1.  The open, long, full, or primal e; as in me, mere, menial, melodious.

2.  The close, curt, short, or stopped e; as in men, merry, ebony, strength.

3.  The obscure or faint e; as in open, garden, shovel, able.  This third sound is scarcely perceptible, and barely sufficient to articulate the consonant and form a syllable.

E final is mute and belongs to the syllable formed by the preceding vowel or diphthong; as in age, eve, ice, ore.  Except—­1.  In the words, be, he, me, we, she, in which it has the open sound; and the article the, wherein it is open before a vowel, and obscure before a consonant. 2.  In Greek and Latin words, in which it has its open sound, and forms a distinct syllable, or the basis of one; as in Penelope, Pasiphae, Cyanee, Gargaphie, Arsinoe, apostrophe, catastrophe, simile, extempore, epitome. 3.  In the terminations ere, gre, tre, in which it has the sound of close or curt u, heard before the r; as in acre, meagre, centre.

Mute e, after a single consonant, or after st or th, generally preserves the open or long sound of the preceding vowel; as in cane, here, pine, cone, tune, thyme, baste, waste, lathe, clothe:  except in syllables unaccented; as in the last of genuine;—­and in a few monosyllables; as bade, are, were, gone, shone, one, done, give, live, shove, love.

DIPHTHONGS BEGINNING WITH E.

E before an other vowel, in general, either forms with it an improper diphthong, or else belongs to a separate syllable.  We do not hear both vowels in one syllable, except perhaps in eu or ew.

Ea, an improper diphthong, mostly sounds like open or long e; as in ear, fear, tea; frequently like close or curt e; as in head, health, leather:  sometimes, like open or long a; as in steak, bear, forswear:  rarely, like middle a; as in heart, hearth, hearken.  Ea in an unaccented syllable, sounds like close or curt u; as in vengeance, pageant.

Ee, an improper diphthong, mostly sounds like one open or long e; as in eel, sheep, tree, trustee, referee.  The contractions e’er and ne’er, are pronounced air and nair, and not like ear and near.  E’en, however, preserves the sound of open e.  Been is most commonly heard with the curt sound of i, bin.

Ei, an improper diphthong, mostly sounds like the primal or long a; as in reign, veil:  frequently, like open or long e; as in deceit, either, neither, seize:  sometimes, like open or long i; as in height, sleight, heigh-ho:  often, in unaccented syllables, like close or curt i; as in foreign, forfeit, surfeit, sovereign:  rarely, like close e; as in heifer, nonpareil.