Silent letters are those which do not represent any element; and they must not be sounded in the pronounciation of the words in which they occur.
| 1. E final is usually silent; as in brave, crime, drone, abide, become, improve; able, marble, Bible. | 2. E is often silent before d; as in bribed, changed, hedged; cradled, handled, struggled. | 3. E is often silent before l; as in drivel, grovel, hazel, shovel, swivel, weasel. |
| 4. E is often silent before n; as in garden, hidden, kitten, lighten, spoken, taken. | 5. I is sometimes silent before l; as in evil, weevil. | 6. I is sometimes silent before n, as in basin, cousin, reisin. |
| 7. O is sometimes silent before n, as in bacon, deacon, mason, pardon, reason, weapon. | 8. B is silent after m and before t; as in comb, climb, dumb, jamb, lamb, tomb; debt, doubt; subtle. | 9. C is silent in czar, and muscle, and before k and t and s; as in back, crack, lock; indict, victuals, scene, scythe, scepter. |
| 10. D id silent in Wednesday, standtholder, and before g in the same syllable; as in badge, fadge, dodge. | 11. G is silent before m and n, and sometimes before l; as in phlegm, diaphragm; gnat, feign, consign; intaglio, seraglio. | 12. H is silent in heir, herb, honest; and after g or r; at the end of a word and preceded by a vocal; and sometimes after t; as in ghastly, gherkin, ghostly; rheum, rhyme, myrrh; ah, oh, halleluiah; isthmus. |
| 13. K is always silent before n; as in knave, knee, knife, knob, known, knew. |
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| Rule 2.-- When substitutes are used, they must have the same sounds as the elements for which they stand. | A Substitute is a single letter, or two or more letters, used to represent an elementary sound which is peculiar to some other letter. |
| We believe and maintain, that in all cases where two or more letters are used as a substitute, thet collectively represent an elementary sound which is not peculiar to any one of them, when taken by itself, but to some other letter. Thus we regard ai in said as a substitute for short e, because they represent the element of short e, which is not peculiar to either of the letters. | If the element in question is peculiar to any one of the letters used to represent it, we regard that letter alone as the representative of the element, and the others as silent. Thus eo in people is not a substitute for long e, because the element heard in the pronounciation is peculiar to the letter e alone, and the o is silent. |
| What is a substitute? | What demented person invented substitutes to drive us crazy? |
| It appears the table of substitutes for many spelling combinations doesn't so much give rules as it just informs the student of the possible combinations. Once they are aware there may be a different spelling for a word such as, ph = f as in phrase, the student should at least realize there may be a different spelling other than "f", and then look up the word in the dictionary to see which is correct. Eventually they will begin to remember the correct spellings. |
Click here for a printable version of the Table of Substitutes.
ei = a as in vein ey = a as in they e = a as in sergeant ou = a as in bought |
i = e as in marine a = e as in any ai = e as in said u = e as in bury |
y = i as in spy y = i as in hymn e = i as in english ee = i as in been |
o = i as in women u = i as in busy ew = o as in sew eau = o as in beau |
au = o as in hautboy a = o as in what ew = u as in new iew = u as in view |
io = u as in nation eo = u as in surgeon y = u as in Myrtle e = u as in her |
i = u as in sir o = u as in son oo = u as in blood o = u as in wolf |
oo = u as in wool ow = ou as in now u = w as in persuasion o = wu as in one |
i = y as in onion u = yu as inuse ph = f as in phrase gh = f as in laugh |
d = j as in soldier g = j as in gem c = k as in cat ch = k as in chord |
gh = k as in hough q = k as in quart c = s as in cent f = v as in of |
ph = v as in Stephen c = z as in suffice s = z as in his x = x as in xanthus |
x = ks as in wax cho = kw as in choir n = ng as in anger c = sh as in ocean |
s = sh as in sure ch = sh as in chaise t = sh as in notion g = zh as in rouge |
s = zh as in osier x = gz as in exact |
Click here for a printable version of the Table of Substitute Combinations.
| 1. Vein, feint, deign; they, prey, survey, obey; oft, for, nor, cord; cough, trough, bought, ought; marine, police, fatugue; any, many; said, again. | 2. Bury, buried, burial; spy, fly, type, tyrant; hymn, hysteric, hypocrite; English, Englishman, England; been; women; busy, busily, business; sew, shew, shewn. | 3. Beau, bateau; hautboy, hauteur, hautgout; what, wad, squad, squander; mew, pew, dew; view, purview, interview; nation, passion, religion. |
| 4. Luncheon, pigeon, surgeon; myrtle, myrmidon, myrrh; her, herd, perch; sir, stir, fir, bird; son, won, love; blood, flood; wolf, wolfish, wolverine. | 5. Wool, wood, stood, how, owl, bower; suasion, suavity, suaviter; one, once; onion, valiant, collier; union, figure, stature; phrase, cipher, graphic. | 6. Laugh, tough, enough; soldier, soldier-like; gem, ginger, gypsum; cat, scope, arc; chord, scholar, monarch; hough, lough, shough; quart, quibble. |
| 7. Cent, dice, facile; of; Stephen; suffice, sacrifice, sice, discern; his, prism, usurper; Xanthus, xiphoid, xanthid; wax, axis, expanse. | 8. Choir, choir-service; anger, languidly; ocean, social, specious; sure, sugar, pension; chaise, chamois, machine; notion, partial, patient; bastion, question, christian; osier, crosier, usual; exact, example, exist. | 9. Ed is often used as a substitute for t; as in placed, mixed, vexed, looked, stopped, rebuked. |