Consonant Clusters

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Consonant Clusters

In Spanish language, when there are two consonants together, such as "rd" or "ct", a vowel usually follows. In English that is not the case. For example, Americans say Robert with "rt" at the end. The Spanish equivalent is Roberto; the "rt" cluster is followed by a vowel, making it easier to pronounce the second consonant. Because it doesn't feel natural to Spanish speakers to pronounce the consonant at the end, they tend to pronounce only the first consonant of the group, making the name Robert sound like "rober". Also, card can sound like "car", and Richard will sound like "richar". Another good example is the English word correct, which in Spanish in "correcto".

When you come across a word with two or more consonants next to each other, make sure that you pronounce every consonant. Pay special attention to past tense -ed verbs. They generally form consonant clusters as in worked and watched.

1. worked hard		4. played cards
2. extra strength		5. extremely difficult
3. lost and found		6. wild world

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