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English words don't end in V or J
have, give, love - always an E on the end.
Grades 1-4
The rule
No English word ends in the letter v or j. A silent e is added even when it does not make the vowel long.
How it works
| have | not hav |
| give | not giv |
| love | not lov |
| active | not activ |
| believe | not believ |
Watch out for
- This is why have, give and love have a silent e but still keep a short vowel — the e is there for the v, not the vowel.
- Modern slang and abbreviations do break this (rev, spiv), but standard spelling does not.