Silent letters
What are silent letters?
Silent letters are letters that you can't hear
when you say the word,but that are there
when you write the word.
There are no rules, you just have to learn
them.
Silent letters can prove a problem to
students.
It’s important to know what words have
silent letters.
Silent p
 pneumonia
 pseudonym
 psychiatrist
 psalm
 corps
 coup
 cupboard
 raspberry
 receipt
Silent b
 debt
 doubt
 crumb
 dumb
 numb
 thumb
 limb
 plumber
 tomb
 lamb
 climb
 bomb
 comb
When is mb pronounced?
mb (at end)
-s, -ed, -ing, -er
silent
 bombs
 bombed
 bombing
 bomber
m-b
separate syllables
pronounced
 bom-bard
 com-bine
 crum-ble
 Dum-bo
Silent k
 knee
 kneel
 knelt
 know
 knew
 known
 knowledge
 knife
 knight
 knot
 knit
 knob
 knock
 knickers
 knuckle
 knack
Silent g
 gnome
 gnarl
 campaign
 reign
 foreigner
 diaphragm
 sign
 design
 resign
When is gn pronounced?
gn (at end)
-s, -ed, -ing, -er
silent
 signs
 signed
 signing
 signer
g-n
separate syllables
pronounced
 sig-nal
 sig-nature
 re-sig-na-tion
Silent t











castle
whistle
witch
castle
watch
butcher
scratch
match
catch
kitchen
chestnut
 Christmas
 soften
 often
 fasten
 listen
 often
 mortgage
 mustn't
Silent t (2)
many words of French
origin
 ballet buffet chalet
 crochet gourmet valet
 depot debut
3 consonant sounds
at the end of a word =
middle 't' is silent
 acts
 ducts
 students
Silent d
 Wednesday
 handkerchief
 handsome
 ma'am = madam
 edge
 hedge
 badge
 wedge
Silent CH
yacht
Silent h
 ghetto ghost
 heir honor honest
 what when where
 why which
 while whether white
 rhythm
 rhyme
 Thomas
 Theresa
 Oprah
 Hannah
Silent L
calf half salve
balm calm palm psalm
chalk talk walk
could should would
colonel
folk yolk
Lincoln
almond salmon
Silent m
mnemonic
Silent n
autumn
hymn
damn
solemn
column
When is mn pronounced?
mn
no endings
silent
 autumn
 hymn
 solemn
 damn
m-n
separate syllables
pronounced
 dam-na-tion
 au-tum-nal
 hym-nal
 so-lem-ni-ty
Silent th
 asthma
3 consonant sounds at
the end of a word,
middle 'th' is silent
 clothes
 months
 depths
 lengths
Silent w
answer sword toward two
/wh/ : whole who whom whose
/wr/ : write wrote written writing wrong
wrap wrestle wrist wren wreck
Silent u
guest guess guitar guard
building guilty
rogue vogue
biscuit
tongue
Silent s
aisle island debris
Arkansas Illinois
GH Words
Written "gh" has no sound of its own.
It's never pronounced as it's written, ie.
/gh/
/g/ : Afghanistan aghast Ghana
gherkin ghost ghoul
ghetto spaghetti
/ɒf/ : cough trough
/ɑf/ : laugh draught (draft)
/ʌf/ : rough tough enough slough off
gh
/ʌp/ : hiccough = hiccup
/ɔ/ + silent gh : daughter slaughter fraught
ought to haughty naughty
past tense verbs : caught taught bought
brought fought sought
thought
gh
/aɪt/ + silent gh :bright light night sigh sight
high height
/eɪ/ + silent gh : neighbor sleigh weigh
weight straight
/əʊ/ + silent gh : (al)though dough
doughnut (donut)
borough (boro)
thorough
gh
/u:/ + silent gh : through
/aʊ +silent gh : bough plough (plow)
drought
Vowel Reduction
unstressed vowel + r = vowel not
pronounced
Pr/br
aspirin
temperature
opera
laboratory
deliberate (adjective only)
separate (adjective only)
Vowel reduction
fr/vr
comfortable
different
every
beverage
favorable
favorite
Vowel reduction
tr
documentary
elementary
interested
interesting
Vowel reduction
honorable
miserable
Homophones: same pronunciation different
spelling different meaning
A
air heir ere
aisle isle I'll
altar alter
ant aunt
ate eight
B











balm bomb
bare bear
base, bass (instrument)
beach beech
beat beet
beau bow
been bin
beer bier
berry, bury
berth birth
bedding betting













billed build
bite byte
blew, blue
boar bore
board bored
born borne
boro borough burro burrow
bough bow
boll bowl
brake break
bread bred
bridal bridle
buy by bye
C
 cache cash
 capital capitol
 cast, caste
 cell sell
 cent sent scent
 cereal serial
 cheap cheep
 check cheque Czech
 coup coo
 chews choose
 choral coral
 cite sight site
 close clothes
 coarse course
 colonel kernel
 complement
compliment
 core corps
D
dam damn
dear deer
dew do due
doe dough
done dun
ducks ducts
E
earn urn
F
 fair fare
 fill Phil
 find fined
 for (unstressed) fir fur
 flea flee
 flew flu flue
 flour flower
 for fore four
 forth fourth
 freeze frees frieze
G
groan grown
H
 hair hare ...
 heard herd ...
 hear here ...
 heed he'd ...
 hi high
 him hymn
 higher hire
 hole whole
 hoarse horse
 hour our
I
it's its
J
Jim, gym
K
knight night
knit nit
knot not
know no
L
lead n. led v
lessen lesson
liar lyre
M
meat meet mete
mean mien
moan mown
mode mowed
morning mourning
N
need knead
new knew gnu
night knight
Nome gnome
none nun
not knot
O
oar or ore
one won
P
 pain pane
 pear pair pare
 peace piece
 peak peek pique
 per purr
 peer pier
 poor pore
 principal principle
 pudding putting
R
rain reign
rap wrap
read, reed
read, red
right rite wright
road rode
rose rows
rote wrote
S
 sea see
 seas sees
 seize c's
 scene seen
 sell cell
 shone shown
 shoe shoo
 sight site cite
 slay sleigh
 stair stare
 stationary stationery
 steal steel
 straight strait
 some, sum
 son, sun
T
taught taut
their there they're
threw through thru
throne throne
tie Thai
thyme time
to too two
U
u ewe you yew
V
vale veil
vial vile
W
 wail whale wale
 wait weight
 war wore
 ware wear where
 warn worn
 way weigh whey
 what are you, what do
you
 weal wheel
 wine whine
 wrote rote
Y
you yew ewe u
your you're
THANK YOU
END OF SLIDES