læ·se to read, Prø·ve test, Naa·de grace. Exceptions: Abor perch (pron. abbor), Furu fir tree (pron. furru), Lever (vv) liver, Moro (rr) fun, Niding (dd) villain, traitor.
142. Vowels are short when followed by two or more consonants or a double consonant; Ex.: hoppe to jump, mörk dark, mange many.
Note 1. Before st a vowel may be short or long; Ex.: long: Bæst wild beast, mest most; short: Hest horse, Vest waistcoat. If the t belongs to an ending of inflection, then a preceding long vowel as a rule retains its length: hæ·st hoarse (neut. of hæs), blæ·st prtcp. of blæse to blow (but Blœ·st, wind), læ·st prtc. of læse to read; in the same manner a vowel is treated before l, n, r, with following inflective t: fø·lte past tense of føle to feel, gu·lt yellow, neut. of gul, me·nte past tense of mene to mean, hø·rt prtcp. of høre to hear.
Note 2. Before r(d) the vowel is long (see § 109); Ex.: J·r(d) earth etc; but Sværd sword , Hjord herd with short vowel and pronounced d.
Note 3. Before dl, dr, gr, pr and tr the preceding vowel as a rule is long, but may also be short; Ex.: long: adle to ennoble, bedre better, magre lean (plur.), kapre to capture, (make a prize of). Theatret the theater; short: snadre to cackle, pludre to jabber.
143. In monosyllables ending in a single consonant the vowel may be long or short. It is as a rule long before b, g, d, whether they be pronounced as written or as p, k, t (or mute d); Ex.: Haab hope, Tog (å) expedition, Bad bath, Gab (p) gap, Tag (k) roof, bag (k) behind, lad (t) lazy.
Note. Short is the vowel in some words ending in one of the above mentioned consonants (the consonant in that case being pronounced long); Ex.: Laag cover, pron. låkk (but Öjenlaag eyelid as wiitten), Leg, gg, leg, Væg, gg, wall, Ryg, gg, back, tig, gg, imper. of tigge to beg, lig, gg, imper. of ligge to lie, Lab, bb, paw, Flab, bb, chaps.
144. A vowel followed by a single l, n, r, s, may be long or short, the consonant in the latter case being pronounced long; Ex.: Hul, ll, hole, but hu·l hollow, for, rr, for, but fo·r
