Year 6 English: Silent letters: written, but not said
Part of the Year 6 English silent letters and the statutory word list, part 1 chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
Silent letters: written, but not said
A silent letter is written in a word, but it is not said. Many silent letters follow a pattern at the start, middle or end of a word. Learn the pattern, and then learn the word.
Silent letters and their patterns
| Word | Silent letter | Pattern to notice |
|---|---|---|
| knight | k | kn at the start |
| knife | k | kn at the start |
| write | w | wr at the start |
| wrong | w | wr at the start |
| sign | g | gn at the end |
| foreign | g | gn at the end |
| lamb | b | mb at the end |
| climb | b | mb at the end |
| doubt | b | bt in the middle |
| island | s | sl in the middle |
Key ideas
- A silent letter is written but not said.
- Look for the pattern: kn, wr, gn, mb, bt and sl are common silent-letter patterns.
- Learn the spelling of the word, not just the rule.
Method. Look at the pattern at the start of the word.
- Look at the start. The word starts with kn.kn
- Find the silent letter. The k is written before n, but it is not said.k is silent
- Check the word. Knight has the silent k at its start.knight
- Write the answer. k
Check. The silent letter in knight is k. ✓
Method. Look at the pattern at the end of the word.
- Look at the end. The word ends in gn.gn
- Find the silent letter. The g is written, but it is not said in sign.g is silent
- Check the word. Sign has a silent g at the end.sign
- Write the answer. g
Check. The silent letter in sign is g. ✓
Method. Look at the middle of the word.
- Look at the middle. The word has bt in the middle.bt
- Find the silent letter. The b is written, but it is not said in doubt.b is silent
- Check the word. Doubt has the silent b in the middle.doubt
- Write the answer. b
Check. The silent letter in doubt is b. ✓
Watch out
Watch out: a silent letter is still written. Do not leave it out, even if you do not say it. Write knife, not nife.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Ask your child to write a silent-letter word from memory, then check it in a dictionary. Look together at the pattern of the letters, not just the sound of the word.
Exercise 3A Practice: silent letters
Method. Look at the spelling pattern, then check which letter is not said.
- Look at the spelling. The word has the pattern kn at the start.kn at the start
- Find the silent letter. In knight, the letter k is written but not said.k
- Write the answer. k
Check. The silent letter in knight is k. ✓
Watch out. A silent letter is written but not said. Learn the pattern, and the word, together.
Method. Look at the spelling pattern, then check which letter is not said.
- Look at the spelling. The word has the pattern kn at the start.kn at the start
- Find the silent letter. In knife, the letter k is written but not said.k
- Write the answer. k
Check. The silent letter in knife is k. ✓
Watch out. A silent letter is written but not said. Learn the pattern, and the word, together.
Method. Look at the spelling pattern, then check which letter is not said.
- Look at the spelling. The word has the pattern wr at the start.wr at the start
- Find the silent letter. In write, the letter w is written but not said.w
- Write the answer. w
Check. The silent letter in write is w. ✓
Watch out. A silent letter is written but not said. Learn the pattern, and the word, together.
Method. Look at the spelling pattern, then check which letter is not said.
- Look at the spelling. The word has the pattern wr at the start.wr at the start
- Find the silent letter. In wrong, the letter w is written but not said.w
- Write the answer. w
Check. The silent letter in wrong is w. ✓
Watch out. A silent letter is written but not said. Learn the pattern, and the word, together.
Method. Look at the spelling pattern, then check which letter is not said.
- Look at the spelling. The word has the pattern gn at the end.gn at the end
- Find the silent letter. In sign, the letter g is written but not said.g
- Write the answer. g
Check. The silent letter in sign is g. ✓
Watch out. A silent letter is written but not said. Learn the pattern, and the word, together.
Method. Look at the spelling pattern, then check which letter is not said.
- Look at the spelling. The word has the pattern gn at the end.gn at the end
- Find the silent letter. In foreign, the letter g is written but not said.g
- Write the answer. g
Check. The silent letter in foreign is g. ✓
Watch out. A silent letter is written but not said. Learn the pattern, and the word, together.
Method. Look at the spelling pattern, then check which letter is not said.
- Look at the spelling. The word has the pattern mb at the end.mb at the end
- Find the silent letter. In lamb, the letter b is written but not said.b
- Write the answer. b
Check. The silent letter in lamb is b. ✓
Watch out. A silent letter is written but not said. Learn the pattern, and the word, together.
Method. Look at the spelling pattern, then check which letter is not said.
- Look at the spelling. The word has the pattern mb at the end.mb at the end
- Find the silent letter. In climb, the letter b is written but not said.b
- Write the answer. b
Check. The silent letter in climb is b. ✓
Watch out. A silent letter is written but not said. Learn the pattern, and the word, together.
Method. Look at the spelling pattern, then check which letter is not said.
- Look at the spelling. The word has the pattern bt in the middle.bt in the middle
- Find the silent letter. In doubt, the letter b is written but not said.b
- Write the answer. b
Check. The silent letter in doubt is b. ✓
Watch out. A silent letter is written but not said. Learn the pattern, and the word, together.
Method. Look at the spelling pattern, then check which letter is not said.
- Look at the spelling. The word has the pattern sl in the middle.sl in the middle
- Find the silent letter. In island, the letter s is written but not said.s
- Write the answer. s
Check. The silent letter in island is s. ✓
Watch out. A silent letter is written but not said. Learn the pattern, and the word, together.
Method. Use the word silent and the word written.
- Think about the letter. It is written in the spelling.written
- Think about the sound. It is not said when the word is read.not said
- Write the answer. A silent letter is a letter that is written in a word but is not said.
Check. A silent letter is written and not said. ✓
Method. Look for the pattern wr at the start.
- Look at the start. The word starts with wr.wr
- Check the meaning. Wrong means not right.wrong
- Write the answer. wrong
Check. wrong has the silent w. ✓
Method. Find the wrong word, and use the pattern wr.
- Find the word that is wrong. Rite is missing the w at the start.rite
- Write the correct word. The correct word is write, with the silent w.write
- Write the answer. I will write a story about the ship.
Check. write has the pattern wr. ✓
Method. Use the meaning, then look for the pattern kn.
- Use the meaning. A tool for cutting, with a blade and a handle, is a knife.knife
- Check the pattern. The word starts with kn, and the k is silent.kn
- Write the answer. knife
Check. knife has the silent k. ✓
Method. Look at the spelling pattern, then check which letter is not said.
- Look at the spelling. The word has the pattern mb at the end.mb at the end
- Find the silent letter. In climb, the letter b is written but not said.b
- Write the answer. b
Check. The silent letter in climb is b. ✓
Watch out. A silent letter is written but not said. Learn the pattern, and the word, together.
Method. Look at the spelling pattern, then check which letter is not said.
- Look at the spelling. The word has the pattern sl in the middle.sl in the middle
- Find the silent letter. In island, the letter s is written but not said.s
- Write the answer. s
Check. The silent letter in island is s. ✓
Watch out. A silent letter is written but not said. Learn the pattern, and the word, together.
Method. Look at the spelling pattern, then check which letter is not said.
- Look at the spelling. The word has the pattern gn at the end.gn at the end
- Find the silent letter. In foreign, the letter g is written but not said.g
- Write the answer. g
Check. The silent letter in foreign is g. ✓
Watch out. A silent letter is written but not said. Learn the pattern, and the word, together.
Method. Use the word to describe people or things from another country.
- Choose the subject. The foreign visitors are the subject.The foreign visitors
- Finish the sentence. Add a verb and an end.enjoyed the tour of the castle
- Write the answer. The foreign visitors enjoyed the tour of the castle.
Check. The sentence spells foreign correctly. ✓
Method. Look at the pattern and the silent letter.
- Look at the pattern. Sign ends in gn.gn
- Find the silent letter. The g is written, but not said.g
- Write the answer. Sign has the pattern gn at its end, and the g is written but not said
Check. The g in sign is silent. ✓
Method. Look at the two letters in mb.
- Look at the pattern. Mb is the pattern at the end of lamb and climb.mb
- Find the silent letter. The b is written but not said.b
- Write the answer. b
Check. The silent letter in mb is b. ✓
Method. Think about what the spelling shows.
- Look at the entry. The entry shows the spelling as written.the full spelling
- Check the letter. The silent letter is written, so it appears in the entry.the silent letter
- Write the answer. It shows the full spelling, so you can see the silent letter that is written.
Check. The dictionary shows the silent letter. ✓