Free lesson from Maria’s course: Spellings – /əʊ/

In this section I show you the common spellings for the /əʊ/ sound. To help you remember them, I also bring you some everyday words with those spellings.

Do you want to have a quick look at the phonetic alphabet? Click here to see the /əʊ/ in the phonetic alphabet chart.

Common spellings

Figuring out when a word has an /əʊ/ can sometimes be difficult. To make it easier for you, here are some common spellings that will help you identify the /əʊ/.

Note: those spellings are not unique to the /əʊ/ sound, as we’ll see in other lessons.

1. In many words with a stressed O between two consonant sounds that O has an /əʊ/ sound. Play these flashcards to hear a native speaker, and click on the red arrows to flip them. Can you distinguish the /əʊ/?

Remember that the symbol ‘ indicates that the syllable after it is stressed.

potent

potent
/ˈpəʊtᵊnt/

both

both
/bəʊθ/

total

total
/ˈtəʊtᵊl/

cold

cold
/kəʊld/

holy

holy
/ˈhəʊli/

folk

folk
/fəʊk/

gold

gold
/ɡəʊld/

most

most
/məʊst/

poll

poll
/pəʊl/

toll

toll
/təʊl/

2. In words with a stressed O followed by a consonant sound followed by a silent E that O often has an /əʊ/ sound. Play these flashcards to hear a native speaker, and click on the red arrows to flip them. Can you distinguish the /əʊ/?

promote

promote
/prəˈməʊt/

bone

bone
/bəʊn/

close

close
/kləʊz/

home

home
/həʊm/

joke

joke
/dʒəʊk/

mode

mode
/məʊd/

nose

nose
/nəʊz/

note

note
/nəʊt/

role

role
/rəʊl/

tone

tone
/təʊn/

3. In many words ending in O that O has an /əʊ/ sound. Play these flashcards to hear a native speaker, and click on the red arrows to flip them. Can you distinguish the /əʊ/?

ago

ago
/əˈɡəʊ/

also

also
/ˈɔːlsəʊ/

auto

auto
/ˈɔːtəʊ/

go

go
/ɡəʊ/

no

no
/nəʊ/

photo

photo
/ˈfəʊtəʊ/

so

so
/səʊ/

echo

echo
/ˈekəʊ/

hello

hello
/həˈləʊ/

potato

potato
/pəˈteɪtəʊ/

4. In some words starting with a stressed O that O has an /əʊ/ sound. Play these flashcards to hear a native speaker, and click on the red arrows to flip them. Can you distinguish the /əʊ/?

ocean

ocean
/ˈəʊʃᵊn/

odour

odour
/ˈəʊdə/

old

old
/əʊld/

only

only
/ˈəʊnli/

open

open
/ˈəʊpᵊn/

over

over
/ˈəʊvə/

5. In many words with an OA that OA has an /əʊ/ sound. Play these flashcards to hear a native speaker, and click on the red arrows to flip them. Can you distinguish the /əʊ/?

coach

coach
/kəʊtʃ/

coast

coast
/kəʊst/

float

float
/fləʊt/

goal

goal
/ɡəʊl/

load

load
/ləʊd/

loan

loan
/ləʊn/

oak

oak
/əʊk/

road

road
/rəʊd/

soap

soap
/səʊp/

throat

throat
/θrəʊt/

6. In some words with an OW that OW has an /əʊ/ sound. Play these flashcards to hear a native speaker, and click on the red arrows to flip them. Can you distinguish the /əʊ/?

below

below
/bɪˈləʊ/

bowl

bowl
/bəʊl/

grow

grow
/ɡrəʊ/

low

low
/ləʊ/

own

own
/əʊn/

slow

slow
/sləʊ/

narrow

narrow
/ˈnærəʊ/

snow

snow
/snəʊ/

window

window
/ˈwɪndəʊ/

Let’s play those flashcards again

Before moving on to the next section in this lesson, go through those spellings one more time. Click here to flip all the flashcards and play them again.

Would you like to practise the /əʊ/ with me?

In my Live English Classes I give you more everyday words to play with. I also show you the main spelling exceptions for /əʊ/. To practise them with me, join my Live English Classes.

What’s next?

In the next section I show you how to avoid getting the /əʊ/ wrong.

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