What are consonant blends?

What are consonant blends?

• A. Consonant blends are combinations of two or more consonants where each sound is heard, like 'bl' in 'black' or 'sp' in 'spoon'.
• B. Two vowels making a single sound.
• C. A single consonant sound before a vowel.
• D. A group of consonants that is always silent.

Answer: (A)

Consonant blends are groups of two or more consonants in a word where you can hear each individual sound as you say the word. For example, in black you hear a /b/ sound followed by an /l/ sound, together forming the starting blend. In spoon, the letters sp make the /s/ sound and the /p/ sound, again heard together as the blend at the beginning. This is different from vowel digraphs, where two vowels work together to make one vowel sound, like the ea in bread or the ai in rain. It’s also different from a single consonant sound before a vowel, which is just one onset sound. And a group of consonants isn’t always silent; sometimes all the letters are pronounced, sometimes only one letter carries the sound depending on the word. So the best description is that blends are two or more consonants that keep their separate sounds when spoken.

Consonant blends are groups of two or more consonants in a word where you can hear each individual sound as you say the word. For example, in black you hear a /b/ sound followed by an /l/ sound, together forming the starting blend. In spoon, the letters sp make the /s/ sound and the /p/ sound, again heard together as the blend at the beginning. This is different from vowel digraphs, where two vowels work together to make one vowel sound, like the ea in bread or the ai in rain. It’s also different from a single consonant sound before a vowel, which is just one onset sound. And a group of consonants isn’t always silent; sometimes all the letters are pronounced, sometimes only one letter carries the sound depending on the word. So the best description is that blends are two or more consonants that keep their separate sounds when spoken.