Adding the letter e to a word changes it's sound.

Adding the letter 'E' after many words changes the pronunciation of the other vowel in the word from the short to the long vowel sound. Here are some I picked at random: Bit, bite, cut, cute, at, ate, fat, fate, hat, hate, rat, rate, jut, jute, kit, kite, con, cone, win, wine, pin, pine, fin, fine, din, dine, dim, dime. This tip is also helpful for longer words like conflate or congratulate, where the last 'a' is pronounced like it's name.