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For an interesting discussion of English's many silent letters, see http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/grammar/archive/silentletters01.html. The author includes several links to other more specific sights.

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17y ago
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14y ago

Often when writing two consonants in succession one of the sounds is omitted. Simply to make it easier to pronounce. simply put "because it is."

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10y ago

In most cases when a word has two consonants preceding each other, then the first letter is usually silent. For example, for letters like "gn" the "g" will be silent.

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Q: Why are the letters gn silent in English?
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'Why are the letters gn silent in the English language?

The letter combination gn is not silent in the English language.# Gnu, pugnacious, ligneous, lignin, lignite, lignocaine, magnetic, magnanimous, magnificent, magnitude, magnolia, magnum, regnal, signature, signal, are a few examples of where they are not silent. # In align, gnash, gnarled, gnat, gnaw, gneiss, gnocchi, gnome, gnomon, gnostic, reign, sign, only the g of the gn is silent. For more information about silent letters in English words, see Related links below this box.


Which words have the silent letter gn in it?

Some words with the silent letter "gn" include "gnat," "gnaw," "gnome," and "gnarl."


What are all the silent letters in English?

There are none.


What languages have silent letters?

Languages such as English, French, Spanish, and Italian have silent letters in their words. Silent letters are often remnants of older pronunciations or borrowed words from other languages.


Why does sign have silent G?

"Sign" has a silent G because there's a GN bond at the end of the word. The reason for the silent G here is to make the I sounds long. The I or O can sometimes be long when they come before 2 consonants and the GN bond is an example of making a long I sound.


Which letter is silent in the words:WeekWonFlower BlewDew?

In the words provided, the silent letters are as follows: In "Week," there are no silent letters. In "Won," the letter "W" is silent. In "Flower," there are no silent letters. In "Blew," there are no silent letters, and in "Dew," again, there are no silent letters.


What are all the English words with MN silent letters?

damn hymn limn


What is the silent letter in column?

"Silent letters" are letters found in the spelling of some words in a language ( like English and French ) , but these letters are not pronounced.Examples:* The letter "k" is not pronounced in these words: kneekneelknightknot* The letter "h" is not pronounced in: whalewhatwhitewhy* The letters in bold in the following words are silent letters: listenchalktalkwalk


Animals start with the letters gn?

swan


Why k is silent in know?

The 'k' in 'know' is silent because it used to be pronounced in Old English but became silent over time. English spelling changes have not always kept up with pronunciation changes, resulting in silent letters like the 'k' in 'know'.


What silent letters is in wrote?

The silent letter in the word "wrote" is the silent W.


What word has the most silent letters?

The word "queue" has the most silent letters, with all four of its letters being silent.