Spelling the long vowel sound /ō/: o-e, oa, ow, oe
| /ō/ as in oval | ![]() |
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How to spell the long /ō/ sound: |
1) In some words of more than one syllable you just need the letter o,
for example:
| bogus | bonus | focus | hotel | local | moment | omit |
| poem | program | protect | robot | rodent | total | yoga |
2) Some short words have just o on the end:
| go | ago | so | also | Jo | no |
3) Some other words (often from other languages) have just o
on the end. These are in the 'rule-breakers' on page 21.
4) Sometimes you need to add another letter, for example:
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|
| o-e as in rose | oa as in boat | ow as in snow | oe as in toe |
| Add e on the end. Many words
use o-e to spell the long /ō/
sound. Some examples: |
The next most common way is to use
oa as in boat. Some examples: |
Use ow on the end of most
words, as in snow. Some examples: |
A few words have oe on the
end, as in toe. Some examples: |
| robe globe code rode* joke smoke stroke hole* whole* stole dome home bone lone* stone hope slope nose* hose those vote quote wrote* drove stove hormone parole compose suppose provoke ozone remote envelope microscope telescope ...and many more |
coach poach load* road* toad* loaf oak soak cloak croak coal goal foal foam groan* loan* soap boast coast roast toast oats coat float goat moat stoat throat cockroach approach encroach reproach |
bow low mow row* sow* tow* blow > blown flow* > flown grow > grown* know* > known show > shown slow* snow throw arrow below borrow bungalow elbow fellow follow hollow meadow narrow pillow shadow shallow sorrow swallow tomorrow window yellow |
toe* foe hoe floe* roe* sloe* woe oboe |
| Note: Words marked * are homophones. Please see page 22 | |||
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Go to next page: Some practice in spelling the long /ō/ sound. |







