How to Pronounce -OUGH Words

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English Makes No Sense 3 min 1 speaker 7 chapters transcribed 2 months ago
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

SL Rockfish 0:14
Hello, hello, hello, friends. Today, we're going to do a little fun with English and remind ourselves why English makes no sense. Are you ready? I think we're going to call this Fun Fact Friday or Funny Fact Friday. I don't know. Still a work in progress here. Today, we're going to take a look at some words. Now, if you're listening to this, I'm going to spell the words out.

What words spelled -OUGH will we compare and why are they confusing?

SL Rockfish 0:37
But if you watch it on video, it's on the Spotify video or on the YouTube channel. I have them held up. So here we go. The first words, they are so tricky. T-O-U-G-H, T-H-O-U-G-H, T-H-R-O-U-G-H, and T-H-O-U-G-H-T. Told you they look similar.

How is 'tough' spelled and pronounced compared to similar -OUGH words?

SL Rockfish 1:03
So T-O-U-G-H is pronounced tough. It's a short U sound with the double F. Tough. Okay. Now add an H to that and we get thef. Nope. You get thef. We get though. It's a voice T-H and it's a long O sound.

Why does 'though' use the same letters but make a long O sound?

SL Rockfish 1:22
Though. Now take though. Okay. And put an R between the H and the O and you get throw. No, that's spelled T-H-R-O-W.
1:33
Okay.

How does adding an R change spelling and pronunciation to make 'through'?

SL Rockfish 1:33
It's through, through, like to go from one end to the other or to be done. I am through. I just went through the tunnel. And then the final one, take the R out and I'll put a T at the end and we get thought, an idea or the past tense of the verb think. Take a look at it one more time. Tough. though, through, and thought. They all look oh so similar, but they sound completely different.

What makes 'thought' different when we change letters to form the past tense?

SL Rockfish 2:07
Why? I do know. Because English spelling comes from different languages. It comes from French. It comes from German. It comes from Latin. And no one cleaned it up. They just took little pieces that they wanted to keep and they went with it.

Why do English spellings like -OUGH look related but sound so different?

SL Rockfish 2:22
So, If pronunciation seems impossible, it's not you. No, no friend. It's never you. It's English. Got it? Let's practice. Shall we get ready? I'm going to say them slow. Tough.
2:40
T-O-U-G-H. Tough. Though. T-H-O-U-G-H. Though. Through. It's a ru and thought.
SL Rockfish 2:58
Thought. Got it? Why does English make everything else so tricky? I already told you because it's just a mishmash. Have a great day, friends. Practice, never give up, and just have fun with the English language. All right? Peace, friends. You got this. You can do it. I promise. And if you're like, I can't remember how you spell them, click on the video. And if you're watching the video, that's way over two minutes. We're at three and a half, almost four. Gotta go. Bye-bye.

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Chapters

7 chapters
1 What is the main topic discussed in this episode? 0:14–0:37 2 What words spelled -OUGH will we compare and why are they confusing? 0:37–1:03 3 How is 'tough' spelled and pronounced compared to similar -OUGH words? 1:03–1:22 4 Why does 'though' use the same letters but make a long O sound? 1:22–1:33 5 How does adding an R change spelling and pronunciation to make 'through'? 1:33–2:07 6 What makes 'thought' different when we change letters to form the past tense? 2:07–2:22 7 Why do English spellings like -OUGH look related but sound so different? 2:22–3:40

Speakers

1 identified
SL Rockfish 3 min

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