That's because it's like a defender D. "Page" and "cage" becomes a long A because there's only one intervening consonant. When the G is followed an E, I or Y, then it'll become a soft G which sounds like a J. However, English words can't end with J, which is why they use G. However, if these letters doesn't follow the G, it'll remain a hard G, which is why they put an E. However, the E can elongate the previous vowel, especially if there's only one intervening consonant. Doubling the G is another solution as it prevents the E from elongating the previous vowel but it won't work out because although if the following letters would soften the G but if the G is doubled, then it'll remain a hard G like "trigger" which would sound weird. They use a D instead, but the D is silent and it's like a defender D which prevents the E from elongating the previous vowel, so the previous vowel will remain short. These are examples of word with DGE ending:
1.) edge
2.) hedge
3.) ridge
4.) bridge
5.) fudge
6.) pledge
7.) grudge
8.) badge
9.) gadget
10.) badger
11.) dredge
12.) smudge
13.) fridge
In "bridge", the d is silent because it has a "dge" trigraph ending.
Silent "d" sounds are when the letter "d" is not pronounced in certain words, such as "handkerchief" and "Wednesday." These words are exceptions to the typical pronunciation of the letter "d."
Some examples of silent "d" words include "Wednesday," where the "d" is not pronounced, and "handkerchief," where the "d" is silent as well. Other examples are "sandwich" and "edge." These words demonstrate how certain letters can be present in spelling but not in pronunciation.
words ending in ed
Words that begin with D and end with R:daggerdangerdaughterDeardeerdeliverdemurderringerdespairdeterdiaperdickerdinerdinnerdirectordisappeardisasterdishwasherdisorderdistributordiverdoctordollardormerdoordrawerdredgerdropperdroverdryerdrummerdumberduster
Relatively some words have silent letters, for example:Silent A- Adverbs ending with "ally"Some words with "ea". "Ea" usually sounds like double E or "ee" which makes a long E sound, but some words have a silent A, only the "e" is pronounced.Ex. accidentally, actually, musically, historically, basically, mentally, bear, wear, head, bread, threat, weather, feather, Heather, leather, instead, heard, etc.Silent B- Words with "mb" ending, only the "m" is pronounced.Words with "bt" ending, only the "t" is pronounced.Ex. bomb, comb, tomb, womb, crumb, thumb, climb, limb, lamb, jamb, plumb, plumber, numb, debt, doubt, etc.Remark: Subtract, obtain, Cambridge, Cambrian, etc. contains the "mb" and "bt" but the "b" is still pronounced because it's not at the end of the word.Silent C- Some words with "sc", especially at the beginning. When the "c" is followed by an E, I or Y, then the "c" would soften and make an "s" sounds. However, in the soft "c" case, if the "s" follows that "c", then the "c" would become silent as it might sound quite repetitive and the "s" is more generally prominent for this sound, so only the "s" is pronounced.Words with "cq" together, only the "q" is pronounced.Words with "cn" beginning, only the "n" is pronounced.There are some exceptions though.Ex. scissor, science, scene, scenery, scenario, scenic, scent, crescent, ascend, fascinate, muscle, descend, acquire, acquit, acquaintance, cnidarian, Antarctic, arctic, etc.Silent D- Some words with D isn't pronounced.Words with "dge" ending, the D isn't pronounced. Technically, it's like a soft "g" ending which sounds like a j However, if the "g" is only there like page, cage, rage, etc., then previous vowel will elongate due to the "e". The silent D in the "dge" ending is like a defender D which prevents the "e" from elongating the previous vowel, so it remains short.Words with "adj" beginning, the D isn't pronounced. Technically, the J can't be the consonant blend, which is the first letter in the blend, so the following letter of the J is usually a consonant. If there's only the J, then there's only one intervening consonant, which the first letter might elongate. Doubling the J might work but English words can't have double J. The silent D in the "adj" beginning is like a defender D which prevents the J-following vowel from elongating the previous consonants.Ex. sandwich, Wednesday, handsome, handkerchief, edge, hedge, ledge, pledge, ridge, bridge, badge, badger, sledge, smudge, dredge, adjacent, adjective, adjust, etc.
There are many that have three or more, including silent GH (doubled letters are usually not considered silent).bombsight - B, G, Hknowledgeable (K, D, ending E)The word brougham (brOm) has either 3 or 4, depending on the OU-as-O vowel pair. And straightedge can be considered to have 4 or 5 (G, H, D, E, maybe I).
the d in veldt is silent. therefore anything with a elt ending, belt, felt, melt, etc
Bird
silent letters
world
banked