{"id":1759,"date":"2015-05-13T09:00:58","date_gmt":"2015-05-13T16:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/?p=1759"},"modified":"2020-12-10T13:46:01","modified_gmt":"2020-12-10T21:46:01","slug":"ough-words-on-the-toefl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/ough-words-on-the-toefl\/","title":{"rendered":"OUGH Words on the TOEFL"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/toefl-speaking-pronouncing-ough\/\">my last post on this subject<\/a>, I gave you two pieces of bad news about the \u201cOUGH\u201d letter combination in English. First, I told you that these letters can be pronounced six different ways. Then, I told you that there are no rules for exactly how \u201cOUGH\u201d will be pronounced in a word. You just have to memorize the pronunciation of different OUGH words.<\/p>\n<p>Now, I have some good news. There are only 17 different OUGH words in English that are possible TOEFL words. If you can memorize this short list of words, you\u2019ll be able to understand and use them on exam day. Below, I will list the 6 sounds of OUGH once more, along with the OUGH TOEFL words that have each sound. To hear the words, click the audio file underneath each of the 6 sound headings.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>OH<\/h2>\n<p>1) though (<em>variation: <\/em>although)<\/p>\n<p>2) dough (<em>variations:<\/em> doughy, doughier, doughiest, doughnut, doughs, doughlike)<\/p>\n<p>3) thorough (<em>variations<\/em>: thoroughly, thoroughness)<\/p>\n<p><iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"100\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/202523490&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;visual=true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>AUW<\/h2>\n<p>1) plough (<em>variations:<\/em> ploughed, ploughing, ploughs)<\/p>\n<p>2) drought (<em>variations:<\/em> droughts)<\/p>\n<p><iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"100\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/202524286&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;visual=true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>OTT<\/h2>\n<p>1) bought (<em>variations: <\/em>outbought, overbought, unbought, underbought)<\/p>\n<p>2) brought<\/p>\n<p>3) fought (<em>variations:<\/em> outfought\/unfought)<\/p>\n<p>4) ought<\/p>\n<p>5) sought (<em>variation: <\/em>unsought)<\/p>\n<p>6) thought (<em>variations: <\/em>forethought, outthought, rethought, thoughtful, thoughtfully, thoughtfulness, thoughtless, thoughtlessly, thoughts)<\/p>\n<p><iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"100\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/202523574&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;visual=true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>OO<\/h2>\n<p>1) through (<em>variations: <\/em>breakthrough, throughout, throughway, throughways)<\/p>\n<p><iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"100\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/202523474&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;visual=true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>OFF<\/h2>\n<p>1) cough (<em>variations: <\/em>coughs, coughing, coughed)<\/p>\n<p>2) trough (<em>variation: <\/em>troughs)<\/p>\n<p><iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"100\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/202523529&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;visual=true\"><\/iframe><br \/>\n&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>UFF<\/h2>\n<p>1) enough<\/p>\n<p>2) rough (<em>variations:<\/em> roughage, rougher, roughest, roughly, roughness)<\/p>\n<p>3) tough (<em>variations:<\/em> toughen, toughened, tougher, toughly)<\/p>\n<p><iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"100\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/202523392&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;visual=true\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>So there you have it. 6 sounds, 17 words, and 4 letters. Study all of the above carefully, and you will master the mighty OUGH on the TOEFL.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In my last post on this subject, I gave you two pieces of bad news about the \u201cOUGH\u201d letter combination in English. First, I told you that these letters can be pronounced six different ways. Then, I told you that there are no rules for exactly how \u201cOUGH\u201d will be pronounced in a word. You [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":80,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13616],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[13630],"class_list":["post-1759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-listening"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.7 (Yoast SEO v21.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>OUGH Words on the TOEFL - Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/ough-words-on-the-toefl\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"OUGH Words on the TOEFL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In my last post on this subject, I gave you two pieces of bad news about the \u201cOUGH\u201d letter combination in English. 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Additionally, he's helped students with TOEIC, PET, FCE, BULATS, Eiken, SAT, ACT, GRE, and GMAT. David has a BS and MA from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and an MA from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshEnglishLearning","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/david-recine\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCra3KQoJlOP7RYwaCyH2qew"],"knowsAbout":["TOEFL","IELTS","TOEIC","PET","FCE","BULATS","Eiken","SAT","ACT","GRE","GMAT"],"knowsLanguage":["English","Italian"],"jobTitle":"Content Creator","worksFor":"Magoosh","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/author\/davidr\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":13630,"user_id":80,"is_guest":0,"slug":"davidr","display_name":"David Recine","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b70c17ee6f3ef87dc4cc5dbdebda911d6dd30dfe15845e4b1d459a3e1b33ef98?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"","last_name":"Recine","first_name":"David","description":"David is a Test Prep Expert for Magoosh TOEFL and IELTS. Additionally, he's helped students with TOEIC, PET, FCE, BULATS, Eiken, SAT, ACT, GRE, and GMAT.\r\n\r\nDavid has a BS from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and an MA from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. His work at Magoosh has been cited in<a href=\"https:\/\/scholar.google.com\/scholar?hl=en&amp;as_sdt=0%2C50&amp;q=Recine+magoosh&amp;btnG=\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> many scholarly articles<\/a>,<a href=\"https:\/\/minds.wisconsin.edu\/handle\/1793\/65479\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> his Master's Thesis<\/a> is featured on the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.readingwithpictures.org\/2013\/09\/research-highlight-teaching-english-language-learners-with-comics\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Reading with Pictures<\/a> website, and he's presented at the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.witesol.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/2014-WITESOL-Program-FINAL-10-28-14.pdf\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> WITESOL (link to PDF)<\/a> and<a href=\"https:\/\/issuu.com\/interoff\/docs\/nafsaregionv_2014conference\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> NAFSA<\/a> conferences. David has taught K-12 ESL in South Korea as well as undergraduate English and MBA-level business English at American universities. He has also trained English teachers in America, Italy, and Peru.\r\n\r\nCome join David and the Magoosh team on<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCra3KQoJlOP7RYwaCyH2qew\"> Youtube<\/a>,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshEnglishLearning\"> Facebook<\/a>, and<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/magooshenglish\/?hl=en\"> Instagram<\/a>, or connect with him via<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/david-recine\/\"> LinkedIn<\/a>!"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/80"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1759\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1759"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=1759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}