For example, John's mother knows he took the cookies because
he has crumbs
on his shirt! Crumbs
are little pieces of bread or cookie.
In this word, the m
is pronounced, but the b
is silent.
If you want to show that you like something or that everything is okay,
you can point your thumb
up.
Here are some more examples of words with the same pattern:
bomb
climb
comb
dumb
limb
numb
One special exception is the word plumber.
The -mb
combination does not come at the end of this word, but the b is still silent.
You can also find a silent n
after the letter m
at the end of some common English words.
For example, trees lose their leaves in autumn.
This is the season between summer and winter.
In this word, the n
is silent. We only pronounce the sound of the letter m at the end of the
word.
Another example is the word hymn.
This is a special kind of song that is usually religious.
Here are some more examples of words with the -mn combination at
the end:
column
solemn
condemn
It is important to notice that some of the words in these lists are
verbs. That means that we might add an -s in the simple present tense or -ed in the simple past tense.
When this happens, the -mb
or -mn
combination is not at the end of the word, but the pronunciation does
not change. We only pronounce the m.
For example, when a house is very old and not safe, the police can condemn
it. That means that no one is allowed to live there.
So, we can say that the police condemned
this old house five years ago. It is not safe to go inside. Even when
we change the verb form, the n
is still silent.
Look at our worksheet on the -mn and -mb
combinations
at the end of words for practice
and review.
Review
So, let's review what we have learned about the silent n and b after an m at the end of
words in English:
The m is
pronounced but the n
or b are not.
This usually happens at the end of a word, but if it is a
verb, the pronunciation remains the same even if we change the verb
form.