Typical Spelling Patterns for Consonant Sounds

Consonants are easier than vowels in terms of spelling. A consonant sound is often represented by the same consonant letter in writing: bed [bed], pin [pin], kind [kaind], take [teik], mark [ma:rk], false [fo:ls], first, joke, government, skeleton, distribute, tremble, inventive, horrible, wonderful.

But there are several consonant sounds that are represented by different consonant letters or letter combinations in writing, for example, the sounds [k], [s], [g], [j], [f], [sh]. There are also consonant letters and letter combinations that have several variants of pronunciation, for example, "c, ch, g, gh, x, xh". This often presents some difficulty for language learners. Spelling notes on difficult consonants are given below.

(See related materials on spelling and pronunciation of consonants: Double Consonants, Silent Letters and List of Words with C and S in the section Writing; English Consonant Sounds and Practice for Consonants in the section Phonetics.)

1. SOUND [s]: letters S, C, SC, PS. SOUND [z]: letters S, Z

The letter S represents two common English sounds [s] and [z].

The letter S is pronounced [s] at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of the word before or after a vowel or a consonant: same, seem, sit, sore, suit, sky, slim, sneak, stray, swim; sausage, master, absent, answer, listen; case, loose, sense, glimpse, serious, basis.

Double S is pronounced [s] and is found in the middle or at the end of the word: lesson, assume, pessimist, oppressive; class, cross, address, hopeless. Exceptions: dessert [di'zərt], possess [pə'zes], scissors ['sizərz].

The letter C represents the sound [s] in the position before E, I, Y: center, ceremony, circus, civil, cylinder, cyber. Students often have a problem choosing between C and S in this case, because C and S occur in the same positions before the vowels E, I, Y and have the same pronunciation.

Compare: cent – sent, cell – sell, sense – absence, assess – excess, cinema – sing, privacy – fantasy. Write such words in two columns for comparison, with pronunciation and meaning, and it will help you to memorize their spelling. Also, many words of Latin origin with the letter C exist in Russian: center, circus, cycle.

The letter combination SC is pronounced [s] before E, I, Y: scent, science, fascinate, scythe.

In several words, the sound [s] is represented in writing by the letter combination PS, where P is a silent letter: psalm, pseudonym, psychology.

The sound [z] is usually represented by the consonant S: rose, cause, always, his, wise, was, present, poison, reason, clumsy, organism, realism, advertise, advise, comprise, raise. But the letter S is never pronounced [z] at the beginning of the word, so expect the letter Z there: zone, zero, zip. (The consonant Z is described at the end of this article.)

The ending S/ES

The ending S/ES of nouns and verbs has three different variants of pronunciation depending on the sound or letter after which it stands. (The mute letter E at the end of the word is not taken into consideration in this rule.)

[s] after a voiceless consonant: parks, takes, streets, writes, cuffs, myths, jumps, laughs;

[z] after a voiced consonant or a vowel: kids, rides, legs, girls, rooms, chairs, robs, leaves, learns, clothes, boys, cows, goes, ties, studies;

[iz] after the letters "s, z, x, ch, tch, ge, dge, sh": classes, roses, prizes, quizzes, matches, oranges, bridges, dishes, fixes. In this case, the ending ES is added if the word doesn't have the mute letter E at the end, and the ending S is added if mute E is there. Compare: rise, rises; kiss, kisses; cage, cages; flash, flashes.

2. LETTER COMBINATION TH

The combination TH may sometimes present a problem because it represents the voiced sound [ð] and the voiceless sound [θ], and there is no rule on where and which of the two sounds to pronounce. But if you just write words with these sounds in two columns, look at them attentively, and read them aloud several times, it will take care of the problem.

The sound [ð]: the, this, that, these, those, then, they, their, there, though, other, mother, father, brother, weather, neither, bathe, breathe, clothes, soothe, northern, southern.

The sound [θ]: thin, thick, thank, think, thought, theater, theory, therapy, thermometer, thorough, thunder, three, through, method, author, bath, breath, cloth, teeth, truth, health, north, south.

(See more examples of words with the sounds [ð] and [θ] in Practice for Consonants in the section Phonetics.)

3. SOUND [k]: K, CK, C, CH, QUE

The sound [k] is represented in writing by the letters and letter combinations "k, ck, c, ch, que".

Initial letter K representing the sound [k] is not very common in English words: keep, keen, kerchief, kernel, kettle, key, kick, kid, kill, kind, king, kiss, kit, kitchen, kitten. Some of the words beginning with the letter K are of foreign origin: kaleidoscope, Kabul, kangaroo, karma, kerosene, kilogram, kinetic, kleptomania, Korea. In some words, initial K is silent: knee, knife, knit, knock, knot, know.

A number of English names begin with the letter K: Kathleen, Karen, Kimberly, Keith, Kenneth, Kent, Kevin, Kelvin. Some of the names beginning with the letter K are variants of the names with the letter C: Catherine, Katherine; Caroline, Karoline; Chris, Kris; Carl, Karl. (See English Names and the other materials about names in the section Vocabulary.)

The letter K in English words is often found after another consonant: skate, skeleton, skill, skin, sky, bank, pink, blanket, napkin, mask, park. The letter K stands alone after a long vowel sound, a diphthong, or a combination of vowel letters: duke, Luke, eke, Topeka, seek, break, take, joke, soak, like, look.

Single K at the end of the word after a short vowel sound is rare in English: sputnik, beatnik, trek, Nikky. The letter combination CK is used instead of K in such cases: pack, track, sick, neck, Nick, jacket, rocket, cracker.

In several words, the final sound [k] is represented by the combination QUE in writing: unique, technique, antique, physique, clique, grotesque. The combination QU is pronounced [kw] at the beginning and in the middle of many English words: queen, quarter, quite, quiet, question, squad, squirrel, require, inquire.

4. LETTER C: sounds [s], [k]

The letter C represents two sounds: [s] and [k], and there are strict rules on where and which of the two sounds is pronounced.

Letter C: sound [s]

The letter C is pronounced [s] before the vowels E, I, Y.

The sound [s]: celebrate, center, certainly, ceremony, cemetery, receive, race, price.

The sound [s]: cider, cigarette, civil, circus.

The sound [s]: cycle, cylinder, Cyprus.

Letter C: sound [k]

The letter C is pronounced [k] before the vowels A, O, U and before consonants.

The sound [k]: cat, cabin, cake, call, care, carry, cancel, cast, delicate, intricate.

The sound [k]: come, complete, cord, cost, country, acoustic, decorate.

The sound [k]: cut, custom, cute, current, curious, cucumber, calculate.

The sound [k]: clean, clip, claim, cloud, craft, cream, credit, crown.

Letter combination SC

The combination SC follows the same rule: SC is pronounced [s] before the vowels E, I, Y, but SC is pronounced [sk] before the vowels A, O, U and before consonants.

The sound [s]: scent, science, fascist, scythe, miscellaneous.

The sound [sk]: scan, scale, escape, scope, scorch, scuba, school.

Exception: sceptic ['skeptik], sceptical, scepticism. (In AmE, mostly skeptic, skeptical, skepticism.)

Letter combination CC

The combination CC follows the same rule: CC is pronounced [ks] before the vowels E, I, Y, but CC is pronounced [k] before the vowels A, O, U and before consonants.

The sound [ks]: accent, access, accept, eccentric, succeed, accident, coccyx.

The sound [k]: accommodations, accordingly, account, accuse, occur, acclaim.

Letter C in the suffixes

The letter C in the suffixes "ic, ical" is pronounced [k]: panic, traffic, magic, static, systematic, democratic, economic, economical, historic, historical, practical, politics.

The letter C in the suffixes "ice, ence, ance, cy" is pronounced [s]: notice, practice, service; competence, audience, silence; resistance, reluctance, arrogance; agency, democracy, efficiency, policy.

5. LETTER COMBINATION CH

The combination CH represents the sound [ch] in typically English words: chair, chess, child, chief, choke, achieve, reach, rich, which, church, such, bunch.

The combination CH represents the sound [k] in words of Greek or Latin origin: chemistry, chaos, charisma, chlorine, chorus, archaeology, archaic, archive, archipelago, architect, echo, mechanic, monarchy, anarchy, synchronize, psychologist, school, scholar.

The combination CH represents the sound [sh] in words of French origin: champagne, chandelier, charlatan, chef, chevron, chic, chiffon, cache, moustache (mustache), machine, parachute.

At the end of the word the sound [ch] is also represented by the combination TCH in writing: catch, match, watch, pitch, pitcher, butcher.

The sound [ch] is also represented by the combination TU in the suffix: departure, feature, furniture, literature, picture, lecture, adventure, adventurous, nature, torture, signature, gesture, sculpture, century.

6. LETTER G: sounds [g], [j]

The letter G before vowels represents either the sound [g] as in "go" or the sound [j] as in "just".

Letter G: sound [g]

The letter G is pronounced [g] before the vowels A, O, U and before consonants.

The sound [g]: gain, again, game, gate, gap, Gary, gas, gather, gaunt, gay, legal, pagan.

The sound [g]: go, goal, gold, gone, good, goose, gourd, gourmet, govern, gown, dragon.

The sound [g]: gull, gum, gun, gust, gut, guy, argue, argument, regular, singular, angular, disgust.

The sound [g]: glare, glide, global, glow, grand, grim, grip, gross, pygmy, enigma, ugly, stagnant.

Letter G before E, I

The letter G before the vowels E, I can represent the sound [g] or [j]. There is no rule that could help us to decide which of the two sounds to pronounce in such cases, so you have to memorize such words.

The sound [g]: get, geyser, gear, geese, eager, anger, finger, linger, target.

The sound [j]: gentle, gender, general, gelatin, genius, geology, gesture, German, legend, sergeant, vegetable, gorgeous, carriage, marriage, passage, language, voyage, college, change, manage, huge, urge, urgent, danger, stranger.

The sound [g]: give, gift, giddy, gimmick, girl, girdle, giggle, gilded, begin.

The sound [j]: giant, gin, gist, gigolo, giraffe, magic, engine, imagine, region, religious.

The letter G before Y is pronounced [j]: gym, gypsy, gyro, Egypt, energy.

Single G at the end of the word is pronounced [g]: bag, rag, lag, dig, fig, log, beg, Meg, rug. Double G is usually pronounced [g]: egg, giggle, wriggle, toggle, struggle, aggressive, reggae. But GG is pronounced [j] in the words "exaggerate, suggest".

Sound [j]: J, GE, DGE

The sound [j] at the beginning and in the middle of the word is often represented by the letter J: jet, jumbo, just, Jane, John, jelly, jealous, jury, majority, pajamas. For studying, it would be helpful to arrange words with the sound [j] represented by the letters G and J in two columns on one page: gin, jinx; gene, jeans; Gene, Jean; gym, Jim.

The sound [j] at the end of the word is often represented in writing by the combination DGE: bridge, edge, hedge, judge, knowledge, cartridge, badger, budget, fidget. But there are many words in which the sound [j] is represented by GE at the end of the word (see above: Letter G before E, I).

It may help to know that DGE is part of the root and occurs after a short vowel sound (compare: hedge – huge), while GE occurs in various positions in the word and is also part of the noun-forming suffix AGE (marriage, postage). But the best way to memorize words ending in GE and DGE is to arrange them in two columns on one page for comparison.

Note: Sound [zh]

The combination GE is pronounced [zh] at the end of some words of foreign origin: beige, garage, mirage, montage, prestige, rouge. The sound [zh] is also represented by the combinations SI and SU in the suffix: erosion, explosion, vision, leisure, pleasure, seizure, usually, visual.

7. LETTER COMBINATION GH

The combination GH at the beginning of the word is pronounced [g]: ghost, ghastly, Ghana, ghetto, ghoul.

The combination GH at the end of some words is pronounced [f]: enough, rough, tough, laugh, cough.

The combination GH at the end of some other words is silent: though [ðou]; bough [bau]; plough (BrE), plow (AmE) [plau]; through [θru:].

The combination GH at the end of the word before T is usually silent: bought [bo:t], caught [ko:t], thought [θo:t], drought [draut], night [nait], height [hait], weight [weit], straight [streit], daughter. But GH is pronounced [f] before T in the words "draught, laughter".

8. LETTER COMBINATION GU

The combination GU at the beginning of the word before a vowel is usually pronounced [g]: guard, guardian, guarantee, guess, guest, guide, guilt, guitar; disguise, misguide, unguarded.

The combination GUE is pronounced [g] at the end of the word: catalogue, dialogue, fatigue, league, vague, rogue. In American English, some of these words have two variants of spelling: catalogue, catalog; dialogue, dialog; monologue, monolog; prologue, prolog.

The combination GU is pronounced [gw] in some words of Latin and Spanish origin: language, lingua, linguistics, guava, Guatemala, Nicaragua, distinguish.

9. SOUND [f]: F, FF, PH, GH

The sound [f] is usually represented by the consonant F: file, full, faint, flame, flick, flight, fly, free, fry, prefer, defend, after, safe, scarf, half, beef, roof.

Double F is usually found in the syllable with a short vowel sound: puff, cuff, cliff, riff, traffic. Double F is also found in cases where the prefix ends in F, and the root starts with F: affair, affirm, afford, differ, effect, offend, offer, suffer, suffix.

The combination PH is pronounced [f]: photograph, physics, phonetics, philosophy, alphabet, symphony, apostrophe.

The combination GH represents the sound [f] at the end of the word: enough, rough, tough, laugh, cough.

10. SOUND [sh]

In English words, the sound [sh] is usually represented by the combination SH: she, shine, shark, shoe, rush, fish.

The combination CH is pronounced [sh] in words of French origin: champagne, chandelier, charlatan, chef, chevron, chic, chiffon, cache, machine.

There are several consonant + vowel combinations that are pronounced [sh], namely, TI, CI, SI, SU, and they are usually in the suffix or before it.

The combination CI: appreciate, associate; social, official, special, financial; musician, politician, magician; ancient, efficient; delicious, suspicious, precious, vicious, conscious.

The combination SI: extension, expansion, comprehension; discussion, expression, fission, mission.

The combination TI: negotiate, initiate, substantiate; essential, confidential, initial, martial; patient, ambitious, cautious; condition, section, organization.

The combination SU: sugar, sure, sensual, assure, censure, fissure, pressure, issue, tissue.

11. LETTER X and COMBINATION XH

The letter X and the combination XH represent the sounds [ks]: exercise, exclaim, exclude, expect, experiment, explain, extreme, exhibition.

The letter X and the combination XH represent the sounds [gz]: exact, example, execute, exempt, exert, exist, exhaust, exhibit, exhilarate.

Some words with X or XH have two variants of pronunciation: exile ['egzail], ['eksail]; exhale [eks'heil], [ig'zeil]; exhume [ig'zu:m], [ig'zyu:m], [eks'hyu:m].

In some words, there is C after EX: exceed, excellent, except, excite, excuse, Excalibur, excavate. In such cases, the pronunciation follows the rules of C before vowels: [ks] exceed, excellent, except, excite; [ks+k] excavate, Excalibur, excuse.

In some words of Greek origin, the letter X is pronounced [z]: xenon ['zenon], ['zi:non]; xenophobia, Xerox ['zi:roks], xylophone.

12. LETTER Z

The sound [z] is often represented by the consonant S in writing: rose [rouz], wise, was, always, his, present, resist, music, poison, reason, busy, clumsy, organism, realism, advertise, advise, comprise, raise, surprise.

But the letter S is never pronounced [z] at the beginning of the word, so when you hear [z] as the first sound of the word, you can be practically sure that this word is spelled with initial Z.

The letter Z is usually pronounced [z]: zebra, zeal, zenith, zero, Zeus, zinc, zip, zipper, zombie, zone, zoo; dozen, citizen, horizon, razor, enzyme, ozone, plaza, lazy, crazy, quiz; seize, organize, realize, apologize, modernize.

Double Z is pronounced [z]: drizzle, sizzle, puzzle, mezzanine; buzz, jazz, fuzzy.

The letters Z and ZZ are pronounced [ts] in some words of foreign origin: pizza ['pi:tsə]; mezzo ['metsou], ['mezou]; Mozart ['moutsa:rt]; mozzarella [motsə'relə]; Nazi ['na:tsi:].

In several foreign borrowings the sound [ts] is represented by the letters TZ: waltz, chintz, blitz, blitzkrieg, Fitzgerald.

Note the following spelling and pronunciation variants of the word "tsar": tsar, tzar [za:r] or [tsa:r]; czar [za:r].

13. SOUND [y] as in YES

The consonant sound [y] is represented by the letter Y before a vowel, mostly at the beginning of the word: yacht, Yale, Yankee, yarn, yard, yawn, year, yearn, yeast, yell, yellow, yelp, Yemen, yen, yes, yesterday, yet, yield, yoga, yogurt, yoke, yolk, New York, you, young, Yukon, yule; beyond, canyon, Tanya, Tonya, lawyer.

The consonant sound [y] is also represented by the vowel I in certain positions in the word after a consonant before another vowel: billiards, billion, familiar, milliard, million, onion, junior, senior, union.

In a number of cases, the consonant sound [y] is not represented by any letter in writing, for example, in the case of the vowel U when it is pronounced [yu:]: use [yu:z], unit ['yu:nit], cube [kyu:b], music, human, few, fuel, feudal, view.

Типичные варианты написания для согласных звуков

Согласные легче, чем гласные, если говорить о правописании. Согласный звук часто представлен на письме той же самой согласной буквой: bed [bed], pin [pin], kind [kaind], take [teik], mark [ma:rk], false [fo:ls], first, joke, government, skeleton, distribute, tremble, inventive, horrible, wonderful.

Но есть несколько согласных звуков, которые представлены на письме разными согласными буквами или сочетаниями букв, например, звуки [k], [s], [g], [j], [f], [sh]. Также есть согласные буквы и буквосочетания, которые имеют несколько вариантов произношения, например, "c, ch, g, gh, x, xh". Это часто представляет трудность для изучающих язык. Заметки по написанию трудных согласных даны ниже.

(Посмотрите близкие материалы по написанию и произношению согласных: "Double Consonants", "Silent Letters" и "List of Words with C and S" в разделе Writing; "English Consonant Sounds" и "Practice for Consonants" в разделе Phonetics.)

1. ЗВУК [s]: буквы S, C, SC, PS. ЗВУК [z]: буквы S, Z

Буква S передаёт два распространённых английских звука [s] и [z].

Буква S произносится [s] в начале, в середине или в конце слова перед или после гласной или согласной буквы: same, seem, sit, sore, suit, sky, slim, sneak, stray, swim; sausage, master, absent, answer, listen; case, loose, sense, glimpse, serious, basis.

Двойная S произносится [s] и встречается в середине или в конце слова: lesson, assume, pessimist, oppressive; class, cross, address, hopeless. Исключения: dessert [di'zərt], possess [pə'zes], scissors ['sizərz].

Буква C передаёт звук [s] в положении перед E, I, Y: center, ceremony, circus, civil, cylinder, cyber. Студенты часто испытывают трудность в выборе между C и S в этом случае, т.к. C и S встречаются в одинаковых положениях перед гласными E, I, Y и имеют одинаковое произношение.

Сравните: cent – sent, cell – sell, sense – absence, assess – excess, cinema – sing, privacy – fantasy. Напишите такие слова в двух колонках для сравнения, с произношением и значением, и это поможет вам запомнить их написание. Также, многие слова латинского происхождения с буквой C существуют в русском языке: центр, цирк, цикл.

Буквосочетание SC произносится [s] перед гласными E, I, Y: scent, science, fascinate, scythe.

В нескольких словах звук [s] представлен на письме буквосочетанием PS, где P немая буква: psalm, pseudonym, psychology.

Звук [z] обычно передаётся согласной буквой S: rose, cause, wise, was, always, his, present, poison, reason, clumsy, organism, realism, advertise, advise, comprise, raise. Но буква S никогда не передаёт звук [z] в начале слова, поэтому ожидайте, что там буква Z: zone, zero, zip. (Согласная буква Z описывается в конце этой статьи.)

Окончание S/ES

Окончание S/ES существительных и глаголов имеет три варианта произношения в зависимости от звука или буквы, после которых оно стоит. (Немая буква E в конце слова не принимается во внимание в этом правиле.)

[s] после глухого согласного звука: parks, takes, streets, writes, cuffs, myths, jumps, laughs;

[z] после звонкого согласного или гласного звука: kids, rides, legs, girls, rooms, chairs, robs, leaves, learns, clothes, boys, cows, goes, ties, studies;

[iz] после букв "s, z, x, ch, tch, ge, dge, sh": classes, roses, prizes, quizzes, matches, oranges, bridges, dishes, fixes. В данном случае, окончание ES прибавляется, если в конце слова нет немой буквы E, а окончание S прибавляется, если немая E там есть. Сравните: rise, rises; kiss, kisses; cage, cages; flash, flashes.

2. БУКВОСОЧЕТАНИЕ TH

Буквосочетание TH может иногда представлять проблему, поскольку оно передаёт звонкий звук [ð] и глухой звук [θ], и нет правила о том, где и который из двух звуков произнести. Но если вы просто напишете слова с этими звуками в две колонки, посмотрите на них внимательно и прочтете их вслух несколько раз, проблема будет решена.

Звук [ð]: the, this, that, these, those, then, they, their, there, though, other, mother, father, brother, weather, neither, bathe, breathe, clothes, soothe, northern, southern.

Звук [θ]: thin, thick, thank, think, thought, theater, theory, therapy, thermometer, thorough, thunder, three, through, method, author, bath, breath, cloth, teeth, truth, health, north, south.

(Посмотрите ещё примеры слов со звуками [ð] и [θ] в материале "Practice for Consonants" в разделе Phonetics.)

3. ЗВУК [k]: K, CK, C, CH, QUE

Звук [k] представлен на письме буквами и буквосочетаниями "k, ck, c, ch, que".

Начальная буква K, передающая звук [k], не очень часто встречается в английских словах: keep, keen, kerchief, kernel, kettle, key, kick, kid, kill, kind, king, kiss, kit, kitchen, kitten. Некоторые слова, начинающиеся с буквы K – иностранного происхождения: kaleidoscope, Kabul, kangaroo, karma, kerosene, kilogram, kinetic, kleptomania, Korea. В некоторых словах начальная K немая: knee, knife, knit, knock, knot, know.

Довольно много английских имён начинаются с буквы K: Kathleen, Karen, Kimberly, Keith, Kenneth, Kent, Kevin, Kelvin. Некоторые из имён, начинающихся с буквы K, являются вариантами имён с буквой C: Catherine, Katherine; Caroline, Karoline; Chris, Kris; Carl, Karl. (См. "English Names" и другие материалы об именах в разделе Vocabulary.)

Буква K в английских словах часто встречается после другой согласной: skate, skeleton, skill, skin, sky, bank, pink, blanket, napkin, mask, park. Буква K стоит одна после долгого гласного звука, дифтонга или комбинации гласных букв: duke, Luke, eke, Topeka, seek, break, take, joke, soak, like, look.

Одиночная K в конце слова после краткого гласного звука – редкость в английском языке: sputnik, beatnik, trek, Nikky. Буквосочетание CK употребляется вместо K в таких случаях: pack, track, sick, neck, Nick, jacket, rocket, cracker.

В нескольких словах конечный звук [k] представлен на письме буквосочетанием QUE: unique, technique, antique, physique, clique, grotesque. Буквосочетание QU произносится [kw] в начале и в середине многих английских слов: queen, quarter, quite, quiet, question, squad, squirrel, require, inquire.

4. БУКВА C: звуки [s], [k]

Буква C передаёт два звука: [s] и [k], и существуют строгие правила, где и который из этих двух звуков произносится.

Буква C: звук [s]

Буква C произносится [s] перед гласными E, I, Y.

Звук [s]: celebrate, center, certainly, ceremony, cemetery, receive, race, price.

Звук [s]: cider, cigarette, civil, circus.

Звук [s]: cycle, cylinder, Cyprus.

Буква C: звук [k]

Буква C произносится [k] перед гласными A, O, U и перед согласными.

Звук [k]: cat, cabin, cake, call, care, carry, cancel, cast, delicate, intricate.

Звук [k]: come, complete, cord, cost, country, acoustic, decorate.

Звук [k]: cut, custom, cute, current, curious, cucumber, calculate.

Звук [k]: clean, clip, claim, cloud, craft, cream, credit, crown.

Буквосочетание SC

Буквосочетание SC следует тому же правилу: SC произносится [s] перед гласными E, I, Y, но SC произносится [sk] перед гласными A, O, U и перед согласными.

Звук [s]: scent, science, fascist, scythe, miscellaneous.

Звук [sk]: scan, scale, escape, scope, scorch, scuba, school.

Исключение: sceptic ['skeptik], sceptical, scepticism. (В AmE, в основном skeptic, skeptical, skepticism.)

Буквосочетание CC

Буквосочетание CC следует тому же правилу: CC произносится [ks] перед гласными E, I, Y, но CC произносится [k] перед гласными A, O, U и перед согласными.

Звук [ks]: accent, access, accept, eccentric, succeed, accident, coccyx.

Звук [k]: accommodations, accordingly, account, accuse, occur, acclaim.

Буква C в суффиксах

Буква C в суффиксах "ic, ical" произносится [k]: panic, traffic, magic, static, systematic, democratic, economic, economical, historic, historical, practical, politics.

Буква C в суффиксах "ice, ence, ance, cy" произносится [s]: notice, practice, service; competence, audience, silence; resistance, reluctance, arrogance; agency, democracy, efficiency, policy.

5. БУКВОСОЧЕТАНИЕ CH

Буквосочетание CH передаёт звук [ch] в типично английских словах: chair, chess, child, chief, choke, achieve, reach, rich, which, church, such, bunch.

Буквосочетание CH передаёт звук [k] в словах греческого или латинского происхождения: chemistry, chaos, charisma, chlorine, chorus, archaeology, archaic, archive, archipelago, architect, echo, mechanic, monarchy, anarchy, synchronize, psychologist, school, scholar.

Буквосочетание CH передаёт звук [sh] в словах французского происхождения: champagne, chandelier, charlatan, chef, chevron, chic, chiffon, cache, moustache (mustache), machine, parachute.

В конце слова звук [ch] также представлен буквосочетанием TCH на письме: catch, match, watch, pitch, pitcher, butcher.

Звук [ch] также представлен буквосочетанием TU в суффиксе: departure, feature, furniture, literature, picture, lecture, adventure, adventurous, nature, torture, signature, gesture, sculpture, century.

6. БУКВА G: звуки [g], [j]

Буква G перед гласными передаёт или звук [g] как в слове "go", или звук [j] как в слове "just".

Буква G: звук [g]

Буква G произносится [g] перед гласными A, O, U и перед согласными.

Звук [g]: gain, again, game, gate, gap, Gary, gas, gather, gaunt, gay, legal, pagan.

Звук [g]: go, goal, gold, gone, good, goose, gourd, gourmet, govern, gown, dragon.

Звук [g]: gull, gum, gun, gust, gut, guy, argue, argument, regular, singular, angular, disgust.

Звук [g]: glare, glide, global, glow, grand, grim, grip, gross, pygmy, enigma, ugly, stagnant.

Буква G перед E, I

Буква G перед гласными E, I может передавать звук [g] или [j]. Нет правила, которое могло бы нам помочь решить, который из этих двух звуков произнести в таких случаях, поэтому надо запомнить такие слова.

Звук [g]: get, geyser, gear, geese, eager, anger, finger, linger, target.

Звук [j]: gentle, gender, general, gelatin, genius, geology, gesture, German, legend, sergeant, vegetable, gorgeous, carriage, marriage, passage, language, voyage, college, change, manage, huge, urge, urgent, danger, stranger.

Звук [g]: give, gift, giddy, gimmick, girl, girdle, giggle, gilded, begin.

Звук [j]: giant, gin, gist, gigolo, giraffe, magic, engine, imagine, region, religious.

Буква G перед Y произносится [j]: gym, gypsy, Egypt, gyro, energy.

Одиночная G в конце слова произносится [g]: bag, rag, lag, dig, fig, log, beg, Meg, rug. Двойная G тоже обычно произносится [g]: egg, giggle, wriggle, toggle, struggle, aggressive, reggae. Но GG произносится [j] в словах "exaggerate, suggest".

Звук [j]: J, GE, DGE

Звук [j] в начале или в середине слова часто передаётся буквой J: jet, jumbo, just, Jane, John, jelly, jealous, jury, majority, pajamas. Для изучения будет полезно расположить слова, в которых звук [j] представлен буквами G и J, в двух колонках на одной странице: gin, jinx; gene, jeans; Gene, Jean; gym, Jim.

Звук [j] в конце слова часто представлен на письме буквосочетанием DGE: bridge, edge, hedge, judge, knowledge, cartridge, badger, budget, fidget. Но есть много слов, где звук [j] представлен сочетанием GE в конце слова (см. выше: Буква G перед E, I).

Возможно, будет полезно знать, что DGE часть корня и встречается после краткого гласного звука (сравните: hedge – huge), в то время как GE встречается в различных положениях в слове, а также является частью суффикса существительных AGE (marriage, postage). Но лучший способ запомнить слова, оканчивающиеся на GE и DGE – расположить их в двух колонках на одной странице для сравнения.

Примечание: Звук [zh]

Буквосочетание GE произносится [zh] в конце некоторых слов иностранного происхождения: beige, garage, mirage, montage, prestige, rouge. Звук [zh] также передаётся буквосочетаниями SI и SU в суффиксе: erosion, explosion, vision, leisure, pleasure, seizure, usually, visual.

7. БУКВОСОЧЕТАНИЕ GH

Буквосочетание GH в начале слова произносится [g]: ghost, ghastly, Ghana, ghetto, ghoul.

Буквосочетание GH в конце некоторых слов произносится [f]: enough, rough, tough, laugh, cough.

Буквосочетание GH в конце некоторых других слов немое: though [ðou]; bough [bau]; plough (BrE), plow (AmE) [plau]; through [θru:].

Буквосочетание GH в конце слова перед буквой T обычно немое: bought [bo:t], caught [ko:t], thought [θo:t], drought [draut], night [nait], height [hait], weight [weit], straight [streit], daughter. Но GH произносится [f] перед буквой T в словах "draught, laughter".

8. БУКВОСОЧЕТАНИЕ GU

Буквосочетание GU в начале слова перед гласной обычно произносится [g]: guard, guardian, guarantee, guess, guest, guide, guilt, guitar; disguise, misguide, unguarded.

Буквосочетание GUE произносится [g] в конце слова: catalogue, dialogue, fatigue, league, vague, rogue. В американском английском некоторые из этих слов имеют два варианта написания: catalogue, catalog; dialogue, dialog; monologue, monolog; prologue, prolog.

Буквосочетание GU произносится [gw] в некоторых словах латинского и испанского происхождения: language, lingua, linguistics, guava, Guatemala, Nicaragua, distinguish.

9. ЗВУК [f]: F, FF, PH, GH

Звук [f] обычно передаётся согласной буквой F: file, full, faint, flame, flick, flight, fly, free, fry, prefer, defend, after, safe, scarf, half, beef, roof.

Двойная F обычно встречается в слоге с кратким гласным звуком: puff, cuff, cliff, riff, traffic. Двойная F также встречается в случаях, где приставка оканчивается на F, а корень начинается с F: affair, affirm, afford, differ, effect, offend, offer, suffer, suffix.

Буквосочетание PH произносится [f]: photograph, physics, phonetics, philosophy, alphabet, symphony, apostrophe.

Буквосочетание GH передаёт звук [f] в конце слова: enough, rough, tough, laugh, cough.

10. ЗВУК [sh]

В английских словах звук [sh] обычно представлен на письме буквосочетанием SH: she, shine, shark, shoe, rush, fish.

Буквосочетание CH произносится [sh] в словах французского происхождения: champagne, chandelier, charlatan, chef, chevron, chic, chiffon, cache, machine.

Есть несколько сочетаний согласная + гласная, которые произносятся [sh], а именно, TI, CI, SI, SU и они обычно находятся в суффиксе или перед ним.

Сочетание CI: appreciate, associate; social, official, special, financial; musician, politician, magician; ancient, efficient; delicious, suspicious, precious, vicious, conscious.

Сочетание SI: extension, expansion, comprehension; discussion, expression, fission, mission.

Сочетание TI: negotiate, initiate, substantiate; essential, confidential, initial, martial; patient, ambitious, cautious; condition, section, organization.

Сочетание SU: sugar, sure, sensual, assure, censure, fissure, pressure, issue, tissue.

11. БУКВА X и СОЧЕТАНИЕ XH

Буква X и буквосочетание XH передают звуки [ks]: exercise, exclaim, exclude, expect, experiment, explain, extreme, exhibition.

Буква X и буквосочетание XH передают звуки [gz]: exact, example, execute, exempt, exert, exist, exhaust, exhibit, exhilarate.

Некоторые слова с X или XH имеют два варианта произношения: exile ['egzail], ['eksail]; exhale [eks'heil], [ig'zeil]; exhume [ig'zu:m], [ig'zyu:m], [eks'hyu:m].

В некоторых словах после EX есть буква C: exceed, excellent, except, excite, excuse, Excalibur, excavate. В таких случаях произношение подчиняется правилам буквы C перед гласными: [ks] exceed, excellent, except, excite; [ks+k] excavate, Excalibur, excuse.

В некоторых словах греческого происхождения буква X произносится [z]: xenon ['zenon], ['zi:non]; xenophobia, Xerox ['zi:roks], xylophone.

12. БУКВА Z

Звук [z] часто представлен на письме согласной буквой S: rose [rouz], wise, was, always, his, present, resist, music, poison, reason, busy, clumsy, organism, realism, advertise, advise, comprise, raise, surprise.

Но буква S никогда не произносится [z] в самом начале слова, поэтому если вы слышите звук [z] как первый звук слова, вы можете быть практически уверены, что это слово пишется с начальной буквой Z.

Буква Z обычно произносится [z]: zebra, zeal, zenith, zero, Zeus, zinc, zip, zipper, zombie, zone, zoo; dozen, citizen, horizon, razor, enzyme, ozone, plaza, lazy, crazy, quiz; seize, organize, realize, apologize, modernize.

Двойная буква Z произносится [z]: drizzle, sizzle, puzzle, mezzanine; buzz, jazz, fuzzy.

Буквы Z и ZZ произносятся [ts] в словах иностранного происхождения: pizza ['pi:tsə]; mezzo ['metsou], ['mezou]; Mozart ['moutsa:rt]; mozzarella [motsə'relə]; Nazi ['na:tsi:].

В нескольких иностранных заимствованиях звук [ts] представлен буквами TZ: waltz, chintz, blitz, blitzkrieg, Fitzgerald.

Обратите внимание на следующие варианты написания и произношения слова "tsar" (царь): tsar, tzar [za:r] или [tsa:r]; czar [za:r].

13. ЗВУК [y] как в YES

Согласный звук [y] представлен на письме буквой Y перед гласной, в основном в начале слова: yacht, Yale, Yankee, yarn, yard, yawn, year, yearn, yeast, yell, yellow, yelp, Yemen, yen, yes, yesterday, yet, yield, yoga, yogurt, yoke, yolk, New York, you, young, Yukon, yule; beyond, canyon, Tanya, Tonya, lawyer.

Согласный звук [y] также передаётся гласной I в определённых положениях в слове после согласной перед другой гласной: billiards, billion, familiar, milliard, million, onion, junior, senior, union.

В ряде случаев, согласный звук [y] не обозначен никакой буквой на письме, например, в случае гласной U, когда она произносится [yu:]: use [yu:z], unit ['yu:nit], cube [kyu:b], music, human, few, fuel, feudal, view.

Spelling patterns for English consonant sounds. Consonant letter combinations and the sounds that they represent.

Модели написания для английских согласных звуков. Сочетания согласных букв и звуки, которые они передают.