rachid.tabi
2007-06-25, 14:40
Silent letters
There is no clear way to know about all the silent letters in English. But is it a hopeless case? Well, the best we can do is to offer the following list of some silent letters:
Mb at the end of a word (silent b), e.g. comb, lamb, climb.
Sc at the beginning of a word followed by 'e' or 'i', (silent c), e.g. scene, scent, science, scissors (except for the word 'sceptic' and its derivations!).
Kn (silent k), e.g. knife, knock, know.
Mn at the end of a word (silent n), e.g. damn, autumn, column
Ps at the beginning of a word (silent p), e.g. psalm, psychiatry, psychology
Ght (silent gh), e.g. night, ought, taught
Gn at the beginning of a word (silent g), e.g. gnome, gnaw, gnu
Bt (silent b), e.g. debt, doubtful, subtle (but not in some words, e.g. 'obtain', 'unobtrusive'!) The letter H is silent in the following situations:
At the end of word preceded by a vowel, e.g. cheetah, Sarah, messiah;
Between two vowels, e.g. annihilate, vehement, vehicle
After the letter 'r', e.g. rhyme, rhubarb, rhythm After the letters 'ex', e.g. exhausting, exhibition, exhort
There is no clear way to know about all the silent letters in English. But is it a hopeless case? Well, the best we can do is to offer the following list of some silent letters:
Mb at the end of a word (silent b), e.g. comb, lamb, climb.
Sc at the beginning of a word followed by 'e' or 'i', (silent c), e.g. scene, scent, science, scissors (except for the word 'sceptic' and its derivations!).
Kn (silent k), e.g. knife, knock, know.
Mn at the end of a word (silent n), e.g. damn, autumn, column
Ps at the beginning of a word (silent p), e.g. psalm, psychiatry, psychology
Ght (silent gh), e.g. night, ought, taught
Gn at the beginning of a word (silent g), e.g. gnome, gnaw, gnu
Bt (silent b), e.g. debt, doubtful, subtle (but not in some words, e.g. 'obtain', 'unobtrusive'!) The letter H is silent in the following situations:
At the end of word preceded by a vowel, e.g. cheetah, Sarah, messiah;
Between two vowels, e.g. annihilate, vehement, vehicle
After the letter 'r', e.g. rhyme, rhubarb, rhythm After the letters 'ex', e.g. exhausting, exhibition, exhort