CHAPTER 27

Using oe, ow, oa

The long o sound can be spelled in a number of ways, for example, throat, throne, though, throw, hoe,

limbo, etc.

(^) Historical footnote:
The ancient Celts used the w much as we use the u, and the spelling still exists in modern Welsh. For
example, cwm is a word that means a small valley. Although cwm is the only word of its type left in our
dictionaries, it is quite popular in Welsh place names, and its English variation, combe, is very common
in England.
Spelling rule #1: The most common spelling is the use of the silent e to modify the o.
(^) In a smaller group are words that end in a simple o:
(^) Another small group consists of those words that end in oe:
Spelling rule #2: The combination ow is usually used at the end of words. It does not change with
suffixes or compounds.
(^) One exception to the rule is bowl, which used to be spelled boule.
The only commonly used words that begin with ow are own and owe and their derivatives.
Spelling rule #3: The combination oa is usually used in the middle of words:
(^) There are very few commonly used words that begin with oa, and only one that ends with oa.
(^) There are a few words that spell the long o as ou:
(^) Note that there are also a few words that manage to produce the o sound in even more interesting ways: