Examkin

Silent Letters

31 questions

All types31Multiple choice16Matching7Fill in the blank8
Question 21Question →

Which word among the options contains an unpronounced letter 'l' in standard English pronunciation?

Show answer & explanation

Answer: salmon

Answer

salmon
The correct option is 'salmon' because the letter 'l' is completely silent when spoken in standard Received Pronunciation (/ˈsæmən/).

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Examine the phonetic transcription of each target word in standard Received Pronunciation.
filter is /ˈfɪltə/, shelter is /ˈʃɛltə/, salmon is /ˈsæmən/, and solid is /ˈsɒlɪd/.
Phonetic transcriptions reveal which written graphemes correspond to spoken phonemes.
2
Identify which word omits the articulation of the written consonant 'l'.
The word 'salmon' lacks the /l/ phoneme in its spoken form.
The letter 'l' in 'salmon' is etymologically silent in standard English phonology.

Key Concept

Silent Consonant 'l'
Question 22Question →

Complete the statement below by identifying the unpronounced consonant letter in each specified word.

Fill in the blanks below

In standard English pronunciation, the silent consonant letter in the word 'whistle' is , and the silent consonant letter in the word 'diaphragm' is .
Show answer & explanation

Answer

The silent consonant letter in 'whistle' is 't', and the silent consonant letter in 'diaphragm' is 'g'.
In the word 'whistle', the consonant letter 't' is unarticulated (/ˈwɪs.əl/). In the word 'diaphragm', the consonant letter 'g' is silent before 'm' (/ˈdaɪ.ə.fræm/).

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the phonetic structure of the word 'whistle'.
The word 'whistle' is pronounced as /ˈwɪs.əl/, which shows that the letter 't' is not articulated.
In words ending with the pattern '-stle' (such as whistle, castle, and wrestle), the letter 't' remains unpronounced.
2
Analyze the phonetic structure of the word 'diaphragm'.
The word 'diaphragm' is pronounced as /ˈdaɪ.ə.fræm/, showing that the letter 'g' is silent.
In English phonology, when the consonant cluster 'gm' occurs at the end of a word root (such as diaphragm, paradigm, or phlegm), the letter 'g' is silent.

Key Concept

Silent Consonant Identification in Received Pronunciation
Question 23Question →

Match each word on the left with the specific silent consonant sound present in its standard Received Pronunciation.

Click a left item, then click its matching right item

Items

Subtle
Apostle
Receipt
Yacht

Matches

Show answer & explanation

Answer

'Subtle' pairs with Silent 'b', 'Apostle' pairs with Silent 't', 'Receipt' pairs with Silent 'p', and 'Yacht' pairs with Silent 'ch'.
Each word correctly pairs with its unpronounced consonant letter according to standard English phonetic rules: 'subtle' contains a silent 'b', 'apostle' contains a silent 't', 'receipt' contains a silent 'p', and 'yacht' contains a silent 'ch'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Determine the unarticulated letter in 'subtle'.
Pronounced /sʌtl/, the consonant 'b' is silent.
The 'b' following 'u' and preceding 't' in 'subtle' is not voiced.
2
Determine the unarticulated letter in 'apostle'.
Pronounced /əˈpɒsl/, the consonant 't' is silent.
In words ending in '-stle', the letter 't' is omitted in speech.
3
Determine the unarticulated letter in 'receipt'.
Pronounced /rɪˈsiːt/, the consonant 'p' is silent.
The letter 'p' before 't' in 'receipt' remains unpronounced.
4
Determine the unarticulated letters in 'yacht'.
Pronounced /jɒt/, the digraph 'ch' is silent.
The letters 'ch' perform no sound production in 'yacht'.

Key Concept

Identification of unpronounced consonant letters in standard English phonology.
Question 24Question →

In which of the following options do both words contain an unpronounced consonant letter 'g'?

Show answer & explanation

Answer: reign and paradigm

Answer

The pair 'reign and paradigm' is correct because the consonant letter 'g' is silent in both words.
In standard Received Pronunciation, the consonant letter 'g' is unarticulated in both 'reign' (/reɪn/) and 'paradigm' (/ˈpærədaɪm/). Thus, both words share an unpronounced consonant letter 'g'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Examine the phonetic transcription of the words in each candidate pair.
Determine whether the consonant letter 'g' is voiced/articulated (/ɡ/) or silent in each word.
To identify the option where both words contain a silent 'g'.
2
Analyze 'reign' (/reɪn/) and 'paradigm' (/ˈpærədaɪm/).
In 'reign', 'g' precedes 'n' and is not pronounced. In 'paradigm', 'g' precedes 'm' and is also not pronounced.
Both words in this pair satisfy the requirement of having a silent letter 'g'.
3
Evaluate the remaining options to confirm incorrect distractors.
The letter 'g' is pronounced in 'signature' (/ˈsɪɡnətʃər/), 'magnet' (/ˈmæɡnət/), and 'segment' (/ˈseɡmənt/).
The presence of an articulated 'g' renders these option pairs incorrect.

Key Concept

Silent Consonants (Unpronounced 'g')
Estimated Time:45s
Question 25Question →

Complete the statement by identifying the silent consonant letter present in each of the specified words.

Fill in the blanks below

In standard Received Pronunciation, the word 'sword' contains the silent consonant letter , whereas the word 'condemn' features the silent consonant letter .
Show answer & explanation

Answer

The silent consonant letter in 'sword' is 'w', and the silent consonant letter in 'condemn' is 'n'.
In standard Received Pronunciation (RP), the word 'sword' is pronounced /sɔːd/, making the letter 'w' unarticulated (silent). In the word 'condemn', pronounced /kənˈdɛm/, the final letter 'n' in the '-mn' sequence is silent.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the phonetic transcription of the first target word 'sword'.
The phonetic transcription is /sɔːd/. The letter 'w' is unarticulated/silent.
In standard English pronunciation, the consonant letter 'w' following 's' in 'sword' is not pronounced.
2
Analyze the phonetic transcription of the second target word 'condemn'.
The phonetic transcription is /kənˈdɛm/. The terminal letter 'n' is unarticulated/silent.
When the letter combination '-mn' occurs at the end of a root word in English phonology, the final letter 'n' remains silent.

Key Concept

Identification of silent consonants in English words
Estimated Time:1m 0s
Question 26Question →

In which of the following words is the letter 'p' fully pronounced?

Show answer & explanation

Answer: corpse

Answer

In the word 'corpse', the letter 'p' is fully pronounced.
In standard Received Pronunciation, the word 'corpse' is pronounced as /kɔːps/, where the letter 'p' represents a fully articulated /p/ sound before the final /s/.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Examine the phonetic transcription of each word in Received Pronunciation.
'psalm' is /sɑːm/, 'receipt' is /rɪˈsiːt/, 'cupboard' is /ˈkʌb.əd/, and 'corpse' is /kɔːps/.
Phonetic transcriptions reveal whether a consonant letter corresponds to an articulated sound.
2
Identify which word contains the articulated /p/ sound.
The voiceless bilabial plosive sound /p/ is present only in 'corpse'.
In 'psalm', 'receipt', and 'cupboard', the letter 'p' is unpronounced.

Key Concept

Distinguishing between silent and articulated consonant letters in English words.
Question 27Question →

Pair each word with the specific silent consonant letter contained within its standard Received Pronunciation.

Click a left item, then click its matching right item

Items

psalm
fasten
hymn
knack

Matches

Show answer & explanation

Answer

'psalm' matches with Silent letter 'p', 'fasten' matches with Silent letter 't', 'hymn' matches with Silent letter 'n', and 'knack' matches with Silent letter 'k'.
Each word pairs directly with its respective unarticulated consonant letter according to standard Received Pronunciation: 'psalm' has a silent 'p', 'fasten' has a silent 't', 'hymn' has a silent 'n', and 'knack' has a silent 'k'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the phonetic transcription of 'psalm'
The phonetic spelling is /sɑːm/, indicating that the initial 'p' is unpronounced.
Initial 'p' before 's' in words of Greek origin is typically silent.
2
Analyze the phonetic transcription of 'fasten'
The phonetic spelling is /ˈfɑːs.ən/, showing that 't' is omitted in articulation.
The letter 't' in the cluster '-sten' is unarticulated.
3
Analyze the phonetic transcription of 'hymn'
The phonetic spelling is /hɪm/, showing that final 'n' is not sounded.
The letter 'n' following 'm' at the end of a word root is silent.
4
Analyze the phonetic transcription of 'knack'
The phonetic spelling is /næk/, demonstrating that 'k' is omitted.
The letter 'k' preceding 'n' at the beginning of a word is silent.

Key Concept

Identification of unarticulated (silent) consonant letters in English phonology.
Estimated Time:1m 0s
Question 28Question →

In English phonology, certain letters remain unarticulated in standard pronunciation. In which of the following words is the consonant letter 'b' pronounced?

Show answer & explanation

Answer: subtract

Answer

In the word 'subtract', the letter 'b' is fully pronounced.
In standard English Received Pronunciation, the word 'subtract' articulates the letter 'b' as the voiced bilabial plosive sound /b/ (/səbˈtrækt/).

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the phonetic pronunciation of each option in standard Received Pronunciation.
'subtle' is pronounced /ˈsʌtl/, 'plumber' is pronounced /ˈplʌmə/, 'succumb' is pronounced /səˈkʌm/, and 'subtract' is pronounced /səbˈtrækt/.
Identifying silent consonants requires isolating unarticulated letters in each target word.
2
Determine which word retains the articulated sound of the consonant letter 'b'.
The sound /b/ is present only in 'subtract'.
In 'subtle', 'plumber', and 'succumb', the letter 'b' is silent.

Key Concept

Identification of silent consonant 'b' in English pronunciation
Question 29Question →

Which unpronounced consonant letters complete the phonetic analysis of the specified English words?

Fill in the blanks below

In the word *mortgage*, the unpronounced consonant letter is ; in the word *doubt*, the silent consonant letter is ; and in the word *playwright*, the silent consonant letter is .
Show answer & explanation

Answer

The silent consonant letters are 't' for mortgage, 'b' for doubt, and 'w' for playwright.
In standard Received Pronunciation: the letter 't' in *mortgage* (/ˈmɔːɡɪdʒ/) is unarticulated, the letter 'b' in *doubt* (/daʊt/) is unpronounced, and the initial letter 'w' in '-wright' within *playwright* (/ˈpleɪraɪt/) is silent.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Examine the spoken transcription of the word *mortgage*.
The word *mortgage* is pronounced /ˈmɔːɡɪdʒ/, where the letter 't' is silent.
In standard English pronunciation, the consonant 't' in *mortgage* is not articulated.
2
Examine the spoken transcription of the word *doubt*.
The word *doubt* is pronounced /daʊt/, where the letter 'b' is silent.
The consonant letter 'b' occurring before 't' in *doubt* remains completely unarticulated.
3
Examine the spoken transcription of the word *playwright*.
The word *playwright* is pronounced /ˈpleɪraɪt/, where the letter 'w' in the suffix element '-wright' is silent.
The letter 'w' preceding 'r' in the morpheme 'wright' is unarticulated in Standard Received Pronunciation.

Key Concept

Identification of unarticulated (silent) consonant letters in English vocabulary
Estimated Time:1m 0s
Question 30Question →

Which of the following words contains a silent consonant letter?

Show answer & explanation

Answer: debris

Answer

debris
In standard English pronunciation, the word 'debris' contains a silent final consonant 's', rendered phonetically as /ˈdeɪbriː/.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Examine the phonetic transcription of each word in Received Pronunciation.
The word 'debris' is transcribed as /ˈdeɪbriː/ or /ˈdebriː/.
Comparing standard pronunciations isolates unarticulated letters.
2
Identify any silent consonant letters present across all listed choices.
The final letter 's' in 'debris' is completely silent.
English loanwords of French origin frequently retain silent final consonants.

Key Concept

Identification of silent consonant letters in standard English words
Question 31Question →

Match each English word on the left with the specific silent consonant letter it contains in standard Received Pronunciation on the right.

Click a left item, then click its matching right item

Items

debt
receipt
column
listen

Matches

Show answer & explanation

Answer

The correct pairings align 'debt' with silent letter 'b', 'receipt' with silent letter 'p', 'column' with silent letter 'n', and 'listen' with silent letter 't'.
Each word contains a specific unarticulated consonant letter in standard Received Pronunciation: 'debt' contains a silent 'b' (/det/), 'receipt' contains a silent 'p' (/rɪˈsiːt/), 'column' contains a silent 'n' (/ˈkɒl.əm/), and 'listen' contains a silent 't' (/ˈlɪs.ən/).

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Examine the standard Received Pronunciation transcription for each word.
The transcriptions are /det/ for 'debt', /rɪˈsiːt/ for 'receipt', /ˈkɒl.əm/ for 'column', and /ˈlɪs.ən/ for 'listen'.
Phonetic transcriptions isolate unarticulated graphic consonants present in English spelling.
2
Identify which orthographic consonant letter is omitted in speech for each word.
'debt' omits 'b', 'receipt' omits 'p', 'column' omits 'n', and 'listen' omits 't'.
Historical spelling variations leave certain letters silent in modern spoken English.
3
Align each target word with its corresponding silent consonant category.
The correct matching pairs are established.
Ensures accurate identification of unpronounced consonants.

Key Concept

Silent Consonant Identification in Spoken English
PreviousPage 2 / 2
Silent Letters Practice Questions — JAMB UTME — Page 2 | Examkin