Some help along the way with a short vowel, long vowel, and consonant. Thanks to Mary Kay Linge who in her Reading Tutor points: 1. When one vowel appears between two consonants, the vowel usually says its short sound. 2. If there is an e at the end of a word, the vowel sound is long and the e is not pronounced -it's silent. 3. A vowel before a doubled consonant says its short sound. 4. When two vowels appear together, we usually hear only the first vowel, and it says its long sound(or, "When two vowels go walking, the first does the talking") 5. When a word has only one vowel and it appears at the end of the word, it usually says its long sound. 6. When c or g comes immediately before a,o or u we say its hard sound. 7. When c or g comes immediately before e, i, o or y we say its soft sound. However, there are many exceptions to every one of the rules, and learning them will only come with time and reading experience. No wonder so many struggle!