Dave Nicholls

Yeah.

Oh, it's a very – I totally understand why the student is making the mistake.

And this is why English spelling can sometimes be counterproductive.

It can help us mispronounce words, English spelling.

And silent letters are a good example.

Yeah, it can be indeed.

The two situations when B is usually silent is firstly when it's after the M, yeah, so like in bomb or comb or tomb or numb or limb or climb, climb a wall.

For example, he was climbing the wall, not he was climbing the wall.

Lots of students say climbing, but don't say that, say climbing, climbing.

Yeah.

So, firstly, avoid pronouncing B if you see M-B.

Usually, it is silent.

There are some exceptions, but usually it is silent.

And the second situation is when you have B-T.

And there are only a few words here I want you to remember.

I want you to remember debt.

There's a B when you spell debt, but there's not a B when you say debt.

So, debt…

Debt has a silent B. Doubt, as well, is a very common word with a silent B. And the third word is subtle.

Yes, subtle.