Silent English Letters

Greetings English Learners! It’s time for some silliness!

The English Language does seem to have an unfair number of silent letters. How can you remember them all? Well, it takes time and familiarity, and a generous dose of humour helps!

With this in mind, I thought you might enjoy a short video featuring the witty English comedian, Michael McIntyre. He pokes fun at the absurdity of English silent letters by pronouncing them emphatically during his proposal of a Silent Letter Day.

Under the video, I have listed the words with silent letters that he uses. The silent letters are bold and underlined. Change the speed to 75% if he speaks too fast for you.

 Silent Letters

hour

half

knickers

knuckles

   

February

talking

   

knitting

knife

   

swordfish

yoghurt

   

wrapped

scissors

   

listen

receipt

   

Chloe

school

   

subtle

should

Wednesday

autumn

walking

climbing

buffet

salmon

gnome

cupboard

honestly

known

champagne

knock

lasagne

knocked

        🤫 🤫 🤫 🤫 🤫

        

This entry was posted in Advanced (Level 6+), Cambridge, ESL Teachers, IELTS, Intermediate (Level 4), Listening, Pre-Intermediate (Level 3), Pronunciation Videos, Speaking & Pronunciation, Upper Intermediate (Level 5), Vocabulary. Bookmark the permalink.

2 Responses to Silent English Letters

  1. Unknown's avatar Anonymous says:

    I’ve always taken my 10 minutes to learn english since 2017. I remember you with great affection from my time at Langports, always teaching with the same dedication you reflect on the blog. Thank you very much, I wish you the best. Best regards, Bruno

    Liked by 1 person

    • mhardy3222's avatar mhardy3222 says:

      Dear Bruno,

      Thank you so much for your kind words! I moved to Melbourne 5 years ago and happily continued teaching English to international students. Alas, the Australian Government has made it very difficult for such students to come to Australia and many, if not most, international schools have had to close, including mine. I really miss the students!

      Those years at Langports were certainly golden times! Your English is excellent. I hope you are putting it to good use and enjoying your life. I wish you all the best for your future Bruno!

      It was wonderful hearing from you!

      With love,

      Mary Hardy

      Like

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