EA Vowel Team (Long E)
When E and A are together, they usually say long E, like in 'teach' and 'beach'.
How this rule works
The vowel team 'ea' most commonly makes the long E sound “ee”. However, it can also say short E (like 'bread') or long A (like 'great'). The long E pronunciation is by far the most common.
Remember: When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking.
Examples
Words that use this rule
176 words in the SnapPhonics dictionary use this rule. Tap any word to see how it breaks into sounds.
Exceptions
EA can also say /ɛ/ in words like 'bread', 'head', 'dead', and /eɪ/ in 'great', 'break', 'steak'.
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