English spelling and pronunciation are not always identical.
Did you know there are eight (EIGHT!) ways to pronounce the sound of "ough"?
Here are some examples from I Love Lucy.
I Love Lucy is a comedy show from the 1950's. In this episode, Lucy is pregnant and tells Ricky, her Cuban husband, that she wants their child to learn only perfect English.
As an experiment, Lucy asks Ricky to read from a book, but he has some difficulty with the pronunciation...
- SCRIPT & EXERCISES -
Lucy
Ricky Ricardo. Here, honey, I'll show you what I mean. Now, you take this book and pretend that our child has come to you and said, "Daddy, read me a good-night story."
Ricky Ricardo. Here, honey, I'll show you what I mean. Now, you take this book and pretend that our child has come to you and said, "Daddy, read me a good-night story."
Ricky
All right.
All right.
Lucy
There you are, Daddy.
There you are, Daddy.
Ricky
Once upon a time in the woods live a peasant. He was a good man with a noble heart. He spent his time in the forest cutting down booges from the trees. Cutting wood...
Once upon a time in the woods live a peasant. He was a good man with a noble heart. He spent his time in the forest cutting down booges from the trees. Cutting wood...
Lucy
Wait a minute. Wait, wait, wait, just a minute. What is this "booges?"
Wait a minute. Wait, wait, wait, just a minute. What is this "booges?"
Ricky
"Booges," right in there.
"Booges," right in there.
Lucy
That's "boughs." (large branch)
That's "boughs." (large branch)
Ricky
B-O-U-G-H is "bough?"
B-O-U-G-H is "bough?"
Lucy
Right.
Right.
Ricky
Bough. He spent his time in the forest cutting down boughs from the trees. Cutting wood all day made his hands strong and row. One day...
Bough. He spent his time in the forest cutting down boughs from the trees. Cutting wood all day made his hands strong and row. One day...
Lucy
That's "rough."
That's "rough."
Ricky
Spelled the same way as the other: O-U-G-H.
Spelled the same way as the other: O-U-G-H.
Lucy
That's right. That shows how little you know about the English language.
That's right. That shows how little you know about the English language.
Ricky
So I made a little mistake. Made his hands strong and rough. One day he cut wood so fast that by 3 o’clock in the afternoon, his day's work was thruff. When the...
So I made a little mistake. Made his hands strong and rough. One day he cut wood so fast that by 3 o’clock in the afternoon, his day's work was thruff. When the...
Lucy
Hold it, Shakespeare.
Hold it, Shakespeare.
Ricky
Thraugh?
Thraugh?
Lucy
T-h-r-o-u-g-h is pronounced "through."
T-h-r-o-u-g-h is pronounced "through."
Ricky
Through, that's what I always say. Now, stop picking on me, will you? You're getting me all confuse. His day's work was through. It started to rain on the way home, and he got so wet that his nose became red and he developed a hacking... coo? Well, I know it can't be "cow."
Through, that's what I always say. Now, stop picking on me, will you? You're getting me all confuse. His day's work was through. It started to rain on the way home, and he got so wet that his nose became red and he developed a hacking... coo? Well, I know it can't be "cow."
Lucy
It's "cough."
It's "cough."
Ricky
Oh, that did it. I had enough. Or should I say "enu"? No, enough. Enough. I don't see why you have to have such a crazy language anyway. In Spanish you don't have all those "ow," "oh," "oo," "off," "oof" sounds. In Spanish, you got a sound, it sounds the same all the time. You write it the same way, it sounds the same way. No matter where you put it, it comes out the same way.
Practice
Vocabulary
Lucy uses four difficult words when she tries to speak "correctly". Click on each word to see a definition
Pronunciation
Ricky said these words. Do you remember the correct words?
Oh, that did it. I had enough. Or should I say "enu"? No, enough. Enough. I don't see why you have to have such a crazy language anyway. In Spanish you don't have all those "ow," "oh," "oo," "off," "oof" sounds. In Spanish, you got a sound, it sounds the same all the time. You write it the same way, it sounds the same way. No matter where you put it, it comes out the same way.
- - oOo - -
Practice
Vocabulary
Lucy uses four difficult words when she tries to speak "correctly". Click on each word to see a definition
- plethora
- enervating
- sloppy
- scintillating
Pronunciation
Ricky said these words. Do you remember the correct words?
- "bogges"
- "row"
- "thruff"
- "coo"
- "enu"
Can you write and pronounce them?
"It’s a crazy language!"