Diphthongs ou and ow

Read the 'ow' sound spelled ou and ow, as in cloud and crowd.

Another diphthong is the sound you make when you say 'ow! ' after bumping your knee. Your mouth glides from 'ah' toward 'oo'. It is spelled two main ways: 'ou', as in cloud, mouth, and count, and 'ow', as in cow, crowd, and flower. Like oi and oy, there is a position pattern. 'Ou' usually comes in the middle of a syllable, before a consonant.

'Ow' often comes at the end of a syllable or before a final n or l: now, how, brown, growl. Read this: 'A loud crowd gathered around the brown tower downtown. ' Notice ou in loud and around, and ow in crowd, brown, tower, and down. Both spell the same sound.

• 1ou and ow can both spell the 'ow' sound.
• 2ou often in the middle of a syllable (cloud).
• 3ow at the end or before final n or l (cow, brown, growl).