CONSONANT BLENDS 1

Grammar review What is a consonant blend?

A consonant blend is two or three consonants sitting next to each other, usually at the start of a word, where you can still hear each individual sound. In black, you hear both the "b" and the "l" blended together. That's different from a digraph like sh or ch, where two letters combine into one brand new sound instead.

Common blends at the start of a word: bl, br, cl, cr, dr, fl, fr, gl, gr, pl, pr, sc, sk, sl, sm, sn, sp, st, sw, tr.

Why they matter: recognizing consonant blends is a foundational reading and spelling skill. Once you can hear and spot them, you can sound out and spell a huge number of English words more reliably, since blends follow very consistent patterns at the start of words.

Did you know? Consonant blends matter more than you might think for spelling accuracy, even in exam writing.

Spelling errors in IELTS writing don't get their own score band, but they drag down your Lexical Resource rating, because an incorrectly spelled word signals uncertain vocabulary knowledge. Consonant blends like str-, spl-, and -nch account for a disproportionate share of misspellings, particularly among speakers whose first language doesn't use them.

For TOEFL, spelling accuracy matters in the integrated and independent writing sections too. Consistent blend errors suggest limited exposure to written English, something examiners are trained to notice. This exercise targets exactly the blends that cause the most trouble.