Year 1 English: The letters ou and ere in tricky words
Part of the Year 1 English tricky words chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page · Download worksheet (PDF) · Answers (PDF)
The letters ou and ere in tricky words
The letters ou make three sounds in tricky words. In you they make the sound in moon. In our and house they make the sound in cow. In your they make the sound in door.
The letters ere also make three sounds: here says the sound in ear, there and where say the sound in hair, and were says the sound in her.
Key ideas
- The ou in you says the sound in moon.
- The ou in our and house says the sound in cow.
- The ere in here says the sound in ear.
- The ere in there and where says the sound in hair.
Method. Look at the end of house, then think about the sound it makes.
- Look at the last letter. The e at the end is at the end of house.house: last letter e
- Say the word. The ou says the sound in cow, and the e is quiet.the e does not make a sound
- Write the answer. e
Check. House has the same ou sound as cow. The e is quiet. ✓
Watch out. Quiet letters are written but not said.
Method. Say the whole word, then find the letters that are missing.
- Say the whole word. Read every letter in order.here
- Look at the empty box. The box stands for 3 letter(s).3 missing letter(s)
- Write the missing letters. The ere makes the “eer” sound, as in “ear”. It does not make the “air” sound in “hair”.ere
Check. Put ere back into the box and read the word: here. ✓
Watch out. Write the tricky letters exactly as they are in the word.
Method. Say each word, then look at what the ou makes in it.
- Look at you. The ou says the sound in moon.you: oo, as in moon
- Look at our. The ou says the sound in cow.our: ow, as in cow
- Write the answer. The ou in you does not say the sound in cow.No. The ou in you is different.
Check. Moon and cow are different sounds. ✓
Watch out. Look at the sound, not only the letters.
Watch out
Watch out: here, there and where look alike, but here says the sound in ear, and there and where say the sound in hair.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Use a map, or point to places in the room. Say: “Put the toy here. Put it there.” Then ask your child to write the word for each place.
Exercise 4E The letters ou and ere
Method. Compare the sound with the example word.
- Find the tricky part. It is the unusual letters.ou
- Find its sound. Each tricky part has one sound.you: the sound in “moon”
- Compare with the claim. The claim says the sound in “moon”.The same sound
- Write the answer. True
Check. The note says: The ou makes the “oo” sound, as in “moon”.
Watch out. Check the example word, not the spelling.
Method. Read the whole sentence. Which word makes sense in the gap, and is spelled with its tricky part?
- Read the sentence with the gap. Think what the sentence means.Is this ___ bag?
- Find the word that fits. Your means belonging to you.your
- Write the word. Spell the tricky part exactly.your
Check. Put your in the gap and read the sentence again. It makes sense. ✓
Watch out. The ou makes the “or” sound, as in “door”, in many English accents. The y at the start makes the “y” sound, as in “yes”.
Method. Look at the end of the word.
- Look at the last letter of house. The last letter is e.house: last letter e
- Say the word. The ou says the sound in cow, and the e does not make a sound.the e is quiet
- Write the answer. e
Check. House ends in e, and the e is quiet. ✓
Watch out. Quiet letters are written, but we do not say them.
Method. Say the whole word, then find the letters that are missing.
- Say the whole word. Read every letter in order.here
- Look at the empty box. The box stands for 3 letter(s).3 missing letter(s)
- Write the missing letters. The ere makes the “eer” sound, as in “ear”. It does not make the “air” sound in “hair”.ere
Check. Put ere back into the box and read the word: here. ✓
Watch out. Write the tricky letters exactly as they are in the word.
Method. Read the whole sentence. Which word makes sense in the gap, and is spelled with its tricky part?
- Read the sentence with the gap. Think what the sentence means.I live ___ with Mum and Dad.
- Find the word that fits. Here means in this place.here
- Write the word. Spell the tricky part exactly.here
Check. Put here in the gap and read the sentence again. It makes sense. ✓
Watch out. The ere makes the “eer” sound, as in “ear”. It does not make the “air” sound in “hair”.
Method. Think about which word asks about a place.
- Look at the words. Where asks about a place, as in Where is it?where = a place
- Check the other words. Were is the past of are. Here means in this place.were, here
- Write the answer. where
Check. Where is it? Here, or there? ✓
Watch out. Where has a w at the start. Ask it with a question mark.
Method. Read the whole sentence. Which word makes sense in the gap, and is spelled with its tricky part?
- Read the sentence with the gap. Think what the sentence means.They ___ at the party yesterday.
- Find the word that fits. Were is the past of are, for more than one person.were
- Write the word. Spell the tricky part exactly.were
Check. Put were in the gap and read the sentence again. It makes sense. ✓
Watch out. The ere makes the “ur” sound, as in “her”. It does not make the “eer” sound in “ear”.
Method. Find the place B on the map, then fill the gap with a word for that place.
- Find A and B on the map. Mum is at A. The park is at B.A and B
- Say where B is. The park is over to the right, away from Mum. We say it is over there.over there
- Write the answer. there
Check. Here is where Mum is, and there is where the park is. ✓
Watch out. Here is where you are. There is a different place.
Method. Compare the wrong spelling with the word we want.
- Look at “thair”. Compare it with the word there.thair is not right
- Find the tricky part. The tricky letters must be written exactly.The tricky part is ere
- Write the word correctly. there
Check. Read your answer. Does it match the word there? ✓
Watch out. The ere makes the “air” sound, as in “hair”. It does not make the “eer” sound in “ear”.
Method. Find the odd one out by its sound.
- Look at house and our. Both have the ou sound in cow.house, our: ow
- Look at you. The ou in you says the sound in moon.you: oo
- Write the odd one out. you
Check. House and our share the same sound. You is different. ✓
Watch out. Compare the sounds of the ou, not the whole word.
Method. Say were, then say here.
- Say were. The ere says the ur sound, as in her.were: ur, as in her
- Say here. The ere in here says the eer sound, as in ear.here: eer, as in ear
- Write the reason. The ere says the ur sound, as in her, not the eer sound in ear.
Check. Were and here look alike, but the sounds are different. ✓
Watch out. Look at the sound, not only the spelling.