You pronounce "the" with a long "e" sound when the following word starts with a vowel sound, regardless of whether it is spelled with vowel. For example:
the apple
the hour (in American pronunciation, the h is silent, but may be pronounced in other dialects)
the outset
You pronounce "the" with a schwa sound (very close to a short "u" sound) when the following word begins with a consonant sound. Examples:
the dog
the man
the uselessness (note that this begins with a consonant "y" sound like the word "you")
A long "e" is also used when you want to emphasize the word "the." For example:
He makes THE best apple pie in the world.
She is THE most accomplished violinist in the history of the orchestra.
I am basing this on standard American pronunciation. These are not hard and fast rules, but rather the way most native speakers talk without realizing it. In fact, my elementary school teachers insisted that we always pronounce "the" with a long e during reading class, but neither the students nor the teachers did it during any other class. If you are not a native speaker, following these rules would help you sound less non-native.
The word "fox" contains a short vowel sound. The 'o' in 'fox' is pronounced as a short vowel sound like in the word 'hot'.
in-SPIRE-rer the first vowel is short, the second vowel is long, and the third vowel is hardly pronounced.
That all depends on which vowel you're talking about. The O is long, but the E is short.
Loser long or short vowel
It has the long O vowel sound, as in know, slow, and blow.
The letter 'a' in "nachos" has a short vowel sound, as in "cat" or "hat."
Pan is a short vowel sound because it doesn't pronounce the letter a. If you add an e to the end and make the word pane, it will be a long vowel. You can hear the difference in how the a is pronounced this way.
"Ruby" has a long u sound (long vowel), while "Spanish" has a short a sound (short vowel).
No, "KNOW" does not contain a long vowel. It has a silent "K" at the beginning followed by a short vowel "o" sound.
is aim a long vowel or short vowel
No, "can" does not have a long vowel sound. The vowel 'a' in "can" is pronounced with a short vowel sound.
The first A has a long A sound and the second is a schwa.