When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking

**"When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking"** is a rule used when teaching English-speaking children that says that when there are two vowels in a word the first one has the so-called "long" sound of the vowel (or alphabet name), and the second one is not pronounced.

For example, in *train* the *a* has the so-called “long *a*” sound and *i* does not sound. The same happens for *each*, *die*, *goat*, and *rescue*.

Unfortunately, this rule is false 60% of the time. Counterexamples: *pause*, *head*, *chief*, *out*, *biscuit*.

## The first one does the talking

* "ai" /eɪ/: Adelaide, afraid, aid, aim, available, brain, campaign, chain, claim, complain, contain, daily, detail, entertain, explain, fail, faith, gain, hail, Haiti, jail, mail, main, Maine, maintain, paid, pain, paint, rail, rain, raise, remain, retail, snail, Spain, stain, straight, train, trait, wait

Exceptions: said /sed/ - again /əˈɡen, əˈɡeɪn/ ;
* "ee" /iː/: agree - between - deep - degree - fee - feed - feel - free - green - indeed - keep - meet - need - screen - see - seek - seem - sleep - speech - speed - street - tree - week
* "oa" /əʊ/: approach, boat, coach, coal, coat, coast, float, foam, goal, goat, load, loan, oats, road, roast, throat, toast

* "oe" /əʊ/: goes - heroes - potatoes - toe - tomatoes

Exceptions: shoe - does *(verb)* - canoe
* "ue" /(j)uː/: blue - clue - continue - due - value

## Mixed results

* "ea"

* /iː/: beach - bead - beat - bleach - breathe - cheat - clean - cream - creature - deal - dream - each - easy - eat - feature - heal - heat - increase - jeans - lead *(verb)* - leader - leaf - lean - leave - meal - mean - meat - pea - peach - peak - please - reach - read - repeat - reason - reveal - scream - sea - seal - seat - steal - steam - stream - teach - team - treat - weak - weasel

* /e/: ahead - already - bread - breakfast - breast - breath - cleanse - dead - deaf - dealt - death - dread - dreadful - feather - head - header - health - heather - heavy - instead - jealous - lead *(metal)* - leapt - leather - meadow - meant - measure - pheasant - pleasant - pleasure - read *(past tense and past participle)* - ready - spread - steady - sweat - thread - threat - threaten - treachery - tread - treadmill - treasure - wealth - weapon - weather

* /eɪ/: break - great - steak

* "ei"

/iː/: ceiling - conceive - receipt
/eɪ/: eight - neighbour - weigh
* "eo"

/iː/: people
/e/: leopard
Both vowels do the talking: video - theory
* "ie"

/aɪ/: lies - fried
/iː/: chief - field
* "ui"

/(j)uː/: bruise - fruit - suite
/ɪ/: biscuit - circuit
/uːɪ/: altruism - fluid - ruin - suicide
/wɪ/: anguish - liquid - penguin - quick
## The rule doesn't work

* "au"

/ɔː/ cause - author
/eɪ/ gauge
* "oo"

/uː/ school - goose
/ʊ/: foot - good
* "ou" /aʊ/: about - mouth

Exceptions: soup - through; could - should - would; country - double
Rule works for *soul*, but it is better to teach "ou" as a phonogram, and therefore *soul* is an exception.
## Both vowels do the talking

With a little imagination, instead of exceptions the following patterns are examples of rules for diphthongs.

* "ew" /(j)uː/: few - flew - new
* "oi" /ɔɪ/: choice

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 All about *Learning Press*, When Two Vowels Go Walking