Which letter combination commonly spells the long 'u' sound in English words like "blue"?

Which letter combination commonly spells the long 'u' sound in English words like "blue"?

• A. ue
• B. ea
• C. ai
• D. oo

Answer: (A)

When a vowel needs to say its long sound, English often uses specific letter combinations or a silent “e” at the end to lengthen it. For the long u sound you hear in blue, the common spelling is the two letters “ue” after a consonant. The e at the end is usually silent, but it helps the preceding u hold its longer sound, giving /uː/ as in blue. The other spellings listed don’t reliably produce that same long u sound: they typically represent other vowels—ea leans toward long e, ai toward long a, and oo usually signals long o (though it can letter u sounds in some words, it isn’t the standard spelling for the long u in blue). So the ue spelling best fits the long u pattern shown by blue.

When a vowel needs to say its long sound, English often uses specific letter combinations or a silent “e” at the end to lengthen it. For the long u sound you hear in blue, the common spelling is the two letters “ue” after a consonant. The e at the end is usually silent, but it helps the preceding u hold its longer sound, giving /uː/ as in blue. The other spellings listed don’t reliably produce that same long u sound: they typically represent other vowels—ea leans toward long e, ai toward long a, and oo usually signals long o (though it can letter u sounds in some words, it isn’t the standard spelling for the long u in blue). So the ue spelling best fits the long u pattern shown by blue.