Year 4 English: Unusual spellings and silent letters
Part of the Year 4 English spelling patterns in depth chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Unusual spellings and silent letters
Some spellings do not match the sound you might expect. In these words, one letter is written but not said, or two letters make a sound that you might not guess.
ph makes the f sound, as in alphabet and graph. wr makes the r sound, as in wrist. kn makes the n sound, as in knuckle. gn makes the n sound, as in gnome. mn makes the m sound with the n not said, as in autumn and column.
gh can make the f sound, as in laugh, or the g sound, as in ghost. rh makes the r sound, as in rhyme.
| Letters | Sound | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ph | f | alphabet, graph, elephant |
| wr | r (the w is not said) | wrist, wrinkle |
| kn | n (the k is not said) | knuckle, knowledge |
| gn | n (the g is not said) | gnome, foreign |
| mn | m (the n is not said) | autumn, column |
| gh | f in laugh, g in ghost | laugh, ghost |
| rh | r (the h is not said) | rhyme, rhubarb |
Key ideas
- Ph makes the f sound, as in alphabet and graph.
- Some letters are written but not said: the w in wrist, the k in knuckle, the g in gnome, the n in autumn.
- The gh in laugh makes the f sound, but the gh in ghost makes the g sound.
- Rh makes the r sound, as in rhyme. The h is not said.
Method. Match the meaning to the word, then check its spelling.
- Read the meaning. Think about what the clue describes.the letters of a language in their set order, from a to z
- Find the word that matches. Think of the one word with this meaning.alphabet
- Check the tricky part. The ph makes the f sound, as in fish.Tricky part: ph
- Write the answer. alphabet
Check. Read alphabet and check each letter against the word. ✓
Watch out. The ph makes the f sound, as in fish.
Method. Think what the sentence means, then choose the word that fits the gap and its spelling.
- Read the sentence with the gap. Think what the sentence means.Ali rapped on the door with his ___.
- Find the word that fits the meaning. a joint in your finger where it bendsknuckle
- Put the word in the gap. Read the sentence again. It makes sense.Ali rapped on the door with his knuckle.
- Write the answer. knuckle
Check. Read the whole sentence with knuckle in it. ✓
Watch out. The k is written but not said.
Method. Say the whole word, then fill the box with the tricky letters.
- Say the whole word. Read every letter in order.foreign
- Look at the empty box. The box stands for 2 letter(s) in a row.2 missing letter(s)
- Write the missing letters. The g is written but not said, so the gn makes the n sound.gn
Check. Put gn back in the box and read foreign. ✓
Watch out. The g is written but not said, so the gn makes the n sound.
Watch out
Watch out: the gh in ghost makes the g sound, but the gh in laugh makes the f sound. Learn each word with its gh.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Ask your child to say the word knuckle and then the word knife. Ask which letter they do not say. Then use the same idea with wr, gn and mn.
Exercise 1G Practice: unusual spellings and silent letters
Method. Match the meaning to the word, then check its spelling.
- Read the meaning. Think about what the clue describes.a drawing that shows numbers as lines, bars or points
- Find the word that matches. Think of the one word with this meaning.graph
- Check the tricky part. The ph makes the f sound, as in fish.Tricky part: ph
- Write the answer. graph
Check. Read graph and check each letter against the word. ✓
Watch out. The ph makes the f sound, as in fish.
Method. Match the meaning to the word, then check its spelling.
- Read the meaning. Think about what the clue describes.a very large grey animal with a long trunk
- Find the word that matches. Think of the one word with this meaning.elephant
- Check the tricky part. The ph makes the f sound, as in fish.Tricky part: ph
- Write the answer. elephant
Check. Read elephant and check each letter against the word. ✓
Watch out. The ph makes the f sound, as in fish.
Method. Match the meaning to the word, then check its spelling.
- Read the meaning. Think about what the clue describes.a plant with thick red stalks that is cooked with sugar in a pie
- Find the word that matches. Think of the one word with this meaning.rhubarb
- Check the tricky part. The rh makes the r sound. The h is written but not said.Tricky part: rh
- Write the answer. rhubarb
Check. Read rhubarb and check each letter against the word. ✓
Watch out. The rh makes the r sound. The h is written but not said.
Method. Match the meaning to the word, then check its spelling.
- Read the meaning. Think about what the clue describes.a tall upright pillar, or a line of numbers down a page
- Find the word that matches. Think of the one word with this meaning.column
- Check the tricky part. The n is written but not said, so the word sounds like kol-um.Tricky part: mn
- Write the answer. column
Check. Read column and check each letter against the word. ✓
Watch out. The n is written but not said, so the word sounds like kol-um.
Method. Think what the sentence means, then choose the word that fits the gap and its spelling.
- Read the sentence with the gap. Think what the sentence means.I wore a watch on my left ___.
- Find the word that fits the meaning. the joint between your hand and your armwrist
- Put the word in the gap. Read the sentence again. It makes sense.I wore a watch on my left wrist.
- Write the answer. wrist
Check. Read the whole sentence with wrist in it. ✓
Watch out. The w is written but not said. Say the word as rist.
Method. Think what the sentence means, then choose the word that fits the gap and its spelling.
- Read the sentence with the gap. Think what the sentence means.A garden ___ stood by the pond.
- Find the word that fits the meaning. a small imaginary creature, often seen in a gardengnome
- Put the word in the gap. Read the sentence again. It makes sense.A garden gnome stood by the pond.
- Write the answer. gnome
Check. Read the whole sentence with gnome in it. ✓
Watch out. The g is written but not said, so the word starts with an n sound.
Method. Think what the sentence means, then choose the word that fits the gap and its spelling.
- Read the sentence with the gap. Think what the sentence means.The leaves turn brown and fall in ___.
- Find the word that fits the meaning. the season between summer and winterautumn
- Put the word in the gap. Read the sentence again. It makes sense.The leaves turn brown and fall in autumn.
- Write the answer. autumn
Check. Read the whole sentence with autumn in it. ✓
Watch out. The n is written but not said, so the word sounds like aw-tum.
Method. Say the whole word, then fill the box with the tricky letters.
- Say the whole word. Read every letter in order.rhyme
- Look at the empty box. The box stands for 2 letter(s) in a row.2 missing letter(s)
- Write the missing letters. The rh makes the r sound. The h is written but not said.rh
Check. Put rh back in the box and read rhyme. ✓
Watch out. The rh makes the r sound. The h is written but not said.
Method. Say the whole word, then fill the box with the tricky letters.
- Say the whole word. Read every letter in order.knowledge
- Look at the empty box. The box stands for 2 letter(s) in a row.2 missing letter(s)
- Write the missing letters. The k is written but not said, so the word starts with an n sound.kn
Check. Put kn back in the box and read knowledge. ✓
Watch out. The k is written but not said, so the word starts with an n sound.
Method. Say the whole word, then fill the box with the tricky letters.
- Say the whole word. Read every letter in order.laugh
- Look at the empty box. The box stands for 2 letter(s) in a row.2 missing letter(s)
- Write the missing letters. The gh is said as an f sound, as in laugh.gh
Check. Put gh back in the box and read laugh. ✓
Watch out. The gh is said as an f sound, as in laugh.
Method. Compare the wrong spelling with the word we want.
- Look at rinkle. Compare it with the word wrinkle.rinkle is not right
- Find the tricky part. The w is written but not said.Tricky part: wr
- Write the word correctly. wrinkle
Check. Read wrinkle and check each letter. ✓
Watch out. The w is written but not said.
Method. Compare the wrong spelling with the word we want.
- Look at nowledge. Compare it with the word knowledge.nowledge is not right
- Find the tricky part. The k is written but not said, so the word starts with an n sound.Tricky part: kn
- Write the word correctly. knowledge
Check. Read knowledge and check each letter. ✓
Watch out. The k is written but not said, so the word starts with an n sound.
Method. Compare the wrong spelling with the word we want.
- Look at colum. Compare it with the word column.colum is not right
- Find the tricky part. The n is written but not said, so the word sounds like kol-um.Tricky part: mn
- Write the word correctly. column
Check. Read column and check each letter. ✓
Watch out. The n is written but not said, so the word sounds like kol-um.
Method. Say each word, and find the letter you do not say.
- Look at knuckle and gnome. The k in knuckle and the g in gnome are not said.k, g
- Look at wrist and autumn. The w in wrist and the n in autumn are not said.w, n
- Write the answer. k, g, w, n
Check. Each silent letter is written but not said. ✓
Watch out. A silent letter is written but not said.
Method. Say each word, and find the sound of its tricky letters.
- Look at graph. The ph makes the f sound.graph: f
- Look at laugh and ghost. The gh in laugh makes the f sound. The gh in ghost makes the g sound.laugh: f, ghost: g
- Write the answer. graph, laugh
Check. graph and laugh make the f sound. ✓
Watch out. Learn each word with its sound.
Method. Say rhyme and listen for the first sound.
- Look at rhyme. The word starts with r-h.rh-yme
- Find the sound. The rh makes the r sound, and the h is not said.r sound
- Write the answer. No. The h in rhyme is not said, and the rh makes the r sound.
Check. rhyme starts with the r sound. ✓
Watch out. Some letters are written but not said.
Method. Look for an n that is written but not said.
- Look at autumn and column. The mn in both words has an n that is not said.autumn, column
- Look at knuckle. Its silent letter is the k, not the n.knuckle: silent k
- Write the answer. autumn, column
Check. autumn and column each have a silent n. ✓
Watch out. The n is written but not said in both words.
Method. Use alphabet in a sentence that makes sense.
- Think of the letters a to z. The alphabet is the letters of a language in their set order.the letters a to z
- Write the sentence. Check the ph in the middle of the word.We sang the alphabet at the start of the lesson.
- Write the answer. Accept any correct sentence with alphabet, for example: We sang the alphabet at the start of the lesson.
Check. alphabet has ph. ✓
Watch out. Check the ph.
Method. Choose two words with a letter that is written but not said.
- Choose two words. Pick any two words with a silent letter from this section.knowledge, gnome
- Name the silent letter. The k in knowledge and the g in gnome are not said.k, g
- Write the answer. Accept any two correct words with their silent letter, for example: knowledge (k), gnome (g).
Check. Each silent letter is written but not said. ✓
Watch out. Check each silent letter by saying the word.