Sorting Consonants Behind Complex Spellings — C2 English Pronunciation Practice Test
About this practice test
Practise C2 English pronunciation by sorting words with complex spellings into consonant-sound groups without relying on spelling alone.
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
- C2. 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.
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Question 1 · Sorting into categories
Sort each word or phrase into its correct category.
Say and sort each word by the consonant sound shown in the groups. Use American English pronunciation.
Categories
- /ʃ/ as in shop
- /tʃ/ as in chair
Word bank
- conscience
- architecture
- expenditure
- conscientious
Check answers and explanations
- 1. conscience
- /ʃ/ as in shop
- 2. architecture
- /tʃ/ as in chair
- 3. expenditure
- /tʃ/ as in chair
- 4. conscientious
- /ʃ/ as in shop
Sound groups: /ʃ/ as in shop: conscience, conscientious; /tʃ/ as in chair: architecture, expenditure.
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Question 2 · Sorting into categories
Sort each word or phrase into its correct category.
Say and sort each word by the consonant sound shown in the groups. Use American English pronunciation.
Categories
- /ʒ/ as in vision
- /dʒ/ as in job
Word bank
- ingenuity
- allegiance
- cohesion
- persuasion
Check answers and explanations
- 1. ingenuity
- /dʒ/ as in job
- 2. allegiance
- /dʒ/ as in job
- 3. cohesion
- /ʒ/ as in vision
- 4. persuasion
- /ʒ/ as in vision
Sound groups: /ʒ/ as in vision: cohesion, persuasion; /dʒ/ as in job: allegiance, ingenuity.
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Question 3 · Sorting into categories
Sort each word or phrase into its correct category.
Say and sort each word by the consonant sound shown in the groups. Use American English pronunciation.
Categories
- /s/ as in sun
- /z/ as in zoo
Word bank
- synthesis
- presume
- precedent
- plausible
Check answers and explanations
- 1. synthesis
- /s/ as in sun
- 2. presume
- /z/ as in zoo
- 3. precedent
- /s/ as in sun
- 4. plausible
- /z/ as in zoo
Sound groups: /s/ as in sun: precedent, synthesis; /z/ as in zoo: plausible, presume.
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Question 4 · Sorting into categories
Sort each word or phrase into its correct category.
Say and sort each word by the consonant sound shown in the groups. Use American English pronunciation.
Categories
- /f/ as in fish
- /v/ as in van
Word bank
- benevolent
- philosophical
- peripheral
- viable
Check answers and explanations
- 1. benevolent
- /v/ as in van
- 2. philosophical
- /f/ as in fish
- 3. peripheral
- /f/ as in fish
- 4. viable
- /v/ as in van
Sound groups: /f/ as in fish: philosophical, peripheral; /v/ as in van: benevolent, viable.
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Question 5 · Sorting into categories
Sort each word or phrase into its correct category.
Say and sort each word by the consonant sound shown in the groups. Use American English pronunciation.
Categories
- /k/ as in key
- /s/ as in sun
Word bank
- reciprocity
- exacerbate
- architectural
- chronology
Check answers and explanations
- 1. reciprocity
- /s/ as in sun
- 2. exacerbate
- /s/ as in sun
- 3. architectural
- /k/ as in key
- 4. chronology
- /k/ as in key
Sound groups: /k/ as in key: architectural, chronology; /s/ as in sun: reciprocity, exacerbate.
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Question 6 · Sorting into categories
Sort each word or phrase into its correct category.
Say and sort each word by the consonant sound shown in the groups. Use American English pronunciation.
Categories
- /θ/ as in think
- /ð/ as in this
Word bank
- authenticity
- nevertheless
- hypothesis
- thereafter
Check answers and explanations
- 1. authenticity
- /θ/ as in think
- 2. nevertheless
- /ð/ as in this
- 3. hypothesis
- /θ/ as in think
- 4. thereafter
- /ð/ as in this
Sound groups: /θ/ as in think: hypothesis, authenticity; /ð/ as in this: thereafter, nevertheless.
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Question 7 · Sorting into categories
Sort each word or phrase into its correct category.
Say and sort each word by the consonant sound shown in the groups. Use American English pronunciation.
Categories
- /ʃ/ as in shop
- /ʒ/ as in vision
Word bank
- revision
- initiative
- superficial
- disclosure
Check answers and explanations
- 1. revision
- /ʒ/ as in vision
- 2. initiative
- /ʃ/ as in shop
- 3. superficial
- /ʃ/ as in shop
- 4. disclosure
- /ʒ/ as in vision
Sound groups: /ʃ/ as in shop: initiative, superficial; /ʒ/ as in vision: revision, disclosure.
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Question 8 · Sorting into categories
Sort each word or phrase into its correct category.
Say and sort each word by the consonant sound shown in the groups. Use American English pronunciation.
Categories
- /tʃ/ as in chair
- /dʒ/ as in job
Word bank
- legitimacy
- trajectory
- literature
- horticulture
Check answers and explanations
- 1. legitimacy
- /dʒ/ as in job
- 2. trajectory
- /dʒ/ as in job
- 3. literature
- /tʃ/ as in chair
- 4. horticulture
- /tʃ/ as in chair
Sound groups: /tʃ/ as in chair: literature, horticulture; /dʒ/ as in job: legitimacy, trajectory.
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.