Blends are two or three consonants grouped together, with each letter keeping its own sound. Final n-blends are highly reliable. When the letters nd, nk, and nt appear together as a blend, they will almost always sound the same. These blends most often appear in the final position within words, as in wind, ring, skunk, and tent. Pronunciation can be tricky here because of the nasal quality of the n, particularly in words like sing in which the n and g are combined to make a different n sound at the back of the throat.