ /ɛ/

Common 'short e' /ɛ/ spellings

1. -e- (CVC)

a. bed /bɛd/

b. send /sɛnd/

c. yes /yɛs/

The letters 'ea' and the consonant-vowel-consonant patterns are common short e spellings.

2. ea*

a. head /hɛd/

b. bread /brɛd/

c. heaven /hɛvən/

*The 'ea' spelling is more commonly pronounced 'long e' /i/ (as in 'team').

Short e non-phonetic words

Non-phonetic words are not pronounced according to their spelling. Their pronunciations should be memorized.

1. said /sɛd/

2. says /sɛz/

3. friend /frɛnd/

4. guest /gɛst/

5. again /ə ˈgɛn/

More 'short e' material

Pronuncian: American English Pronunciation

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