English is definitely one of those languages where what you see is NOT what you get.
Look at the words though, thought and tough.
All have the ‘ough’ spelling, but the words don’t rhyme.
Why? You guessed it! Because each word is pronounced differently.
If you ever felt confused by these words, today’s video is definitely going to help.
TRANSCRIPT
Hi there! It’s Hadar and this is the Accent’s Way – your way to finding clarity, confidence, and freedom in English.
Eduardo asked me to explain the difference between the words: though, thought, and tough. Now, they all look the same with those O’s, U-G-H’s, but they sound differently.
So let’s explain the difference between the three. The word ‘though’ begins with a strong ‘th’ sound – “th” and then the “O-U-G-H” stands for the ‘oh’ as and ‘go’. So basically, it’s only two sounds “th-ow”, “thow” “thow”.
The word ‘thought’, although you only add a T at the end but the vowel is different. In this case, the “O-U-G-H” stands for the ‘ah’ as in ‘father’ vowel. The ‘th’ is a soft ‘th’, so the tongue comes out and only air is passing – “th” – then you open it to an ‘ah’ sound – thaa” – and you end it with a very subtle T: “thaat” “thaat”. “Though”. “Thought”.
The third word is ‘tough’. So in this case we begin with a strong T sound it’s not a “th” – “T” “T” “T” – and the “O-U-G-H” stands for “uh” “uh”. And then it ends with an F sound. So the “G-H” actually represents the F – “tuhf” “tuhf” “tuhf”. “Though.” “Thought.” “Tough.” Alright? Good!
Very simple, when you think about it. Right? Go ahead and practice it and don’t forget to subscribe if you haven’t yet.
Also, if you like this video, please share it with your friends and I will see you next week in the next video. Bye!
Next week, we’ll complete this lesson by comparing the words: ‘through’ and ‘thorough’.
Got any more interesting pairs?
Write them down in the comments below!
Have a great week,
xoxo
Hadar
7 Responses
Thank you very much, so happy to hear!
Hello, Hadar. You cannot imagine how much you are helping me with your videos. This is only to say you: Thank you!!!!
Dear Hadar
Many thanks for the videos you sent to me, they’ve helped me to understand and practice the pronunciation definitely.
By the way could you please help me to pronounce the words with ch and tch?
Best regards
Rozanna
hmm… Might take a little longer. I’ll try to upload a quick tutorial on my FB page for you.
I asked you a question about pronunciation how to pronounce inability when would you publish that video
Nice to have videos this makes me feel confident to speak freely