Sorting Silent Letters in Formal Vocabulary — C1 English Pronunciation Practice Test
About this practice test
Practise C1 English pronunciation by sorting words with silent and pronounced letters across useful formal vocabulary.
What you’ll practice
Hear the difference
Recognise vowel and consonant contrasts in clear recordings.
Stress and rhythm
Identify strong syllables and emphasized words.
Listen and review
Replay each recording and learn from answer explanations.
What to expect:
8 questions with explanations to review after submission.
Study the questions and tasks
Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.
- Practice level
- C1. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.
- Question formats
- Sorting into categories
How to approach this practice
Read the instructions and work through the questions before opening the answers.
-
Question 1 · Sorting into categories
Sort each word or phrase into its correct category.
Say and sort the words by whether the written letter b is silent or pronounced. Use American English pronunciation.
Categories
- The target letter is silent
- The target letter is pronounced
Word bank
- obtain
- subtle
- subject
- debt
- doubt
- absolute
Check answers and explanations
- 1. obtain
- The target letter is pronounced
- 2. subtle
- The target letter is silent
- 3. subject
- The target letter is pronounced
- 4. debt
- The target letter is silent
- 5. doubt
- The target letter is silent
- 6. absolute
- The target letter is pronounced
Sound groups: The target letter is silent: debt, subtle, doubt; The target letter is pronounced: subject, obtain, absolute.
-
Question 2 · Sorting into categories
Sort each word or phrase into its correct category.
Say and sort the words by whether the written letter p is silent or pronounced. Use American English pronunciation.
Categories
- The target letter is silent
- The target letter is pronounced
Word bank
- aspect
- pneumonia
- receipt
- psychology
- response
- concept
Check answers and explanations
- 1. aspect
- The target letter is pronounced
- 2. pneumonia
- The target letter is silent
- 3. receipt
- The target letter is silent
- 4. psychology
- The target letter is silent
- 5. response
- The target letter is pronounced
- 6. concept
- The target letter is pronounced
Sound groups: The target letter is silent: receipt, psychology, pneumonia; The target letter is pronounced: aspect, concept, response.
-
Question 3 · Sorting into categories
Sort each word or phrase into its correct category.
Say and sort the words by whether the written letter k is silent or pronounced. Use American English pronunciation.
Categories
- The target letter is silent
- The target letter is pronounced
Word bank
- kidney
- knowledge
- keen
- knight
- kiosk
- kneel
Check answers and explanations
- 1. kidney
- The target letter is pronounced
- 2. knowledge
- The target letter is silent
- 3. keen
- The target letter is pronounced
- 4. knight
- The target letter is silent
- 5. kiosk
- The target letter is pronounced
- 6. kneel
- The target letter is silent
Sound groups: The target letter is silent: knowledge, kneel, knight; The target letter is pronounced: kidney, kiosk, keen.
-
Question 4 · Sorting into categories
Sort each word or phrase into its correct category.
Say and sort the words by whether the written letter w is silent or pronounced. Use American English pronunciation.
Categories
- The target letter is silent
- The target letter is pronounced
Word bank
- wrong
- wisdom
- wonder
- wrist
- wreath
- witness
Check answers and explanations
- 1. wrong
- The target letter is silent
- 2. wisdom
- The target letter is pronounced
- 3. wonder
- The target letter is pronounced
- 4. wrist
- The target letter is silent
- 5. wreath
- The target letter is silent
- 6. witness
- The target letter is pronounced
Sound groups: The target letter is silent: wrist, wrong, wreath; The target letter is pronounced: wisdom, wonder, witness.
-
Question 5 · Sorting into categories
Sort each word or phrase into its correct category.
Say and sort the words by whether the written letter g is silent or pronounced. Use American English pronunciation.
Categories
- The target letter is silent
- The target letter is pronounced
Word bank
- signature
- resign
- campaign
- significant
- rigorous
- foreign
Check answers and explanations
- 1. signature
- The target letter is pronounced
- 2. resign
- The target letter is silent
- 3. campaign
- The target letter is silent
- 4. significant
- The target letter is pronounced
- 5. rigorous
- The target letter is pronounced
- 6. foreign
- The target letter is silent
Sound groups: The target letter is silent: foreign, resign, campaign; The target letter is pronounced: signature, significant, rigorous.
-
Question 6 · Sorting into categories
Sort each word or phrase into its correct category.
Say and sort the words by whether the written letter t is silent or pronounced. Use American English pronunciation.
Categories
- The target letter is silent
- The target letter is pronounced
Word bank
- fasten
- integrity
- whistle
- castle
- distinct
- sustain
Check answers and explanations
- 1. fasten
- The target letter is silent
- 2. integrity
- The target letter is pronounced
- 3. whistle
- The target letter is silent
- 4. castle
- The target letter is silent
- 5. distinct
- The target letter is pronounced
- 6. sustain
- The target letter is pronounced
Sound groups: The target letter is silent: castle, whistle, fasten; The target letter is pronounced: sustain, integrity, distinct.
-
Question 7 · Sorting into categories
Sort each word or phrase into its correct category.
Say and sort the words by whether the written letter h is silent or pronounced. Use American English pronunciation.
Categories
- The target letter is silent
- The target letter is pronounced
Word bank
- heir
- hour
- honest
- heritage
- hostile
- hypothesis
Check answers and explanations
- 1. heir
- The target letter is silent
- 2. hour
- The target letter is silent
- 3. honest
- The target letter is silent
- 4. heritage
- The target letter is pronounced
- 5. hostile
- The target letter is pronounced
- 6. hypothesis
- The target letter is pronounced
Sound groups: The target letter is silent: honest, hour, heir; The target letter is pronounced: hostile, heritage, hypothesis.
-
Question 8 · Sorting into categories
Sort each word or phrase into its correct category.
Say and sort the words by whether the written letter l is silent or pronounced. Use American English pronunciation.
Categories
- The target letter is silent
- The target letter is pronounced
Word bank
- loyal
- walk
- talk
- salmon
- legal
- logical
Check answers and explanations
- 1. loyal
- The target letter is pronounced
- 2. walk
- The target letter is silent
- 3. talk
- The target letter is silent
- 4. salmon
- The target letter is silent
- 5. legal
- The target letter is pronounced
- 6. logical
- The target letter is pronounced
Sound groups: The target letter is silent: talk, salmon, walk; The target letter is pronounced: logical, legal, loyal.
What to review next
Review the feedback and revisit the topics you found difficult before trying again.
A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.