Silent letters (knee, listen, foreign)

Say each pair aloud. If the two words sound the same when you record yourself, slow down and go back to the steps above.

• knot/not
• knight/night
• wrap/rap
• hour/our
• scent/sent
• plumb/plum
• whole/hole

1. 1

   I honestly doubt whether building more motorways will actually resolve city congestion.

   silent 'b' in doubt, silent 'h' in honestly

2. 2

   My foreign language teacher always told us to listen carefully to native speakers.

   silent 'g' in foreign, silent 't' in listen

3. 3

   I usually walk through the local castle gardens whenever I need to clear my head.

   silent 'l' in walk, silent 't' in castle

4. 4

   You have to know how to organise your schedule properly at university.

   silent 'k' in know

5. 5

   Working under pressure can easily cause muscle fatigue if you never take proper breaks.

   silent 'c' in muscle

6. 6

   I wrote a detailed honest review of the flat before moving out.

   silent 'w' in wrote, silent 'h' in honest

7. 7

   To design a sustainable transport system, planners must consider the whole community.

   silent 'g' in design, silent 'w' in whole

8. 8

   He hurt his knee while playing football on the school pitch last Wednesday.

   silent 'k' in knee, silent 'd' in Wednesday

9. 9

   I often listen to relaxing acoustic music when I finish a long shift.

   silent 't' in often and listen

10. 10

    The government should sign new agreements to protect endangered island wildlife.

    silent 'g' in sign, silent 's' in island

11. 11

    I spent half an hour trying to fix the plumbing in my bathroom.

    silent 'l' in half, silent 'h' in hour, silent 'b' in plumbing

12. 12

    She has gained valuable knowledge about foreign markets throughout her career.

    silent 'k' in knowledge, silent 'g' in foreign

• ch versus j (cheap / jeep)
• Consonant clusters at the end of words (texts, months)
• Consonant clusters at the start of words (street, spring)
• f versus p (fast / past)
• Final consonants that learners drop (want, hand, desk)
• h at the start of words (hair / air)
• r versus l (right / light)
• s versus sh (seat / sheet)
• sh versus ch (share / chair)
• Silent r after vowels in British English (car, work)
• th versus d and z (they / day / zay)
• th versus s and t (thank / sank / tank)
• The ng sound /ŋ/ (sing, thinking)
• The voiced th sound /ð/ (this, mother)
• The voiceless th sound /θ/ (think, month)
• The /ʒ/ sound (measure, decision)
• v versus b (vote / boat)
• v versus w (vest / west)
• z versus s (rise / rice)
• All 59 pronunciation sets
• Part 1 topics
• Part 2 cue cards
• Part 3 questions