EJCMom Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 What is the rule for when to use the ou vowel pair versus the ow vowel pair? Does anyone know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukeswife Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 The only thing I'm aware of is that you don't use OU at the end of english words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 ou has four sounds; ow has only two. The only rule is, as nukeswife said, that ou is never used at the end of a word (except for two or three exceptions--you, thou, impromptu, which isn't an English word, so there you go, lol). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saddlemomma Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 We just had this pair last week in spelling. Here are the rules: 1. Use ou at the beginning or in the middle of a word unless the /ou/ sound is followed by a single n, l, er, or el; then use ow. 2. Use ow at the end of a word for the /ou/ sound. Exceptions to the general rules: powder, coward, crowd, chowder, foul Hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalmia Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Saddlemomma, Which spelling program are you using? I haven't seen this rule so detailed in the three I have. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blondeviolin Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Saddlemomma, Which spelling program are you using? I haven't seen this rule so detailed in the three I have. Thanks. This rule comes from How to Teach Spelling. It's a nice to companion to have because it is so comprehensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 BTW: The ABCs and All Their Their Tricksis a super resource for understanding spelling patterns. OU 1. Almost always used in the middle of a syllable (trout; a•bout; ac•count•ant) exceptions: you, thou 2. OU has a number of sounds: - "ow" (as in trout) - "oo" (as in soup, or wound) - long "o" (as in four, or shoul•der) - long "o" when it is the team of "ough" (as in though) - short "u" (as in young, or coup•le) - short "u" when part of the ending of "-ous" (ner•vous; co•pi•ous; du•bi•ous) - short "u" when it is part of the team of "ough" (as in rough) - the "er" sound when it is part of the team of "-our" (as in jour•ney) OW 1. Mostly used at the end of a syllable (pow•der; how•it•zer) or end of a word (plow) exceptions: some words that end in "n" (clown); "d" (crowd); "l" (fowl); "el" (towel); "er" (flow•er) -- in these cases, the "n", "d", "l", "el", or "er" immediately follows the "ow". 2. OW has two sounds - "ow" (as in plow, or chow•der) - long "o" (as in snow, or spar•row) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saddlemomma Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Saddlemomma, Which spelling program are you using? I haven't seen this rule so detailed in the three I have. Thanks. I'm using "How To Teach Spelling" by Laura Toby Rudginsky & Elizabeth C. Haskell; publisher is Educators Publishing Service (Teacher's Manual) Then I'm using the "How To Spell Workbook #3". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 BTW: The ABCs and All Their Their Tricksis a super resource for understanding spelling patterns. I like how they list the exceptions! That's been helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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