Consonants: WAEC English Language Past Questions and Answers

What the WAEC syllabus covers in Consonants

Our summary: Telling apart and pronouncing English consonant sounds, alone and in clusters, at the start, middle and end of words.

• Single consonants (Candidates should be able to recognize and produce all significant sound contrasts in the consonantal system of English. For the guidance of candidates, a few examples of such contrasts are given below.)
• Single consonants, initial (they – day; ship – chip; fan – van; pit – fit; pit – bit; tuck – duck; card – guard; gear – jeer.)
• Single consonants, medial (buzzes – buses; parcel – partial; sopping – sobbing; written – ridden; anger – anchor; faces – phrases; prices – prizes.)
• Single consonants, final (boat – both; breathe – breed; wash – watch; leaf – leave; cup – cub; cart – card.)
• Consonant clusters (Candidates should be able to produce and recognize consonant clusters which may occur both initially and finally in a syllable. They should also be able to recognize and produce the consonant sounds in a consonant cluster in the right order. For the guidance of candidates, a few examples are given below.)
• Consonant clusters, initial (play – pray; sting – string; scheme – scream; crime – climb; flee – free; three – tree; true – drew; blight – bright; tread – thread; drift – thrift; glade – grade.)
• Consonant clusters, final (rains – range; felt – felled; sent – send; nest – next; ask – axe; lift – lived; missed – mixed; seats – seeds; hens – hence; lisp – lips; coast – coats; marks – masks.)

Syllabus content © The West African Examinations Council (WASSCE (harmonised West African syllabus)).