A consonant blend (or consonant cluster) is when two or more consonants appear next to each other. They are not to be confused with consonant digraphs, where the two letters make one sound (ex. ch, ph, sh, th, wh, ck). In a consonant blend, you can hear the two sounds as you say the consonants, although they form one syllable. (See this article for more on syllables!)
They can appear at the beginning of a word, as in:
- st in stick
- fr in fried
- cr in credit
Or at the end of a word:
- sk in risk
- st in fast
- nt in rent
- nd in found
Two-Letter L-Blends
When the second letter in a 2-letter consonant cluster is an L, it’s called an l-blend.
- bl – blog, blue, black, blurb
- cl – click, clip, clean, clock
- fl – flat, flute, flirt, flimsy
- gl – glass, glare, glasses, glean
- pl – plead, plus, plan, plant
- sl – slim, slap, slurp, sleeve
Two-Letter R-Blends
When the second letter in a 2-letter consonant cluster is an R, it’s called an r-blend.
- br – brain, brown, bright, brim
- cr – crab, crumb, crib, cry
- dr – draw, dream, drain, dress
- fr – from, freezer, free, freedom
- gr – grade, great, grocery, grueling
- pr – practice, prove, pretzel, prevent
- tr – truck, try, trust, tray
Two-Letter S-Blends & T-Blends
When the first letter of a 2-letter consonant blend is an S, it’s an s-blend, and when it’s a T, it’s a t-blend.
- sc – scale, scare, scarf, score
- sk – skirt, skate, skin, ask
- sm – smack, smart, smell, small
- sn – snack, snicker, sneak, snow
- sp – speak, spend, wisp, clasp
- st – stop, sturdy, list, pest
- sw – swallow, swift, sworn, swell
- tw – twirl, tweet, twitter, twelve
Three-Letter Consonant Blends
Some consonant blends consist of 3 consecutive consonants – you still say the sound of each letter when you pronounce them, but they are all part of one syllable.
- scr – scrunch, scrape, scream, screech
- spl – splash, splendid, spleen, splint
- spr – spree, sprawl, sprint
- str – strict, strobe, struck, stray
- thr – three, thrice, thrash, throat
Need help?
Some of these combinations can be tricky, so don’t worry if you don’t get them right away! Would you like a little more coaching on your pronunciation with a professional ESL teacher? To learn more about English pronunciation and practice it in conversation, join SpeakUp, a dynamic program that engages you in authentic conversations on relevant topics and provides you with feedback from a professional experienced English teacher. The first week is free for you to try it out!
