Whats the rule that makes "please" pronounced the same as "pleas"?
Last Updated: 01.07.2025 06:51

What's (not “whats”) the rule?
If you're curious about why a word is spelled the way it's spelled, your first recourse should be etymonline dot com.
You'll usually find your answer there.
Skin Aging Reduced by Molecules from Bacteria in the Blood - Neuroscience News
There's no rule.
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.
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.
Ground beef sold at Whole Foods might be contaminated with E. coli, USDA warns - CNN
Words are pronounced the way that they're pronounced.
Back in the day (circa 1300), it was written <plesen>.
Pleas is spelled <pleas> because it's the plural of pleas.
Please is an anglicization of the French word plaisir.