Six Ways to Spell the Long O Sound

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A few weeks ago we looked at seven common ways of spelling the long /e/ sound. Scroll down to read about six ways of spelling the long /o/ sound. Please note the pronunciation of some of the example words may vary depending on accent.

  1. Just the Letter O
    In some cases, the long /o/ sound is spelled with just the letter o. These are often but not always words that are more than one syllable long.

    Here are some examples of long /o/ words spelled with just the letter o:
    • oval
    • hotel
    • program
    • total
    • yoga
    • no
    • ago
    • gecko
       
  2. O – E Words
    A very common way of spelling the long /o/ sound is with an o in the middle of the word and an e at the end of the word.

    Here are some examples of long /o/ words spelled with an o in the middle of the word and an e at the end:
    • rose
    • globe
    • whole
    • quote
    • consoole
    • hormone
    • impose
    • envelope

    You can practise spelling o – e words here and here.

  3. OA Words
    A next most common way of spelling the long /o/ sound is with the letters oa.

    Here are some examples of the long/o/ sound spelled with the letters oa:
    • poach
    • bloat
    • coal
    • soap
    • groan
    • encroach
    • toast
    • croak

    You can practise spelling oa words here.

  4. OW Words
    Some words spell the long /e/ sound with the letters ow. In these words, the long /o/ sound usually appears at the end of the word.

    Here are some examples of long /o/ words spelled with letters ow:
    • row
    • snow
    • borrow
    • elbow
    • hollow
    • meadow
    • swallow
    • window
    • tomorrow

    You can practise spelling ow words here.

  5. OE Words
    Occasionally, at the end of a word, the long /o/ sound is spelled with the letters oe.

    Here are some examples of long /e/ words spelled with letters oe:
    • toe
    • foe
    • doe
    • roe
    • woe
    • oboe
    • aloe
       
  6. OUGH Words
    The letters ough are used to spell many sounds including the long /o/ sound/.

    Here are some examples of long /o/ words spelled with letters ough
    • dough
    • though
    • although

You can learn more about the ough words in Unit 17 and practise spelling ough words here.

If you’d like to learn more about spelling long /o/ sounds, have a look at Unit 7 on our online spelling course.

Subscribe to Spellzone for extra tips and plenty of practice.

Have a good week!


08 Nov 2016
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"This is a fantastic opportunity for our students!  I'm sure Spellzone will be invaluable in helping them to improve their spellings and therefore improve the quality of their writing in all subject areas!"

Teacher, High School, UK