Lesson 4: Consonant Clusters

🟦 Introduction

Have you ever struggled to say words like “street,” “asked,” or “next” without leaving out a sound? That’s because these words contain consonant clusters—groups of consonants pronounced together without a vowel in between.

Understanding consonant clusters is important for:

• Accurate pronunciation in speech

• Improved listening comprehension

• Success in WASSCE Paper 3 sound contrast questions

This lesson will help you identify, pronounce, and distinguish clusters in initial and final positions.

🟩 Key Concepts and Explanations

1. What Are Consonant Clusters?

A consonant cluster is a group of two or more consonants spoken together in the same syllable, without a vowel between them.

✅ Examples:

• play → /pl/ = 2 consonants at the beginning

• asked → /skt/ = 3 consonants at the end

Clusters can appear:

• At the beginning (initial): train, street, school

• At the end (final): help, text, jumped

• In both positions: plants, scripts

2. Types of Consonant Clusters

✅ Pronunciation Tip: Don’t insert a vowel between consonants. For “spring”, don’t say “supring.”

3. How Clusters Are Tested in WASSCE

You may be asked to:

• Identify words that begin or end with different clusters

• Recognize mispronunciations

• Distinguish between cluster and non-cluster sounds

Example:

Which word begins with a different consonant sound cluster?
A. tree B. three C. train D. track
✅ Answer: B. three → /θr/ (others: /tr/)

4. Common Initial Clusters

5. Common Final Clusters

🧭 Step-by-Step Sample Walkthrough

Question: Choose the word that has a different initial consonant cluster.
A. play
B. pray
C. pluck
D. price

Step 1: Identify each cluster

• A. play → /pl/

• B. pray → /pr/

• C. pluck → /pl/

• D. price → /pr/

Step 2: Group by cluster

• /pl/ → A, C

• /pr/ → B, D

✅ Correct Answer: Any answer acceptable based on what’s asked—but if the question is “Which is different from the others?”
→ Answer: B. pray or D. price, depending on question phrasing

🟨 Practice Exercises

Exercise A: Fill in the Blanks with Initial Clusters

Choose the correct consonant cluster to complete each word:

1. _ _ ain → (pl, tr, dr)

2. _ _ ash → (spl, spr, str)

3. _ _ ee → (thr, str, dr)

✅ Answers:

1. train → /tr/

2. splash → /spl/

3. three → /θr/

Exercise B: Choose the Odd Final Cluster

A. help
B. melt
C. jump
D. trap

👉 Answer: B. melt – ends with /lt/, others have /p/ sound

A. asked
B. missed
C. passed
D. guessed

👉 Answer: A. asked – has /skt/, others have /st/

A. bend
B. hand
C. band
D. bath

👉 Answer: D. bath – ends with /θ/, others with /nd/

🔁 Recap

In this lesson, you learned:

• Consonant clusters are groups of consonants pronounced together without vowels in between

• They appear at the beginning or end of words

• Recognizing and pronouncing clusters correctly helps in both oral exams and natural English speech

• WASSCE often tests these through sound contrast and matching exercises

🪞Reflection Prompt

Which words in your everyday English contain clusters? Try saying them slowly—are you skipping any sounds? Practice 5 cluster-rich words (e.g. street, asked, prize, splendour, text) and record yourself. Can others clearly hear all the consonants?