10 Facts About Consonants to Know, Use, and Teach Right Now
Consonant Fact #1
21 Consonants are: b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q(u), r, s, t, v, w, x, y, z
Consonant Fact #2
Consonants never say their name (except in words like x-ray).
Consonant Fact #3
Most consonants have one sound.
Consonant Fact #4
Five consonants have more than one sound: c, g, s, x, n
Consonant Fact #5
The letter r does not say “er.” It sounds more like a growling dog – “rhhhh.” Hold on to the sound.
Consonant Fact #6
The letter Q is ALWAYS followed by a U in English. The QU makes the sound “kw” as in queen, quit, quarter, quell.
Consonant Fact #7
The letter x makes three sounds:
- “ks” as in Box
- “gz” as in Exit
- “z” as in Xylophone
Consonant Fact #8
No English words end in the letters v or j.
- V is always followed by e. For example: active, believe, have
- -ge and -dge are used for “j” at the end of a word. For example: ridge, engage
Consonant Fact #9
Consonant blends are two or three consonants that blend together but you can still hear the sounds: trill, fast, lamp
Consonant Fact #10
Consonant Digraphs are two consonants that come together to make a new sound: shout, thimble, chest, while, phone
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In B C Canada, we don’t say egzit for exit. The ex are pronoun we /ex/. I guess we have Canadian accents after all .
Thanks! A succinct and clear list!
Hi,
Do you mind if I share this on my Facebook page, with credit to you. I am certified in O-G and will be looking to remediate clients. I have a Facebook page under DARTS Dyslexia.
Kind Regards Leanda Gejas
Sent from my iPhone
>
Sure! You are welcome to share it.
I think “gz” for exit is regional dialect. We don’t say exit that way. We clearly say /ex/ in exit here in the Ohio.
Always happy to learn new facts from your blog and share it among my students and teachers.
Do you have more information about when s says /z/?
I don’t really have more information, but you can think of words that contain s as /z/ sound and begin to commit those to memory over time. One note is in the FLOSS rule — final s that says /z/ never doubles (they have a short vowel with l, f, s, but they are exceptions) — words like as, is, has, was, his. Then you have words like rose, accuse, miserable, miser. There’s really no “rule” for the s saying /z/, but being aware that it does happen is part of getting used to all of the sounds letters can say and eventually they are easier to remember.
What is the other sound of consonant n, besides /n/?
Hi Linda, n also says “ng” — examples are think or sing (it’s a nasal sound more than a clipped like the words nose or thin)
Thank you for clarifying the ‘r’ sound. I was taught that ‘r’ says /rhhh/ as a growl as well but I am learning that other reading specialists are teaching that it says /er/. Is the /er/ sound a new to teach the sound of letter ‘r’?
Hi Angie, I’m not sure about the growling sound. In the teaching I received we were taught to clip pronunciation of sounds – as in the letter M, you wouldn’t say “Muh” as a lot of people do, It’s “M.” And R would be “R” as in ring.
You also have different sounds of R in R-controlled syllables. Here’s what I have for R-controlled pronunciation:
AR in a one syllable work (or in the beginning or middle of a word) says “ar (with the two dots above it)” as in arm.
AR at the end of a longer word says “ur” as in dollar.
ER in all positions of the word says “ur” as in fern.
OR in a one syllable word (or beginning or middle) says “or” as in fork.
OR at the end of a longer word says “ur” as in doctor.
IR in one syllable word (or beginning or middle) says “ur” as in bird.
UR in one syllable word (or beginning or middle) says “ur” as in turtle.