Diphthong OW/OU at a glance:
- Words with ou sound include shout, cloud, found
- Words with ow sound include cow, down, crowd
Spelling Frequencies:
- ou - 66%
- ow - 34%
Rare Spelling Patterns:
- ough (drought)
Common Spelling Generalisations or Patterns:
- English words do not end in ‘i’ or ‘u’. Vowel teams that end in ‘i’ or ‘u’ will not be found at the end of words.
- ou is usually used in the beginning or middle of a word or syllable e.g. out, cloud, trout
- ow is usually used at the end of a word or syllable e.g. cow, now, flower, powder
- When /ow/ is followed by a single ‘n’ or ‘l’ at the end of a base word, it’s usually spelled ow e.g. down, frown, howl, growl, flower, tower