Silent "e"

SILENT "E"
Many words are influenced by the silent "e".  For example:
rate >  here the "e" is silent, but it tells us
that the preceding vowel says its name:  as in a, e, i, o, u.
That is, the long vowel is indicated rather than the short form of the vowel by last "e" that is not pronounced.

Note these examples:

rate compared to rat

mate / mat

bite / bit