Silent B – Master These 9 Words (Boost Your Pronunciation Now!)

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Words With Silent B (9 Silent B Word Examples)

Mispronouncing words with a silent B can destroy your credibility when speaking English. Listeners will immediately put you in the beginner to intermediate level. Learn these 9 examples of when not to pronounce a B and get closer to sounding like a native speaker.

Slide 1:
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Slide 2:
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Slide 3:
Let’s look at words with a silent b.

Slide 4:
Why do some English words use a silent b?

The answer is found in the grammatical rules of Old English and the Latin, French, and Germanic origins of many words. Over time, the letter ‘b’ was kept in the spelling but the pronunciation was lost.

Slide 5:
Here are some common words that are spelled with a ‘b’ but not pronounced with a ‘b’.

Examples of Silent B – 4 examples when b follows m.

Slide 6:
climb: to move upward, usually using the hands and feet

Here is an example.

Slide 7:
The picture shows a climber holding on to the mountain face with his hands.

The sentence example reads:
This was the most difficult mountain he had every tried to climb.

Slide 8:
plumber: a person who installs and maintains pipes for water, sanitation and heating

Slide 9:
The next picture shows a plumber under a bathroom sink repairing a leak.

The sentence example reads:
Fortunately the plumber came immediately and fixed the leak in the bathroom sink.

Slide 10:
crumb: a small piece of a baked item such as cake, bread, or a biscuit

Slide 11:
The picture shows a knife on a plate with just a few crumbs left.

The sentence example reads:
There were only a few crumbs left on the plate.

Slide 12:
thumb: the short, thick, first digit of the human hand

Slide 13:
The picture shows a woman’s hand with a ring on her thumb.

The sentence example reads:
She liked to wear a ring on her thumb.

Slide 14:
doubt: to be uncertain, undecided

Examples of Silent B – b before t

Slide 15:
In the picture we see a girl waiting outside some buildings for her friend.

The sentence example reads:
She began to doubt whether her friend was going to come.

Slide 16:
numb: no sense of feeling

Slide 17:
The picture shows a girl standing in the snow.

The sentence example reads:
It was so cold her fingers were numb.

Slide 18:
debt: something that is owed e.g. money, goods, services

Slide 19:
The picture shows a woman with a laptop computer shopping online.

The sentence example reads:
A credit card makes it very easy to get into debt.

Slide 20:
bomb: an explosive device

Slide 21:
The picture shows a mushroom cloud after an atomic explosion.

The sentence example reads:
This picture was taken just after an atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, on August 9, 1945.

Slide 22:
womb: a place where something is generated and protected

Slide 23:
In the picture we see the hands of a man and woman holding the pregnant woman’s tummy.

The sentence example reads:
They could feel the baby kick inside the womb.

Slide 24:
Did you notice from the examples that when a ‘b’ follows an ‘m’, it is generally silent :

  • climb
  • plumber
  • crumb
  • thumb
  • bomb
  • womb

Also, when a ‘b’ appears before a ‘t’ it is generally silent:

  • doubt
  • debt

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See if you can add to this list of silent B words in English.

If you are concerned about accurate pronunciation, be sure to check this page:
How to Pronounce EXTRAORDINARY

 

Image Credits:
Slide 6
Creative Commons | No change
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Slide 8
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Slide 10
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Slide 12
Free Use
http://cdn.morguefile.com/imageData/public/files/a/ariadna/preview/fldr_2005_05_09/file0001182956556.jpg
Slide 14
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Slide 16
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Slide 18
Free Use
marin | freedigitalphotos.net
Slide 20
Public Domain
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/%E9%95%B7%E5%B4%8E%E5%B8%82#/media/File:Nagasakibomb.jpg
Slide 22
Creative Commons | No change
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Creative Commons License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode