Silent Letters in English-#1 in a series of 4

Silent letters are those that are important to the correct spelling of words but are not pronounced when speaking.  There are some general rules about these silent letters but as always in English there are always exceptions to the rule!  This is the first article in a series of 4 on the topic of silent letters in English.

Silent B:  The letter B is silent when it follows the letter M.  Examples:  bomb, climb, crumb, dumb, lamb, limb, numb, thumb, plumber, tomb, womb, catacomb, comb

The letter B is also silent when it occurs before the letter T.  Examples:  subtle, debt, doubt, and doubtful.

 

Silent C:  The letter C is silent when it is in the letter combination of SC.  Examples:  scissors, ascent, fascinate, muscle.

The letter C is also silent before the letters K and Q.  Examples:  block, puck, lock, acknowledge, aqua, acquit, acquiesce.

 

Silent D:  The letter D is silent when it comes just before the letters N and G.  Examples:  Wednesday, pledge, grudge, cadge.

The letter D is also not pronounced in the following common words: handsome, handkerchief, sandwich.

 

Silent E:  When the letter E comes at the end of words it is usually not pronounced.  Examples:  bike, table, fore, come, example.

Letter E is also silent before the letter D in the second and third form of verbs.  Examples:  fixed, smuggled, begged, bored.

Would you like an audio recording of how to correctly pronounce these words?  If so, please send me a message using my contact form.  Then I will send you an audio file that explains these rules and has a recording of each word .