Phonemes Practice Test (Kindergarten-B2) — English Exercises with Answers

⏱ Time: 10:00 📝 Questions: 20 📊 Level: A1, A2, B1, B2 📚 Type: General English ⭐ XP: up to +22 (on pass)
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Preparing for an English exam? Practise Phonemes with 20 exercises at Level Kindergarten-B2. The questions test meaning, collocation, and word choice — the core vocabulary skills examined in IELTS, TOEFL, and Cambridge tests.

⏱ You have 10:00 to answer 20 questions. The timer only starts when you click Begin.

Q1  20
Q1 20

Question 1: The word 'cat' starts with the ___ sound.

Question 1 options
/k/ is correct because the letter 'c' in 'cat' produces the /k/ sound. /s/ is the soft 'c' sound as in 'city'. /t/ is the ending sound. /æ/ is the vowel sound in the middle.
Q2 20

Question 2: Which word rhymes with 'dog'?

Question 2 options
'Frog' is correct because it ends with the same /ɒɡ/ sound as 'dog'. 'Dig' has a different vowel sound. 'Bag' ends with /æɡ/. 'Dug' ends with /ʌɡ/.
Q3 20

Question 3: How many sounds are in the word 'sun'?

Question 3 options
Three is correct because 'sun' has three distinct phonemes: /s/ + /ʌ/ + /n/. Each letter represents one sound in this simple word.
Q4 20

Question 4: The words 'bat' and 'pat' differ by only one sound at the beginning.

Question 4 options
True because 'bat' begins with /b/ and 'pat' begins with /p/. The vowel /æ/ and final /t/ are identical, so only one phoneme is different.
Q5 20

Question 5: The 'sh' in 'ship' is an example of two letters making ___ sound.

Question 5 options
'One' is correct because the digraph 'sh' represents a single phoneme /ʃ/. Although two letters are written, they combine to produce one distinct sound.
Q6 20

Question 6: What does the word 'vowel' mean?

Question 6 options
'Vowel' refers to a speech sound made with an open mouth and no blockage of airflow, such as the sounds represented by a, e, i, o, u. A silent letter makes no sound. A full stop is punctuation. A syllable is a unit of pronunciation.
Q7 20

Question 7: Match each word to its beginning sound.

Question 7 options
thumb
cheese
phone
knight
/tʃ/ (ch sound)
/n/ (n sound)
/f/ (f sound)
/θ/ (th sound)

Select an item on the left, then tap its match on the right.

'Thumb' starts with the /θ/ sound. 'Cheese' starts with /tʃ/. 'Phone' starts with /f/. 'Knight' starts with /n/ because the 'k' is silent.
Q8 20

Question 8: In the word 'knee', the letter 'k' is ___.

Question 8 options
'Silent' is correct because the 'k' in 'knee' is not pronounced; the word begins with the /n/ sound. 'Stressed' means given emphasis. 'Doubled' means repeated. 'Aspirated' refers to a puff of air after a consonant.
Q9 20

Question 9: Which word contains a long vowel sound?

Question 9 options
'Cake' is correct because the 'a' in 'cake' is a long vowel /eɪ/, following the silent-e pattern. 'Cat', 'hit', and 'cup' all contain short vowel sounds (/æ/, /ɪ/, /ʌ/).
Q10 20

Question 10: The word 'through' has more sounds than letters.

Question 10 options
False because 'through' has seven letters (t-h-r-o-u-g-h) but only three phonemes: /θ/ + /r/ + /uː/. It has far fewer sounds than letters.
Q11 20

Question 11: A pair of words like 'bit' and 'beat' that differ by one phoneme is called a minimal ___.

Question 11 options
'Pair' is correct because a 'minimal pair' is a linguistic term for two words that differ in only one phoneme and have different meanings. 'Set', 'group', and 'match' are not the standard terminology.
Q12 20

Question 12: The sounds /p/ and /b/ are produced in the same place in the mouth. They differ because /p/ is voiceless and /b/ is ___.

Question 12 options
'Voiced' is correct because /b/ involves vibration of the vocal cords, while /p/ does not. 'Nasal' describes sounds like /m/. 'Fricative' describes sounds like /f/. 'Lateral' describes sounds like /l/.
Q13 20

Question 13: When the letter 'e' at the end of a word is not pronounced, as in 'make', it is called a ___ e.

Question 13 options
The term 'silent e' (also called 'magic e') describes the unpronounced final 'e' that typically signals the preceding vowel is long.
Q14 20

Question 14: Which word is closest in meaning to 'consonant'?

Question 14 options
'A speech sound made by blocking airflow' is the correct definition of a consonant. Consonants involve partial or complete obstruction of the breath stream, unlike vowels which are produced with an open vocal tract.
Q15 20

Question 15: The word 'chocolate' is commonly pronounced with ___ syllables in natural speech.

Question 15 options
Two is correct because native speakers typically reduce 'chocolate' to two syllables: /ˈtʃɒk.lət/. Although the spelling suggests three syllables, the middle vowel is usually dropped in everyday pronunciation.
Q16 20

Question 16: Two letters that combine to represent a single sound, such as 'ch' or 'th', are called a ___.

Question 16 options
'Digraph' is correct because a digraph is a pair of letters representing one phoneme. A 'blend' keeps both sounds audible (e.g., 'bl'). A 'diphthong' is a gliding vowel sound. A 'prefix' is a word-beginning morpheme.
Q17 20

Question 17: What does the term 'diphthong' mean?

Question 17 options
'Diphthong' refers to a vowel sound that glides from one quality to another within a single syllable, such as /aɪ/ in 'time'. It is not a consonant cluster, a stressed syllable, or a silent letter.
Q18 20

Question 18: In English, the phoneme /ʒ/ appears in the middle of the word ___.

Question 18 options
'Pleasure' is correct because it contains the /ʒ/ sound in the middle: /ˈpleʒ.ər/. 'Pressure' has /ʃ/. 'Lesson' has /s/. 'Fashion' has /ʃ/.
Q19 20

Question 19: The initial sounds in 'thin' and 'this' are different phonemes. The 'th' in 'this' is ___ while the 'th' in 'thin' is voiceless.

Question 19 options
'Voiced' is correct because the 'th' in 'this' is /ð/, a voiced dental fricative, whereas 'thin' begins with /θ/, its voiceless counterpart. 'Nasal' describes /m, n/. 'Aspirated' refers to a burst of air. 'Rounded' describes lip shape for certain vowels.
Q20 20

Question 20: When a phoneme changes its pronunciation depending on its position in a word but does not change meaning, the different versions are called ___.

Question 20 options
'Allophones' is correct because allophones are variant pronunciations of the same phoneme that do not create meaning differences. 'Morphemes' are units of meaning. 'Homophones' are words that sound alike. 'Synonyms' are words with similar meanings.