Here's why:
* The vowel sound in "leaf" is a short "e" sound. This sound is similar to the "e" in "bed" or "get".
* Long vowel sounds are typically associated with a vowel followed by a silent "e" at the end of a word. For example, "leaf" would need to be spelled "leef" to have a long "e" sound.
Let me know if you have any other words you want to analyze!