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Lesson
10 [o] as in oh, no, and boat

PRONOUNCING [o]
Lips: Tense and very rounded
+
[o] Jaw: Rises with the tongue and closes
slightly
Tongue: Glides from midlevel to near the
roof of the mouth

[o] is a diphthong. A diphthong is a compound vowel sound made by blending two

vowels together very quickly. The diphthong [o] begins with [o] and ends with [].

Possible Pronunciation Problems

Once again, your pronunciation problems with this sound occur because of
confusing English spelling patterns and similarities with other vowel sounds.

EXAMPLES If you say [] instead of [o]: coat will sound like cut.
If you say [ɔ] instead of [o]: bold will sound like bald.
If you say [a] instead of [o]: note will sound like not.
When producing the diphthong [o], round your lips into the shape of the
letter o. [o] is a long sound; be sure to prolong it.

Listen and practice and know your [o] will be OK!

Practice
EXERCISE A Listen and repeat.

[o] At the Beginning of Words [o] In the Middle of Words [o] At the End of Words
oat odor oval boat roam spoke go sew snow
own only open both loan soul no ago hello
oak over ocean coast known don’t so show though
old nose toe

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[o] Spelled
o oa ow oe ou
no soap know toe dough
rope goat owe hoe though
vote loan grow goes shoulder
home foam throw
fold load bowl

hint When o is in a syllable ending in silent e, the letter o is pronounced [o] (the same as the name
of the alphabet letter o).
phone note home rope
The letters oa are usually pronounced [o].
coal boat roasting toaster
The letter o followed by ld is usually pronounced [o].
cold old soldier told

hint When speaking English, many international students frequently forget to prolong the
diphthong [o] before consonants.

EXERCISE B Listen and repeat. Remember that the diphthong [o] is a prolonged sound.
The dots in the following exercise are there to remind you to lengthen it.

toe toe . . . s (toes)

sew sew . . . s (sews)
grow grow . . . s (grows)
know know . . . n (known)
blow blow . . . n (blown)

EXERCISE C Listen and repeat. Pay attention to the [o] sound in the boldfaced words.

1. Leave me alone!
2. I suppose so.
3. only joking
4. Hold the phone.
5. open and close
6. at a moment’s notice
7. Tony Jones broke his toe.
8. Don’t go down the old road.
9. Repeat the [o] words slowly over and over!
10. No one knows how old Flo is.

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CHECK YOURSELF 1 Listen and circle the word that you hear. (For answers to Check Yourself 1–3, see
Appendix II, pages 277–278.)
[o] []
EXAMPLES comb come
boat but

1. phone fun
2. bone bun
3. roam / Rome rum
4. boast bust / bused
5. tone ton
6. coat cut
7. wrote rut
8. hole / whole hull
9. rogue rug
10. most must / mussed

Check your answers. Then read each pair of words aloud. Be sure to prolong
the diphthong [o].

CHECK YOURSELF 2 Read the names of the following household items. Circle the items pronounced
with the diphthong [o].

1. toaster frying pan bookcase freezer

2. clock telephone faucet radio
3. stove sofa lawn mower table
4. doorknob window television coatrack
5. can opener mixing bowl clothes dryer iron

Check your answers. Then imagine that the items with names containing
the [o] sound are broken. Work with a partner. Tell each other,“The _______ is
broken.” Be sure to prolong the sound of [o].

EXAMPLE “The toaster is broken.”

CHECK YOURSELF 3 Read the dialogue. Then work with a partner. Circle all the words containing
the diphthong [o].

Joe: Rose, let’s go on a trip. We need to be alone.

Rose: OK, Joe. Where should we go?
Joe: I know! We’ll go to Ohio.
Rose: Great! We’ll visit my Uncle Roland.

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Joe: No, it’s too cold in Ohio. We’ll go to Arizona.

Rose: Fine. We’ll stay with your Aunt Mona!
Joe: No, it’s too hot in Arizona. Let’s go to Rome.
Rose: Oh, good! You’ll meet my Cousin Tony.
Joe: No, no, no!! We won’t go to Rome. Let’s go to Nome, Alaska. We don’t know
anyone there!!
Rose: You won’t believe it, but I have an old friend . . .
Joe: Hold it, Rose, we won’t go anywhere! I suppose we’ll just stay home.

Check your answers to make sure you circled all the words containing the
diphthong [o]. Practice reading the dialogue aloud with your partner.

More Practice
EXERCISE A What don’t you know? List five things. Be sure your responses each contain words
with the diphthong [o]. Then work with a partner. Ask each other “What don’t you
know?” Answer with the things on your list.

EXAMPLE A: What don’t you know?

B: I don’t know (if Joe will go alone / how I’ll get home / when Tony
wrote the note . . .)

EXERCISE B Read the limericks aloud. Pay attention to the pronunciation of the boldfaced
words with the [o] sound.

A Young Lady Named Joan

Moe loved a young lady named Joan.
But she spent all her time on the phone.
Though Moe did propose,
It was voicemail Joan chose.
So they each lived their lives out, alone.

A Fellow Named Joe

There once was a fellow named Joe.
Who wore yellow wherever he’d go.
His clothes were so bright
You’d know him on sight.
He glowed from his head to his toe.

Practice [o] over and over and your [o] will be OK!

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