Silent Letters in Consonant Combinations
© 2016 Christopher DiMatteo. All Rights Reserved.
(1) Silent consonants in combinations on the beginning of words
(2) Silent consonants in combinations in the middle of words
(3) Silent consonants in combinations on the ends of words
(4) The combination GN
(5) The combination TH
(6) The letter H
(1)
SILENT CONSONANTS IN COMBINATIONS ON THE BEGINNING OF WORDS
Words starting with kn- with a silent K:
knack
knacker
knackered
knapsack (usually called a “bookbag” or “backpack”)
knave
knead
knee
kneel
knickers
knickknack
knife
knight
knit
knitted
knitting
knob
knock
knockdown, knock down
knockout, knock out
knoll
knot
know
knew (past of “know”)
known (part participle of “know”)
knowledge (and the derivative “acknowledge”)
knuckle
Words starting with pneu- with a silent P:
pneumonia
pneumatic
Words starting with pseudo- with a silent P:
pseudointellectual
pseudonym
pseudoscience
Words starting with psych- with a silent P:
psyche
psychedelic
psychiatrist
psychiatry
psychic
psychoanalysis
psycho-linguistics
psychologist
psychology
psychopathic
Words starting with sw- with a silent W:
This is unique to “sword” and its derivatives.
sword
sword fighting
swordplay
swordfish
The S is not silent in all other words starting in sw-.
(Note the S is pronounced voiceless, not a Z sound; “swan” not “zwan” etc.)
swan
swim
swam
swum
switch
swindle
swing
swang
swung
Words starting in wh- with a silent H:
(This first group consists of all the interrogatives, except “who” where the H is never silent.)
what “wut”
which “wich”
when “wen”
where “wer”
why “wai”
NOTE, these 2 exceptions, where the H is never silent:
who “hu”
whole “hol”
whale
whaling
wheat
wheel
whether
while
whip
whiskey
whisper
whistle
white
Words starting in wr- with a silent W:
wrap
wrath
wreath
wreck
wrench
wrestle
wretch
wright
also derivatives like playwright, wheelwright, etc.
wring
wring out
wrung
wrinkle
wrist
write
wrote
written
wrong
(2)
CONSONANT COMBINATIONS IN THE MIDDLE OF WORDS, WHERE AT LEAST ONE OF THE CONSONANTS IS SILENT:
Words containing -ct- with a silent C:
indict
indictment
victuals (pronounced “vittles” and also sometimes written that way)
Words containing -ght- with a silent GH:
daughter “dotr”
slaughter “slotr”
BUT:
laughter “laftr” here the GHT is pronounced F.
Words containing -ld- with a silent L:
solder “soder”
soldering “sodering”
In all other words with -ld- both consonants are pronounced:
soldier
sold
fold
old
mold
hold
gold
Word containing -lm- wlth a silent L:
salmon
The exception is the word “salmonella” where both letters are pronounced.
Words containing -st- with a silent T:
bristle
bristly
christen
christening
fasten
glisten
gristle
hasten
listen
thistle
whistle
wrestle
wrestling
wrestler
(3)
SILENT CONSONANTS IN CONSONANT COMBINATIONS ON THE END OF WORDS
Words ending in -alk and -olk with a silent L
balk
chalk
stalk, stalking, stalked, stalker
talk, talking, talked, talker
walk, walking, walked, walker
folk
folklore
yolk, egg yolk
Note that the L is pronounced in these words that end in –ilk and –ulk:
milk
milking, milked
milky
The Milky Way
silk
silky
bilk
ilk
bulk
bulky
sulk, sulking
Words ending in -bt with silent B that stays silent if followed by other letters:
debt
debtor
doubt
doubted
doubtful
doubtless
doubter
Words ending in a silent -gh:
high “hai”
highway
sigh “sai”
nigh “nai”
dough “dou”
weigh “wei”
neigh “nei”
sleigh “slei”
bough “bau” synonym: branch
plough “plau” usually written “plow”
though “tho”
although “altho”
through “thru”
thorough “throro”
thoroughly “throroli”
Words (and their derivatives) ending in -gh pronounced F:
cough “cof”
coughing “cofing”
coughed “coft”
coughed up “coft up”
draught “draft” (also usually written “draft”)
enough “enuf”
laugh “laf”
laughter “lafter”
laughing “lafing”
laughed “laft”
neighbor “neibor”
rough “ruf”
rougher “rufr”
roughest “rufest”
tough “tuf”
tougher “tuffr”
toughest “tufest”
trough “trof”
Words ending in -ght where -gh is silent (and is also silent before a suffix):
bright
brighten
delight
delightful
eight
eighth “eith”
eighteen “eiteen”
eighty “eity”
fight
fighter
fought
flight
height
heighten
knight
light
light up
lighten
Lighten up!
lightly
naughty
night
nightly
nought
slight
sight
slightly
tight
tonight
weight
ALSO in the past tense & past participle of the entire group of irregular verbs that end in -ought and –aught:
bought (from the verb “to buy”)
brought (from the verb “to bring”)
caught (from the verb “to catch”)
fought (from the verb “to fight”)
sought (from the verb “to seek”)
thought (from the verb “to think”)
taught (from the verb “to teach”)
AND ALSO these two auxiliary verbs:
might
ought to
Words ending in -lf in the singular and -lves in the plural, where the L is silent:
calf
calves
half
halves
Words ending in -lm where the L can be silent, or not.
balm
balmy
calm
palm
Word ending in -ln with a silent N
kiln (an oven for ceramics)
Words ending in -mb with a silent B (silent also before a suffix)
bomb
bombs
bomber
bombing
bombed
BUT with these endings after bomb-, the B is NOT silent:
bombardier
bombardment
bombastic
climb
climbs
climber
climbing
climbed
comb
combs
combing
combed
crumb
crumbs
breadcrumbs
dumb
dumber
dumbest
jamb
door jamb
lamb
limb
numb
numbs
numbing
a mind-numbing experience
thumb
thumbs
thumbs up
thumbs down
tomb
tombs
entomb
BUT NOTICE in these words the “-mb-” are both pronounced:
bombardier
bombardment
bombastic
crumble
crumbling
jamboree
mumble
limber
Words ending in -mn with no suffix, with a silent N
Autumn (often called “Fall” in USA & Canada)
column
condemn
damn
damned
damning
Damn it!
hymn
-mn + a suffix, where both letters mn are pronounced:
autumnal
damnable
damnation
columnar
columnist
condemned
condemnation
condemnatory
hymnal
Words where the letters -mn- are in the middle of the word, both pronounced:
gymnastics
gymnasium
Word ending in -nt where the N may be voiced or silent:
garment
Words ending in -ould with a silent L:
This group consists only of 3 auxiliary verbs with this spelling, could, should and would.
The L is silent also in contractions with –n’t (the negative).
could
couldn’t
should
shouldn’t
would
wouldn’t
(4)
THE COMBINATION “GN”
When the letters -gn- are on the beginning or the end of a word, the G is silent.
When the letters -gn- are in the middle of a word, the G is pronounced.
Words starting with gn- with a silent G:
gnarl
gnarled
gnarly
gnash (as in “gnash one’s teeth” or “gnash the gears”)
gnat
gnaw
gneiss (a mineral, pronounced “nees”)
gnome
gnostic
gnu
Words ending in –gn with a silent G:
align
benign
design
designer
foreign
foreigner
malign
sign
signs
also the derivative “resign”
However in derivatives malignant, signal, signify” and “significant,” the G is pronounced, where -gn- is in the middle of the word, as in the list below.
Words with -gn- in the middle, where the G is pronounced as a hard G:
agnostic
cognitive
designate
designated
designation
diagnosis
dignified
dignity
ignite
ignition
ignoble
ignorant
ignore
insignificant
magnet
magnetic
magnetism
magnify
magnifying glass
magnolia
malignant
pregnancy
pregnant
prognosis
recognition
recognize
signal
signify
significant
stagnant
(5)
THE LETTERS “TH”
The letters “TH” can be pronounced with both the breath and the voice or with the breath only.
Words with -th- pronounced with the voice:
the
there
this
that
these
those
though “tho”
although “altho”
bathe
breathe
worthy
In these pairs of related words, the first has -th- with no voice, the second has -th- with the voice.
bath (a noun)
bathe (a verb)
breath (a noun)
breathe (a verb)
worth (a noun)
worthy (an adjective)
Words where -th is pronounced with or without the voice:
with
without
The TH in “with” and “without” is normally pronounced without the voice, but some people say the TH in these words with the voice. It is not considered incorrect and there is no single known reason for it, such as a dialect.
Words with –th- pronounced without the voice
bath
breath
three
think
thought
with
forth
fourth
threnody
through
thorough
thoroughly
worth
Words with tangles of TH and GH:
thorough “thoro” (total, complete)
thoroughly “thoroli” (totally, completely)
though “tho” (“th-“ with the voice)
thought “thot”
through “thru”
trough “trof”
tough “tuf” (strong, resistant)
Pairs of similar words, one with T- the other with TH-.
tank
thank, thanks
ten
then
tick
thick
tin
thin
taught
thought
trash
thrash
tread
thread
tree
three
true
through
trust
thrust
turd
third
(6)
THE LETTER H.
Pairs of similar words, where one starts with an aspirate H, the other one does not have an initial H.
had
add
hail, hailing
ail, ailing
hair
air
hairy
airy
hall
all
hallways
always
halter
alter
ham
am
hand
and
harm
arm
hash
ash
hasp
asp
hat
at
hate
ate
hear
ear
heat
eat
heave, heaves
eaves
hedge
edge
heel
eel
helm
elm
hew
ewe
hid
Id
hill
ill
hire
ire
his
is
hit
it
hitch
itch
hold
old
hour
our, ours
hungry
angry
There are also these anomalies and exceptions with the letter H:
A) Hallow takes the accent on the first syllable, allow places it on the second syllable.
hallow, hallowed, Halloween
allow, allowed, allowing
B) Hare rhymes with “air.” Are rhymes with “bar.”
hare (a wild rabbit)
are (part of the verb “to be”)
C) Height is pronounced “hait” and the number eight is pronounced “eit.”
height
eight (8)
D) Words starting with a silent H (pronounced as a glottal plosive):
There are only these 6 words and their derivatives, which all start with a vowel sound. They all take the indefinite article “an” and not “a.”
an heir
an herb
an homage
an honest person
an honor
an hour
Here are all the derivatives of these words:
an heir apparent
an heiress
an heirloom
an heritable property
heritability
an herb
an herbal remedy
an herbalist
an herbicidal chemical
an herbicide
an herbivore
an herbivorous animal
an honorable man
an honorary degree
an honorific title
an hour glass
an hourly wage
Most words starting in h- have an aspirate H (pronounced with the breath). Here are just a few examples:
hand
head
hill
horrible
hole
home
hunt
etc.