Spelling the sound /oo/: oo, ou, ui, u-e, ue, ew

These words use just u to spell the short // sound:

bush	The bush was covered in flowers.
push	Don't push me about.
pull	The sign on the door said 'pull'.
full	The room was full of young men.
bull	Bull-fighting is banned in some countries.
butcher	Buy meat at the butcher's shop.

Learn the words:

These 3 words all have the -ould pattern.

would	James would like an orange juice.
could	I wish I could remember every spelling.
should	You should put a coat on before you go out.

These words use the o-e pattern to spell the long // sound:

move	Don't move or I'll shoot!
prove	Can you prove you are over 18?
lose	Be careful not to lose your ticket.

This word uses just u to spell the long // sound:

truth

The prisoner would not tell the truth.

Remember that true and truth both have u:
Is it true that Gearge Washington always told the truth?

These words have the spelling pattern -omb:

womb	A baby spends nine months in the womb.
tomb	There are many tombs in the churchyard.
catacomb	A catacomb is an underground cemetery.

These words use just the letter o:

do	What can I do to help?
who	See who is at the door.
whose	Whose pen is this?
whom	To whom is the letter addressed?
For more on these tricky words, please see Unit 18

This word uses oe:

shoe	There's hole in the sole of my shoe.

This word uses ough:

through	Let's walk home through the park
For more on ough words, please see Unit 17

Learn the words:

These words have the oo pattern but the sound is different:

door, floor	Walk in the door and across the floor.
blood, flood	When he cut his leg there was a flood of blood.

See the next page on homophones
for some more rule-breakers: to, too, two