Understanding Consonants

Consonants are easier to understand than vowels, but there are still several things to learn about them. Most of the time, a single consonant represents a single sound. There are a few common two- and three-letter consonant patterns that are easy to learn. Two consonants (c and g) can represent a second, different sound (s and j, respectively). There are some other consonant variations but they are much less common, so it is not necessary to learn them right away.

To hear the consonant sounds, listen to the sound story and sound charts under the audio and video menu headings.

There Are Twenty-Six Consonant Sounds

There are twenty-one single consonants that represent twenty different sounds. The letters c and k represent the same sound.
There are five additional consonant sounds that are represented by pairs of letters: sh/ship, th/thumb, th/this, ch/chicken, ng/ring.
One vowel sound does not have a specific letter or letter pattern to represent it. It is heard in these words: measure, azure, vision, garage. The dictionary shows this sound as zh in the pronunciation guides. However, the zh combination is not used as a letter pattern in words. (Words with this sound are taught in Advanced Phonics Patterns From Children's Books.)

Alternate Sounds For C And G

The letter c represents the /s/ sound when it is followed by e, i, or y: cent, city, cycle, pencil, face, dance.
The letter g represents the /g/ sound when it is followed by e, i, or y: gem, giant, gym, angel, huge, hinge.
These alternate sounds are called the "soft" c and g sounds.

Consonant Digraphs

Sometimes two (or three) consonants work together to represent a single sound. In the wh pattern the sound is the same as just one of the letters. In the other patterns, the sound is completely different from either one of the letters. Sometimes the sound is not even an alphabet sound; it is a completely new sound. These new sounds are called "beyond the alphabet" sounds because they are not represented by any of the single alphabet letters. Oddly enough, the ugh pattern begins with the letter u.

This consonant pattern   can be pronounced as

sh sh/ship
th th/thumb
th th/this
ch ch/chicken
wh wh/when
wh wh/who
ph ph/phone
ugh ugh/laugh

In a few words, the ch pattern is pronounced differently, either as a /c/ sound as in ch/chorus or a /sh/ sound as in ch/chef.

Some consonant digraphs are only used at the end of a word after a short vowel.

This ending consonant pattern   is pronounced as

ck ck/Jack
tch tch/match
nch nch/bench
ng ng/ring
nk nk/wink
dge dge/judge

In the tch pattern, the t is not pronounced. Just say the /ch/ sound.
To say the nch pattern, say the /n/ sound followed by the /ch/ sound.
The ch pattern can also follow the letter l as in mulch, filch, and belch.
To say the nk pattern, say the /ng/ sound followed by the /k/ sound.
The dge sound is pronounced /j/.

On the charts below, the pictures are from A Sound Story About Audrey And Brad. Each picture in the story is connected to a sound.

Consonant Blends

Sometimes two or three consonants appear side by side in words, and they all represent their regular sounds. These letter combinations are called consonant blends. They are not new phonetic patterns, because the letters have their usual sounds. However, it can be challenging to pronounce two or three consonant sounds one after the other. It takes time to learn to slide the sounds together smoothly. For this reason, it is important for students to practice pronouncing the consonant blends by themselves and within words.

Consonant blends can appear at the beginning or the end of words. Those that come at the end of words are taught first, because it is easier to pronounce a blend by adding it after a vowel sound. Blends that come at the beginning of words are taught afterwards, because adding a consonant blend before a vowel is more challenging.

Consonant Variations

Some consonant sounds can be represented in more than one way.

This consonant sound   can also be shown with these letters or letter patterns.

b bu/building
c or k ck/Jack, qu/antique, ch/chorus
f ph/phone, ugh/laugh
g gu/guess, gh/ghost
h wh/who
j dge/fudge, ge/gem, gi/giant, gy/gym, _ge/hinge
m mb/lamb, mn/autumn
n kn/knife, gn/gnat, gn/sign
r wr/wren, rh/rhino
s ce/cent, ci/city, cy/cycle, _se/mouse, sc/scissors
t th/thyme
v _ve/give
w wh/when
y i/onion (i acts as a consonant)
z s/his, _se/cheese, _ze/freeze, x/xylophone

Silent Consonants

In a few cases, consonants are not pronounced. They are "silent." There are only a few words with silent consonants.

This consonant sound is not pronounced in these words.

b debt
h herb, honor, honest
p pterodactyl, receipt
t castle, whistle, thistle

There is also a two-letter pattern that can sometimes be silent.

This consonant pattern is not pronounced in these words.

gh straight, through, daughter, taught

In some two-letter patterns, one consonant sound is pronounced and the other letter is not pronounced. The other letter is "silent." The silent letter may be either a consonant or a vowel.

This consonant pattern   is pronounced as in

bu b building, built
gh g ghost, aghast
gu g guest, guard
kn n knife, know
mb m lamb, thumb
mn m autumn, hymn
rh r rhinoceros, rhyme
sc s scissors, scene
wr r wren, write

In several cases, the second letter, which is silent, is the letter e. These patterns are only found at the end of words.

This consonant pattern   is pronounced as   in

_se s mouse, loose, else, tense
_se z cheese, please, noise, pause
_ze z freeze, snooze, bronze, gauze
_ve v give, have, sleeve, carve
_ce s fence, peace, force, voice
_ge j hinge, lounge, barge, urge