Whats the rule that makes "please" pronounced the same as "pleas"?
10.06.2025 16:49
You'll usually find your answer there.
What's (not “whats”) the rule?
Whence the <ea> I cannot say but some other words that were spelled <ai> in French are spelled <ea> in English: aise → ease, graisse → grease, fait → feat.
While you may reasonably ask why words are spelled the way they're spelled, it makes no sense to ask why they're pronounced the way they're pronounced.
There's no rule.
Words are pronounced the way that they're pronounced.
Please is an anglicization of the French word plaisir.
If you're curious about why a word is spelled the way it's spelled, your first recourse should be etymonline dot com.
Pleas is spelled <pleas> because it's the plural of pleas.
What sets porcini mushrooms apart from other types of mushrooms, such as button mushrooms?
Back in the day (circa 1300), it was written <plesen>.