The one rule that typically applies to English is that there is always an exception to the rule. This leads to the question that most of my clients ask: How can I tell how to pronounce a word with all of these exceptions? Good news! There are a few patterns that do better in identifying word pronunciation than others.
86% of the time, in a VC (Vowel-Consonant) pattern, the vowel is pronounced as short: AT, BAT, BET, MOP, HUT
89% of the time, in a VCC (Vowel-Consonant-Consonant) pattern, the vowel is pronounced as short: BAND, BEST, LICK, LOCK, LUCK
81% of the time, in a VCE (Vowel-Consonant-silent E) pattern, the vowel is pronounced as long: ATE, TAKE, PETE, MOPE, TUBE
77% of the time, in a VVC (Vowel-Vowel-Consonant) pattern, the vowel is pronounced as long: SAIL,HEAT, ROAD
77% of the time, in a CV (Consonant-Vowel) pattern, the vowel is pronounced as long: HE, HI, GO, CRY