1. "a" - This is the most straightforward way to spell the long a sound, as in "cake", "hate", and "name".
2. "ai" - This combination often spells the long a sound, as in "rain", "wait", and "sail".
3. "ay" - This combination also spells the long a sound, as in "day", "say", and "play".
4. "ey" - While not as common as the others, "ey" can also spell the long a sound, as in "they", "obey", and "survey".
5. "eigh" - This combination is often used in words with the long a sound, especially in British English, as in "neighbour", "weight", and "eight".
6. "ei" - Similar to "eigh", "ei" can spell the long a sound, as in "veil", "reign", and "rein".
7. "ae" - This combination is less common but can spell the long a sound, as in "maelstrom", "façade", and "archaeology".
8. "ea" - This combination can spell the long a sound, as in "great", "break", and "steak". However, it can also spell other sounds, like the short e sound in "bread" or the long e sound in "sea".
As you can see, there are many different ways to spell the long a sound. The best way to learn them is to practice reading and writing words with different spellings.