Lesson 16:
Short
O Sound
(not, off, socks)
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The
short O sound can be found in American English words such as: dog, log,
socks, off, on, top, and pot.
In American English, the short O sound is pronounced as a lax
mid-back rounded vowel. It is the same as the soft A
sound that you hear in "jaw" and "father."
This sound is not as common in British English. They use a slightly different
sound. In British English, words like "dog" are pronounced as low
back rounded vowels with the IPA symbol ɒ.
In English, short vowel sounds are more
difficult to learn than long vowel sounds. Take time to form the sound correctly.
Listen to many different examples by native English speakers.
Short O words
Short O at the beginning of a word:
Sometimes, the short O sound comes at the beginning
of a word. Practice saying these words that begin with the short O sound. (The
short O sound is in bold.)
1) off
2) on
3) onto
4) octopus
5) otter
6) October
7) olive
Short O in the middle of a word:
Most of the time, the short O sound comes in the
middle of a word. Practice saying these words that have a short O in the
middle. (The short O sound is in bold.)
1) got
2) pot
3) top
4) pop
5) hot
6) rot
7) crop
8) lot
9) cop
10) job
11) frog
12) sock
13) robin
14) mop
15) moth
16) doll
17) dolphin
18) stop
19) rob
20) drop
Now say these sentences out loud (the short O
sounds are bold):
1) Stop!
Drop a lot on top!
2) The robin flew off.
3) The moth landed on the hot bulb.
4) The dolphin swam away in October.
5) He has a job as a cop.
7) Tom got a lot of socks.
8) The frog hopped on the top.
9) The octopus stopped over there.
10) I like olives a lot!
11) Bob got onto the bicycle.
12) The dogs and otters were playing.
13) Stop! Look both ways before you cross the street!
14) I will crop the picture on top.
15) She made hair for the doll from a mop.
17) Turn the lights on and off.
18) The mop was a prop for the movie.
19) I got a dog!
20) He got off the bus on my street.
Have you finished them all? Cool!
Well done! You have completed
the Short O sound lesson.
Let's move on...