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. We have a lot of lights here today which are glowing
quite brightly; lighting us all up. So that's "glow". Or you can have a fire burning, and
it creates a kind of a red glow. So, anything to do with light. "Grow", when you put the seeds in the ground and
they grow. Okay. "Know", to know something. "Low" is down here; the opposite of high - "low".
"Mow", another agricultural word; or in your own garden, if you have grass - the grass
grows. You have to cut it, so you mow the grass; you cut it to a low level to keep it
tidy. So: "to mow the grass", "mow the lawn", and you have a machine
called a "lawnmower". Okay. "Slow", the opposite of quick; "slow". And
"tow", "t-o-w" is if a car has broken down and you have to get it to the garage for repairing
somehow, somebody can tow it for you. They will tie a rope to it from their own vehicle,
and pull it behind to take it to the garage where it can be repaired. So that's to tow a
car-okay-to pull it along with a rope because maybe the engine isn't working or you've
run out of petrol; something like that. Okay, so they we are - the two pronunciations:
"a-oo" and "oh". And I hope also this has helped to expand your vocabulary. And so, if
you'd like to go to the website: www.engvid.com, there's a quiz there for you to do, connected
with this lesson. And hope to see you again soon. Okay. Bye for now.
