It is well-known that the spelling of a word in English doesn't always match the pronunciation of the word. This can sometimes be frustrating but there are ways to try to make sense of English spelling.
Try to focus on the most common words which have silent letters, especially words that you use more often than others. Listen closely to how native speakers say these words in natural conversation. For example, when shop assistants ask you "Do you want a receipt"?, they will not pronounce the sound "p". We call letters which appear in the spelling of a word but are not pronounced 'silent letters'.
See the link at the bottom of the page for a list of silent letters.
Watch this video lesson to find out more about silent letters.
Answer the questions below
- Was the presenter easy to understand?
- Did you know all of the silent letters?
- Which words will you practise and learn?
