Which definition describes a consonant blend?

• A. Alphabetic principle
• B. The final silent e rule
• C. A group of two or three consonants that blend to make a sound, but each individual letter is heard
• D. Groups of two consonants that form consonant sounds... th, sh, che

Answer: (C)

A consonant blend is a group of two or three consonants that come together to make a sound, and you hear each letter’s separate sound as you say the word. Think of the “bl” in blanket, where you hear /b/ then /l/ in order, or the “st” in stop, where /s/ and /t/ both come out. This is what distinguishes blends from sounds that are made by two letters working together to produce one phoneme.

That’s different from digraphs, where two consonants pair up to make a single sound. For example, “th” in thin makes one sound /θ/ or /ð/, “sh” in shop makes /ʃ/, and “ch” in chair makes /tʃ/. In those cases you don’t hear the letters as separate sounds.

So, the best-definition choice describes a consonant blend as two or three consonants that blend to make a sound while each letter remains audible.