When is T Silent in English?

When is T Silent in English?

In this lesson, we go over a few possible cases where you might find a silent 't' in English.

In American English, it is common for native English speakers to drop the ‘t’ after an n consonant sound when the syllable that begins the ‘t’ is unstressed. Examples of this include the ‘t’ in words like: interview, intellect, international, enter, internet, and the second ‘t’ in Atlanta. This would NOT occur in words where the syllable that begins that ‘t’ is stressed. For example, we would pronounce the ‘t’ in: intelligent and interrogate.

Of course, choosing to pronounce the ‘t’ in these words are okay, but you will hear many Americans drop it.

Other situations in which you would be right to assume that the ‘t’ is silent is in words that end in -stle, sten, and -ften. In these words that ‘t’ SHOULD NEVER be pronounced. Here are some examples:

-stle: mistle, thistle, whistle, hustle, rustle, castle, wrestle, apostle

-sten: listen, christen, fasten, glisten, moisten

-ften: often (some people pronounce the ‘t’), soften

Here are some common silent ‘t’ words that follow no pattern. You’ll just have to memorize them:

ballet, rapport, gourmet, chalet, cabaret, Christmas, chestnuts, mortgage

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