English Pronunciation · Consonants

Consonant Cluster Exercises: Listen, Choose and Say

Train your ear and your mouth: hear the difference between pay and play, choose the right word in context, and practise saying clusters clearly.

Übungen zu Konsonantenverbindungen: hören, wählen, sprechen – britisches Englisch.

  • 5 exercises
  • 42 questions + drills
  • Audio ▶ on every item
  • British English (RP)
How it works: click ▶ to hear a word or sentence, then choose your answer. After each answer you'll see the British pronunciation in IPA. The audio uses your browser's built-in voice – a helpful guide, though not always perfectly natural. Want the word lists first? See English Consonant Clusters.

1 Hear the Difference: Clusters at the Start

Each pair differs by one consonant at the start: pay /peɪ/ or play /pleɪ/? Listen and choose the word you hear.

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2 Hear the Ending: Clusters at the End

Now the difference is at the end of the word: ten /ten/ or tent /tent/? These endings often carry grammar, so they matter.

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3 Complete the Sentence

Both words contain the same cluster – only one fits the sentence. Choose, then click ▶ and say the whole sentence aloud.

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4 Spot the Cluster: Sounds, Not Letters

Spelling can trick you. In British English, r is silent before a consonant (park), and l is silent in words like half and walk. Choose by sound.

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5 Say It: Build-Up Drills

Long clusters are easier if you build them up step by step. Say each step aloud, slowly, without adding vowels. Then listen ▶ and repeat the word and the sentence.

street /striːt/

eet → reet → treet → street

splash /splæʃ/

ash → lash → plash → splash

three /θriː/

ree → th‿ree → three

asked /ɑːskt/

ask → ask‿t → asked

months /mʌnθs/

mun → munth → months

texts /teksts/

tek → teks → tekst → texts

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Tips for Clear Clusters

No extra vowels

Say street, not es-treet or su-treet; asked, not ask-ed. Move straight from one consonant to the next.

Keep the endings

-s and -ed carry grammar. He work there and He worked there mean different things.

For German speakers

sp and st are /sp/ and /st/ – not „schp", „scht". And keep voiced endings voiced: hands /ndz/, not /nts/.

Slow, then natural

Practise slowly until every sound is there. In fast speech native speakers simplify some clusters: next week → /neks wiːk/.

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Go deeper Consonant ClustersFinal Clusters: -s and -edConsonant DrillsMinimal PairsFor German Speakers
Listen. Choose. Say it aloud.
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