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Question

Difficulty: MediumConsonant Clusters

Match each English word on the left with the correct description of its phonetic consonant cluster structure on the right.

  • whistleSingle initial consonant sound with no final cluster due to a silent letter
  • splintThree-consonant initial cluster and a two-consonant final cluster
  • promptTwo-consonant initial cluster and a three-consonant final cluster
  • thumbsSingle initial consonant sound and a two-consonant final cluster with a silent letter

Answer

'whistle' pairs with 'Single initial consonant sound with no final cluster due to a silent letter'; 'splint' pairs with 'Three-consonant initial cluster and a two-consonant final cluster'; 'prompt' pairs with 'Two-consonant initial cluster and a three-consonant final cluster'; 'thumbs' pairs with 'Single initial consonant sound and a two-consonant final cluster with a silent letter'.
Each word is matched according to its actual phonetic breakdown: 'whistle' /ˈwɪs.l̩/ contains a silent 't' and no final cluster; 'splint' /splɪnt/ features a 3-consonant onset /spl/ and a 2-consonant coda /nt/; 'prompt' /prɒmpt/ features a 2-consonant onset /pr/ and a 3-consonant coda /mpt/; 'thumbs' /θʌmz/ contains a silent 'b', leaving a single onset /θ/ and a 2-consonant coda /mz/.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Transcribe each word phonetically to analyze spoken consonant sounds rather than written spelling
'whistle' = /ˈwɪs.l̩/, 'splint' = /splɪnt/, 'prompt' = /prɒmpt/, 'thumbs' = /θʌmz/
Consonant clusters depend strictly on consecutive consonant sounds in speech, ignoring orthographic conventions and silent letters.
2
Count initial and final consonant clusters for each transcribed word
'whistle' has initial /w/ (1 sound) and no final cluster; 'splint' has initial /spl/ (3 sounds) and final /nt/ (2 sounds); 'prompt' has initial /pr/ (2 sounds) and final /mpt/ (3 sounds); 'thumbs' has initial /θ/ (1 sound) and final /mz/ (2 sounds).
Identifying the number of consonant phonomes at the start and end of words establishes the exact structural properties.
3
Match each word to its corresponding structural description
All four items successfully match their exact phonetic cluster count descriptions.
Verifying each match ensures full alignment between phonetic reality and sound structure definitions.

Key Concept

Consonant Cluster Phonetic Structure and Silent Letter Awareness
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

Consonant Clusters

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