#englishpronunciation #businessenglish #learnenglish
You can watch my video on this subject on Youtube.
As you might have realised, English is not a phonetic language! When you see a word, you
cannot always guess at the pronunciation. The most confusing collection of letters is 'o-u-g-h.' There are 7 different ways to pronounce this group of letters, 8 if you use and old spelling of a word but today, we’re going to look at the 7 main ways to pronounce words from each sound. O-u-g-h can sound like uff; O; ow; or; off; oo and er.
OK, let’s look at some examples.
1. ‘O-u-g-h’sounds like ‘uff’ as in suffer.
Look at these esentences.
She's had enough of her dry skin. She roughly sloughed away the tough, flaky layers to reveal beautiful, soft, and shiny skin underneath.
The 'ough' words were: Enough, rough, slough, tough.
2. ‘O-u-g-h’ sounds like ‘O’ as in: go.
Athough it was raining heavily, Sarah decided to go for a walk in the park. Though she was soaked within minutes, the sight of colourful flowers blooming lifted her spirits. Even though her umbrella turned inside out, she couldn't help but enjoy the refreshing scent of rain.
The 'ough' words were: Although, though,even though.
3. ‘O-u-g-h’ sounds like ‘ow’ as in how.
In the midst of a severe drought, the farmer continued to plough the dry land, hoping for rain. As he worked, he heard the gentle sough of the wind through the boughs of the trees lining the slough, a stark contrast to the arid landscape around him.
The 'ough' words were: drought, plough, sough, bough, slough
4. ‘O-u-g-h’ sounds like ‘or’ as in: for.
She sought solace in the pages of a book, for she thought that within them, she might find the answers she ought to know. Despite the countless volumes she bought ,she found nought but fleeting distractions. In the end, she realized that the true battles were the ones fought within her own mind.
The 'ough' words were: sought, thought, ought, bought, nought, fought
5. ‘O-u-g-h’ sounds like ‘off’ as in: offer.
As she walked through the meadow, she felt a tickle in her throat and let out a cough, then paused to rest on the wooden trough beside the stream.
The 'ough' words were cough and trough
6. ‘O-u-g-h’ sounds like ‘oo’ as in too.
He scrolled through the document, searching for the information he needed throughout the morning. Suddenly, he had a breakthrough idea, and realised he should use the new AI software to find what he needed in time for the meeting.
The 'ough' words were through, throughout, breakthrough
7. ‘O-u-g-h’ sounds like ‘a’ as in above.
She conducted a thorough investigation of the borough's infrastructure, examining every street and building in detail.
The 'ough' words were thorough and borough
There are no rules. You just have to learn these words. I know they cause difficulty and
sometimes students avoid using these words simply because they are not confident to pronounce them but hopefully this will help you.
Practice the sounds uff; O; ow; or; off; oo and er.
Remember you must use the words to learn them. Don’t worry if you make a mistake, the other person will still understand you. Practice these sentences and it will help you. Make a point of using some of these words in your next meeting. It will aid you to build your confidence. Step by step. You can do it.
English is your passport to the world but please remember with any language you must use
it or lose it.
Good luck. Let me know if you enjoyed the blog.
