Why is That <e> There?
bike
The <e> marks the <i> as a long vowel.
be
bee
be + fore ➛
be + fore ➛ before
undo ➛
undo ➛ un + do
believe
No complete English word ends in <v>.
in
inn
be + gin ➛
be + gin ➛ begin
doing ➛
doing ➛ do + ing
since
The <e> marks the <c> as a 'soft' sound, or /s/.
but
butt
be + cause ➛
be + cause ➛ because
does ➛
does ➛ do + es
please
Plural cancelation: the <e> shows that the <s> before it is not a suffix <-s>.
to
too, two
be + gin + er ➛
be + gin + er ➛ beginner
done ➛
done ➛ do + ne
were
The <e> marks were as a content spelling and shows its relationship to are.
by
buy, bye
be + lieve + ing ➛
be + lieve + ing ➛ believing
redone ➛
redone ➛ re + do + ne