In English, some letters are written but not pronounced. These are called silent letters. The word 'know' starts with the letter 'k', but the k is not pronounced — the word sounds like 'no'. The word 'write' starts with 'w', but the w is not pronounced — the word sounds like 'rite'. 'Hour' starts with 'h', but the h is silent — the word sounds like 'our'. Silent letters can confuse students learning English. They write words as they sound (writing 'no' instead of 'know') or pronounce silent letters by mistake (saying 'k-now' instead of 'no'). The good news is that silent letters often follow patterns. Silent k usually appears before n at the start of words (know, knee, knife, knock). Silent w usually appears before r (write, wrong, wrist) or in 'wh' words (who, whose). Silent h appears in some specific words (hour, honest, honour). Silent b appears at the end of -mb words (lamb, thumb, climb). This lesson covers the main silent letter patterns at A2 level.
Before you start — think honestly about your own teaching and experience.
Look at the examples. Answer each question before reading the explanation — this is how your students will learn too.
know (the k is silent — sounds like 'no')
knee (the k is silent — sounds like 'nee')
knife (the k is silent — sounds like 'nife')
knock (the k is silent — sounds like 'nock')
knight (the k is silent — sounds like 'night')
knot (the k is silent — sounds like 'not')
In all these words, the k is silent. What pattern do you see?
Silent k almost always appears before the letter n at the START of a word. Know, knee, knife, knock, knight, knot — all start with kn-, and in all of them the k is silent. The word sounds as if it starts with the n only. Why is the k there if it is silent? Because in old English, the k was pronounced — it slowly became silent over centuries, but the spelling stayed. This is why students who write English by sound (without seeing the words) often miss the k. The pattern is helpful: if a word starts with kn-, the k is silent. Words like 'know' and 'no' sound exactly the same — they are homophones (see lesson #52 on homophones). Students should memorise the most common kn- words: know, knee, knife, knock, knight, knot, knit, knowledge.
Before r (silent w):
write (sounds like 'rite')
wrong (sounds like 'rong')
wrist (sounds like 'rist')
wrap (sounds like 'rap')
wreck (sounds like 'reck')
In 'wh' words (silent w):
who (sounds like 'hoo')
whose (sounds like 'hooze')
whole (sounds like 'hole')
Before o in some words:
two (sounds like 'too' — the w is silent)
sword (sounds like 'sord')
What patterns do you notice? Which silent w pattern is most common?
The most common silent w pattern is before the letter r at the start of a word. Write, wrong, wrist, wrap, wreck, wrestle — all start with wr-, and the w is silent in all of them. The word sounds as if it starts with the r only. Like the kn- pattern, this comes from old English where the w was pronounced. The wh- pattern is different — in some 'wh' words like 'who', 'whose', 'whole', the w is silent and only the h sound is heard. But in other 'wh' words like 'when', 'why', 'where', the h is silent (or quiet) and the w is heard. Students should memorise 'who', 'whose', 'whole' as the silent-w wh- words. Two and sword are unusual cases of silent w before o — these need to be memorised individually.
Silent h:
hour (sounds like 'our')
honest (sounds like 'onest')
honour (sounds like 'onor')
Silent b at the end of -mb words:
lamb (sounds like 'lam')
thumb (sounds like 'thum')
climb (sounds like 'clim')
comb (sounds like 'come')
bomb (sounds like 'bom')
Silent t in some words:
listen (sounds like 'lissen' — the t is silent)
castle (sounds like 'cassel' — the t is silent)
Christmas (sounds like 'Crissmas' — the t is silent)
Silent l in some words:
walk (sounds like 'wok' — the l is silent)
talk (sounds like 'tok' — the l is silent)
half (sounds like 'haf' — the l is silent)
calm (sounds like 'cam' — the l is silent)
Why does English have so many silent letters? What can students do about them?
English has many silent letters because the language has changed over centuries while the spelling has often stayed the same. The silent letters are 'fossils' from older pronunciations. They confuse students who try to read by sound or write by ear. The good news is that silent letters often follow patterns. Silent k is mostly before n (kn-). Silent w is mostly before r (wr-). Silent b is mostly at the end of -mb. Silent l is in specific common words (walk, talk, half, calm). Silent t is in some specific words (listen, castle). Silent h is in a small set (hour, honest, honour). Students should learn the most common silent-letter words by memorisation, with attention to the patterns. Reading aloud and listening to native speakers helps fix the correct pronunciations.
| Silent letter | Pattern | Examples | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| silent k | Before n at the start of words | know, knee, knife, knock, knight, knot, knowledge, knit | All kn- words have silent k. The word sounds as if it starts with n. |
| silent w | Before r at the start of words | write, wrong, wrist, wrap, wreck, wrestle, wreath | All wr- words have silent w. The word sounds as if it starts with r. |
| silent w | In some wh- words (and 'two', 'sword') | who, whose, whole, two, sword | In these words, w is silent. Other wh- words (when, why, where) keep the w sound. |
| silent h | At the start of some specific words | hour, honest, honour, heir | Small set of words. Most other h- words have a pronounced h (house, happy, hot). |
| silent b | At the end of -mb words | lamb, thumb, climb, comb, bomb, dumb, numb, plumb | All -mb endings have silent b. The word sounds as if it ends with -m. |
| silent l | In specific common words | walk, talk, half, calm, palm, would, could, should, salmon | Less predictable than other patterns. These words must be memorised. |
| silent t | In specific words | listen, castle, Christmas, often (sometimes), whistle, wrestle | Limited set. The t is between letters and is dropped in pronunciation. |
| silent gh | In some words ending -ight, -ough | night, light, right, bought, taught, thought, eight | The gh is silent. These are very common — the words must be memorised. |
PATTERN 1 — Silent k before n: Almost every English word starting with kn- has a silent k. Know, knee, knife, knock, knight, knot, knowledge, knit. Students should learn these as a group. The word sounds as if it starts with n only — 'know' sounds like 'no'.
PATTERN 2 — Silent w before r: Almost every English word starting with wr- has a silent w. Write, wrong, wrist, wrap, wreck, wrestle. The word sounds as if it starts with r only — 'write' sounds like 'rite'. Note: 'write' and 'right' are homophones (sound the same).
PATTERN 3 — Silent w in some wh- words: 'Who', 'whose', 'whole' have silent w (and pronounced h). Other wh- words ('when', 'why', 'where') have pronounced w. Students must learn the small silent-w wh- group separately.
PATTERN 4 — Silent h in some words: 'Hour', 'honest', 'honour', 'heir' have silent h. Most other h- words have pronounced h (house, hot, hello). The silent-h words are a small set that must be memorised. Note: an hour (with 'an' because the h is silent — like a vowel sound).
PATTERN 5 — Silent b at the end of -mb: Words ending in -mb have silent b. Lamb, thumb, climb, comb, bomb, dumb, numb. The word sounds as if it ends with -m only. Lamb sounds like 'lam'. Thumb sounds like 'thum'.
PATTERN 6 — Silent l in specific words: Walk, talk, half, calm, palm, would, could, should, salmon all have silent l. The pattern is less predictable than k or w. Students must memorise these common words individually.
PATTERN 7 — Silent gh: Words like night, light, right, bought, taught, thought, eight have silent gh. These very common words must be memorised. The gh is left over from old English pronunciation.
Silent letters are one of the trickiest parts of English spelling and pronunciation for learners. The patterns help — kn-, wr-, -mb — but each silent-letter word must be memorised. Reading aloud with attention to silent letters fixes the correct pronunciations. Spelling drills with the silent letters fix the correct spellings. Students who do not know about silent letters often produce two kinds of errors: pronouncing letters that should be silent (saying 'k-now' for know), and missing letters in spelling (writing 'no' for know). Both errors are common at A2 and B1 levels and continue if not addressed. The patterns also connect to homophones (lesson #52) — many silent-letter words have homophones because the silent letter is what makes them spelled differently from another word: know/no, write/right, hour/our.
Teach silent letters in groups by pattern. All the kn- words together. All the wr- words together. All the -mb words together. The grouping helps students see that silent letters are not random but follow patterns. Drill the pronunciation: students see the word, read it aloud, and the teacher confirms which letters are silent. Over time the recognition becomes automatic.
Choose the correct spelling for each word. Pay attention to silent letters.
Each sentence has a spelling error involving a silent letter. Find the wrong spelling, write the correct word, and explain.
Use this sequence directly in class — guided discovery, no textbook needed. Tap each step to mark it done.
STEP 1 — Letters that are not heard (5 min): Write 'know' on the board. Read it aloud — sounds like 'no'. Show that the k is written but not pronounced. Establish the term 'silent letter'. Show three more examples: write (silent w), hour (silent h), lamb (silent b).
STEP 2 — Silent k before n (5 min): Drill the kn- pattern. Know, knee, knife, knock, knight, knot. All start with kn-, all have silent k. Students read each aloud — only the n sound is heard at the start. Practise spelling and pronunciation together.
STEP 3 — Silent w before r (5 min): Drill the wr- pattern. Write, wrong, wrist, wrap, wreck. All start with wr-, all have silent w. Students read each aloud — only the r sound is heard at the start. Compare 'write' and 'right' — homophones.
STEP 4 — Silent letters at the end and middle (6 min): Drill the -mb pattern (lamb, thumb, climb, comb, bomb). Then silent l (walk, talk, half, calm). Then silent t (listen, castle). Then silent gh (night, light, eight, taught). Each pattern needs separate attention.
STEP 5 — Read aloud carefully (4 min): Each student reads a short paragraph aloud. The teacher listens for silent letters. Students who pronounce silent letters are corrected. Students who miss letters in spelling are corrected. The careful reading fixes both pronunciation and spelling.
Use directly in class — copy, adapt, or read aloud. No printing needed.
For each strategy, choose the option that best describes where you are now.
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