The sounds of G
Hard G sound
game, get, give, ghee, go, gut, guide
Soft G sound
gene, generate, George, giant, ginger, gyre
Silent G
G is silent in the gerund ending, —ing,
making, paying, walking
when combined with an n (—gn—) or similarly, an m,
assign, foreign, sign, gnat, gnu
phlegm
and when combined with an h (—gh—). See exceptions below.
flight, nigh, night, right, slough (meaning wetland), weigh
Letter combinations
—dg— makes a soft G sound.
edge, fidgety, gadget, hedge, judge
—ge— makes a soft G sound, similar to J.
gene and jean sound the same
rage, rag
—gh— may have different sounds, depending upon the word, or it may be silent (but not a soft G sound).
eight, slough (pronounced slew, meaning a wetland), through
rough, slough (pronounced sluff, meaning to shed one’s skin)
laugh (pronounced laff)
ghee, gherkin (the gh here makes a hard G sound)
—gi— may be a soft G sound, similar to J.
giant
logic
Exceptions
gibbon, gild, gingham, give, log-in
gn— g is silent when followed by an n.
gnaw, gnome, Gnostic, gnu
—ing, —ung make a nasal sound with a silent g.
king, fling
sung, young
Exercises
- Find a text in a newspaper or online. List the words containing the letter G. How do you pronounce them? Make your own sentences with these G words.
Special reading assignment
- The gentle gunner gave the growling dog a good gob of gristle.
- George begrudged Guy his ill-gotten gains.
