1. Initial Consonant Blends: These blends occur at the beginning of a word. They are typically formed by combining two or three consonants, with the first consonant being pronounced more strongly. Examples include:
* "bl" in "blue"
* "fr" in "friend"
* "str" in "street"
2. Final Consonant Blends: These blends occur at the end of a word. Similar to initial blends, they combine two or three consonants, but the emphasis is usually on the last consonant in the blend. Examples include:
* "st" in "dust"
* "nd" in "hand"
* "nt" in "plant"
3. Medial Consonant Blends: These blends occur within a word, between two vowels. They often involve a combination of two consonants that are pronounced together as a single unit. Examples include:
* "th" in "brother"
* "mp" in "camp"
* "nk" in "thank"
It's important to note that there is some overlap between these categories. For example, the blend "st" can be found at the beginning of words like "star" (initial) or at the end of words like "best" (final).