English is a language that is fascinated by most people. Beginners are quite enthusiastic to learn and understand the language. Well, learning is not so difficult if you are good at grammar and pronunciation.
In English grammar, the vowel teams are probably one of the most common and easy sources of reading. Moreover, you can get a complete idea of the spellings and how they are pronounced.
What are Vowel Teams?
Vowel teams are formed when two or more vowels stick together to form a sound or to make a sound. You can think of vowels sounds such as
- Rain
- Play
- Green
- Key
- Goat
- Boil
Vowel Teams Syllable Words List
Following is a list of words formed with vowel teams:
| Vowel Team | Words |
| oo = /oo/ | Afternoon, Baboon, Balloon, Caboose, Cartoon, Cocoon, Foolish, Kangaroo, Lagoon, Maroon, Monsoon, Mushroom, Platoon, Poodle, Raccoon, Shampoo, Typhoon |
| ou = /oo/ | Acoustic, Bouquet, Caribou, Cougar, Routine, Souvenir, Uncouth |
| ow, oa = /?/ | Approach, Borrow, Charcoal, Cocoa, Elbow, Fellow, Follow, Hollow, Marshmallow, Meadow, Minnow, Narrow, Oatmeal, Pillow, Reproach, Shadow, Shallow, Sparrow, Tomorrow, Willow, Window, Yellow |
| ow, ou = /ow/ | Account, Allow, Announce, Around, Astound, Compound, Council, Counter, County, Discount, Drowsy, Flounder, Flower, Fountain, Lousy, Mountain Powder Power, Profound, Pronounce, Rowdy, Scoundrel, Surround, Thousand, Towel, Tower, Trousers, Vowel |
| oy, oi = /oi/ | Annoy, Appoint, Avoid, Boycott, Corduroy, Destroy, Embroider, Employ, Enjoy, Exploit, Loyal, Moisture, Ointment, Oyster, Poison, Rejoice, Royal, Sirloin, Turmoil, Turquoise, Voyage |
| ou = /? / | Enormous, Famous, Generous, Marvelous, Nervous, Numerous |
Teaching Vowel Team
Following is a list of common vowel teams set along with their key phrase and keywords.
- ow -2 sounds. The key phrase is Snow Plow.
- ea – 3 sounds. The key phrase is Eat Bread & Steak.
- au – 1 sound. The keyword is laundry. We usually find au in the middle of a word or syllable.
- aw – 1 sound. The keyword is a yawn. We can find aw in the middle or at the end of a word or syllable.
- ie – 2 sounds. The key phrase is Pie and Cookies.
- ei – 2 sounds. The key phrase is The Reindeer Receives.
- ui – 1 sound. It says /u/ like in fruit.
- ue – 2 sounds. The key phrase is Don’t Argue About the Glue.
- ew – 2 sounds. The key phrase is Pew the Stew Smells Gross.
- eu – 1 sound. It says /u/ like in sleuth.
- igh – 1 sound. It says /i/ like in night.
- eigh – 1 sound. It says /a/ like in eight.
You will come across 25 standard vowels teams that need to be taught very carefully.
The concept of vowel team and how they are used can be a bit confusing at the start but all you have to do is stick to the given rules.
Rules to Correctly Use Vowel Teams
Let’s get to know some vowel team rules which will help you get a better understanding how they are used.
- ‘Ai’ – It is found in the middle of the word or syllable. It will make one sound.
- ‘Ay’ – It is found at the end of the word or syllable. This vowel team also makes one sound.
- ‘Ee’ – This vowel team is found at the end of the word or syllable. It will make ‘e’ sound.
- ‘Oa’ / ‘oe’ – It will make the sound of goat or toe and found in the middle of the word or syllable.
- ‘Oi’ – It will make just one sound and basically found in the middle of the word or syllable. For instance – Poison.
- ‘Oy’ – Here the keyword would be “Destroy”. This vowel team is also found at the end of the word or syllable.
- ‘Oo’ – To know the pronunciation of these words, you need to understand the keywords – Look or moon. This vowel team will make 2 sounds.
- ‘Ou’ – The vowel team here function by making 2 sounds just like the key phrase – ‘Trout Soup’.
- ‘Ow’ – Once again you would get to know about the vowel team that make 2 sound. Here the key phrase for your reference would be Snow, Plow.
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