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Difficulty: Very hardConsonant Clusters

Match each English word on the left with the correct structural description of its spoken consonant cluster profile on the right.

  • sixthsFeatures a single initial consonant sound (/s/) and a 4-consonant final cluster (/ksθs/).
  • spheresContains an initial 2-consonant cluster (/sf/) and a single final consonant sound (/z/).
  • wrenchedBegins with a silent letter yielding a single initial consonant sound (/r/) and ends with a 2-consonant final cluster (/tʃt/).
  • subtletyContains a silent orthographic letter ('b'), leaving a single initial consonant and no spoken medial /bt/ cluster.

Answer

The correct pairings match 'sixths' to the profile with a single initial consonant and a 4-consonant final cluster; 'spheres' to the profile with an initial 2-consonant cluster and a single final consonant; 'wrenched' to the profile with a silent initial letter and a 2-consonant final cluster; and 'subtlety' to the profile featuring a silent medial 'b'.
Evaluating each word by its spoken phonemes shows that 'sixths' contains a 4-sound final cluster (/ksθs/); 'spheres' contains an initial 2-sound cluster (/sf/); 'wrenched' drops the silent 'w' to begin with /r/ and ends with a 2-sound cluster (/tʃt/); and 'subtlety' contains silent 'b', preventing an orthographic letter sequence from forming a spoken cluster.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Transcribe each target word into its Standard English phonetic phonemes.
'sixths' → /sɪksθs/, 'spheres' → /sfɪəz/, 'wrenched' → /rentʃt/, 'subtlety' → /ˈsʌtl.ti/.
Consonant clusters are defined strictly by spoken consonant phonemes, not written letters.
2
Identify silent letters to eliminate non-spoken orthographic consonants.
'wrenched' has silent 'w' (initial sound is /r/); 'subtlety' has silent 'b' (no medial /b/ sound).
Orthographic representations often include letters that do not contribute to spoken consonant clusters.
3
Count and categorize the contiguous sequence of spoken consonant phonemes at initial, medial, and final positions.
'sixths' has final /k-s-θ-s/ (4 sounds); 'spheres' has initial /s-f/ (2 sounds); 'wrenched' has final /tʃ-t/ (2 sounds); 'subtlety' has no /bt/ cluster.
Precise phonemic counting reveals the structural profile of each word.
4
Pair each word with its corresponding description based on phonetic structure.
'sixths' pairs with the 4-consonant final cluster profile, 'spheres' pairs with the initial 2-consonant cluster profile, 'wrenched' pairs with the silent 'w' and 2-consonant final cluster profile, and 'subtlety' pairs with the silent 'b' profile.
Each structural description uniquely isolates one word's phonological composition.

Key Concept

Phonetic Analysis of Consonant Clusters and Silent Letters
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Topics

Consonant Clusters

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