In the previous paragraphs, you have learnt how to distinguish between
[long](#/lesson/SpellingAndPronunciation.09) and [short vowel](#/lesson/SpellingAndPronunciation.13) words.
In general, long vowel words should stay long, regardless of any changes in the word (e.g. a singular noun turning into a plural, or when you conjugate a verb's infinitive). The same goes for short vowel words.
In the following sections, we use the example of a plural and a singular noun to illustrate how a word maintains its long or short vowel. Of course, this mechanism applies to all kinds of words (verbs, adjectives, adverbs, etc.).