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

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.