What are consonant blends?
Consonant blends are groups of two or three consonant letters that appear together in a word. In a blend, each consonant letter keeps its own sound, and we say them one after the other. This is different from consonant digraphs, where two letters together make just one sound (like “sh” in “shop”).
Here are the most common consonant blends that you see in words:
Initial Blends
These blends are at the beginning of the word
Examples:
| /st/ | stop | stone | stick |
| /tr/ | train | trap | trip |
| /bl/ | black | clue | blind |
| /kl/ | clean | clip | clock |
| /fl/ | flower | fly | flat |
| /gl/ | glad | glue | globe |
Examples:
| /st/ | stop, stone, stick |
| /tr/ | train, trap, trip |
| /bl/ | black, clue, blind |
| /kl/ | clean, clip, clock |
| /fl/ | flower, fly, flat |
| /gl/ | glad, glue, globe |
Final Blends
These blends are at the very end of the word.
Examples:
| /mp/ | jump | dump | camp |
| /lk/ | milk | silk | bulk |
| /th/ | tenth | wealth | filth |
| /dge/ | fridge | bridge | dodge |
| /mpt/ | prompt | attempt | tempt |
Examples:
| /mp/ | jump, dump, camp |
| /lk/ | milk, silk, bulk |
| /th/ | tenth, wealth, filth |
| /dge/ | fridge, bridge, dodge |
| /mpt/ | prompt, attempt. tempt |
Now, let’s see how many consonant letters are in each blend:
2-Letter Blends
These are the most common blends, with just two consonant letters working together.
L – Blend
| /bl/ | black | blue | blush | blow |
| /cl/ | class | clove | clown | clue |
| /fl/ | flag | flaw | flip | fly |
| /gl/ | glad | glow | globe | glue |
| /pl/ | play | plug | plot | plant |
| /sl/ | slap | slip | slow | sleep |
L – Blend
| /bl/ | black, blue, blush, blow |
| /cl/ | class, clove, clown, clue |
| /fl/ | flag, flaw, flip, fly |
| /gl/ | glad, glow, globe, glue |
| /pl/ | play, plug, plot, plant |
| /sl/ | slap, slip, slow, sleep |
R – Blend
| /br/ | bread | bride | broom | brick |
| /cr/ | crab | cream | crown | crow |
| /dr/ | dry | drive | drone | drum |
| /fr/ | fruit | fresh | freeze | frame |
| /gr/ | green | grip | grow | grab |
| /pr/ | prime | proof | profit | promise |
| /tr/ | train | trip | tree | try |
R – Blend
| /br/ | bread, bride, broom, brick |
| /cr/ | crab, cream, crown, crow |
| /dr/ | dry, drive, drine, drum |
| /fr/ | fruit, fresh, freeze, frame |
| /gr/ | green, grip, grow, grab |
| /pr/ | prime, proof, profit, promise |
| /tr/ | train, trip, tree, try |
S – Blend
| /sc/ | scam | scare | scream | score |
| /sk/ | sky | skate | skin | skip |
| /sl/ | slam | sly | slug | slime |
| /sm/ | smell | smoke | smile | smog |
| /sn/ | snap | sneak | snow | snore |
| /sp/ | spy | spot | spin | special |
| /st/ | stay | stop | story | still |
| /sw/ | swam | sweet | swing | swim |
S – Blend
| /sc/ | scam, scare, scream, score |
| /sk/ | sky, skate, skin, skip |
| /sl/ | slam, sly, slug, slime |
| /sm/ | smell, smoke, smile, smog |
| /sn/ | snap, sneak,snow,snore |
| /sp/ | spy,spot,spin,special |
| /st/ | stay,stop,story,still |
| /sw/ | swam,sweet,swing,swim |
T – Blend
| /tr/ | tree | trunk | truth | trim |
| /tw/ | twig | twin | twice | twenty |
W – Blend
| /dw/ | dwarf | dwell | dwelt | dwine |
| /sw/ | swell | swim | swing | swoop |
| /tw/ | twist | twinkle | twins | twenty |
T – Blend
| /tr/ | tree, trunk, truth, trim |
| /tw/ | twig, twin, twice, twenty |
W – Blend
| /dw/ | dwarf, dwell, dwelt, dwine |
| /sw/ | swell, swim, swing, swoop |
| /tw/ | twist, twinkle, twins, twenty |
3-Letter Blends
These are less common, they have three consonant letters working together.
| /scr/ | scribe | screw | scrub | scroll |
| /shr/ | shrank | shred | shrimp | shrug |
| /spl/ | splash | spit | splint | splat |
| /spr/ | spray | spread | spring | sprout |
| /str/ | stray | stream | strong | stripe |
| /thr/ | three | thrive | throat | throw |
| /scr/ | scribe, screw, scrub, scroll |
| /shr/ | shrank, shred, shrimp, shrug |
| /spl/ | splash, spit, splint, splat |
| /spr/ | spray, spread, spring, sprout |
| /str/ | stray, stream, strong, stripe |
| /thr/ | three, thrive, throat, throw |
Difference between consonant blends and consonant diagraphs:
| Consonant blends | |
| Two or three consonant letters together where you hear the sound of each individual letter. |
Example: In the word “trip” you can hear both the “t” sound and the “r” sound in the “tr” blend. |
| Consonant digraphs | |
| Also two consonant letters together, but in this case, the two letters make only one sound together, not separate sounds. |
Example: In the word “chip” the “ch” makes just one sound, not the “c” sound and the “h” sound. |
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