English Pronunciation: How to say words ending with -OW: grow, cow, slow, now...

Some letter combinations in English can be pronounced in different ways, and that is the case for the sound “-ow“. It can be said in both a long sound and a short sound, by opening or closing your throat and lips. In this lesson, I’ll explain the pronunciation of some common words ending in -ow. Some of them can be pronounced in two different ways and have two different meanings. But most of them can only be pronounced in one way. Some of the words you may already know, but others will be new, so you will expand your vocabulary, too! Take the quiz at . WATCH NEXT: 1. Pronunciation of TH & THR: 2. Accent training exercises -- Learn vowel sounds: TRANSCRIPT Hello. This is Gill at engVid, and today we have a lesson on the pronunciation of words containing the letters “o-w“. Okay? So, there are two different ways of pronouncing these words, and some are pronounced both ways and spelt the same, but they mean different things; there are other words which are only pronounced in one way, and not the other. So, let’s just have a look at these examples. Okay. So, “o-w“ in the word, it’s either the vowel sound: “a-oo“, which I’ve spelt: “a-o-o“, “a-oo“, like when somebody hits you, you say: “Ow! Ow, that hurt. Ow.“ Or at least in English we say it that way. Okay. So: “a-oo“ is one of the pronunciations. And: “oh“, like when you’re surprised: “Oh. Oh. I didn’t know that. Oh.“ So: “oh“ is the other vowel sound. Okay. So, first of all, let’s look at the three words where there are both. So: “a-oo“, you can have: “bow“ and you can have: “bow“. So, “bow“ is when you go like this. You sort of bend over politely: “bow“. Usually men do that. “Bow“. But there’s also something called a “bow“, which is if you have a ribbon in your hair or something like that, and you tie it in a bow; you do this. Or if you have shoes with laces, you tie your shoelaces in a bow. Okay, so we have: “bow“, “ba-oo“, and “bow“. Right. Okay. Next one: “row“ and “row“. So, a “row“ is a lot of noise. “Oh, there’s a row going on out there. That’s noisy. People are shouting. There’s a row.“ It could be an argument between people: “They’re having a row.“ The neighbours next door, you can hear their voices, they’re having a row; they’re disagreeing about something, so that’s “row“. But “row“ is either when things are in lines, like that, that’s a line or a row; or you can also... If you’re in a boat with oars like this, you row; you row the boat. You’re doing this with the wooden oars to get through the water, to move through the water. That’s also to row the boat, and it’s a rowing boat. Okay. Next one: “sow“ and “sow“. So, a “sow“ is a female pig; that’s pretty much the only meaning for it - a female pig is a sow. Okay. To “sow“, s-o-w is to put seeds in the ground for them to grow. So, you can link “sow“ with “grow“, if it helps you remember - put the seeds in the soil, they will grow. Sow the seeds, they will grow. It’s not the same as this spelling of “sew“, “s-e-w“, which is with a needle and thread. If I’m sewing on a button which has come off, that’s “sew“ with an “e“, so it’s not that; but it’s the same pronunciation. Okay. Right. So those are the three pairs which have both pronunciations. And then we have two lists of words which just have one. So, the “a-oo“ vowel sound, we have: “brow“, which is the same as your forehead; is your brow. And you’ve got “eyebrows“. These are eyebrows and this is your brow. Okay? “Cow“, the animal that you get milk from. The cow. “How? How do you do something? How?“ or: “How are you?“ “Now“, at this moment; now. “Plow“, this is the American spelling; the English spelling is slightly different, but it’s the same pronunciation. We spell it, in the U.K.: “p-l-o-u-g-h“, but the American spelling is “plow“ - “p-l-o-w“. So, that’s another one. To plow a field; to churn up the soil - again, maybe if you’re sowing seeds in agriculture. Okay. So, the plow is the equipment that you use to cut into the soil; often pulled by horses, or it may be a tractor or something with an engine nowadays. Okay. “Plow“. This word: “pow“ is a sort of, like a comic book. “Pow“, “pow“, when people hit each other. You get this “pow“. It sort of represents the sound of someone being hit or something exploding, that sort of thing. Okay. “Prow“ is the front of a ship. The prow of a ship. And “vow“ is another word for a promise; to vow to do something is to promise to do something. Okay. So those are the “a-oos“, there. And then the “oh“ list, from here: a “crow“ is a bird; a big, black bird. “Crow“. “Flow“, “flow“. Water flows; liquid flows. “Flow“. “Glow“ is to do with light shining. […]