There are many ways to spell the long vowel sound a. Examples are:
a-e as in mane;
a as in apron;
ei as in vein;
ey as in they;
ea as in steak;
eigh as in eight
aigh as in straight;
ai as in rain; and
ay as in day.
We use “ai” in the beginning or middle of the word (aim, rain, pail, train) or syllable (airplane) and “ay” at the end of the word (play, stay, day, May) or syllable (playmate).
The rule “when two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking” applies.
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