The two vowels rule states that when any two vowels are together, sometimes the first one says its long sound. Since the letter E is a vowel letter, EE are used pronounced as the long E sound except when EE is followed by the letter R or in few cases.

1. Select the Rules tab.
2. Choose ...EE... as below.
3. Click >> button as below until you see the similar words.
4. Go through the words in the list box.
5. You will see that the second letter E is in gray color, meaning that the second letter E is silent and only the first letter E is pronounced itself.
6. Now if you learn a new word such as teem, you shall apply the EE rule to help you remember that the word teem is pronounced as T-E-M.

There are exceptions. If EE is followed by the letter R, you need to pronounced EER together as the IR sound in beer. You can click on the >> to list the following word. Practice those words over and over to help you get used to pronounce the sound.

Almost all the words containing EE follow the two patterns above. However, there is one exception that the EE in been is pronounced as the short I sound in American English.