GH: light, enough, ghost

Video Summary

There are 3 main ways to pronounce GH:

  1. GH = silent e.g. LIGHT
  2. GH = /f/ e.g. ENOUGH
  3. GH = /g/ e.g. GHOST

Examples where GH = silent:
high /haɪ/, sigh, thigh
bright /braɪt/, fight, light, might, night, right, sight, tight
height /haɪt/
weight /weɪt/
caught /kɔːt/, daughter, naughty, taught
dough /dəʊ/, although, though
through /θruː/
thorough /ʻθʌrə/
bought /bɔːt/, brought, fought, nought, thought
Hugh /hjuː/ (forgot to put this one in the video)

Examples where GH = /f/:
laugh /lɑːf/
cough /kɒf/
enough /ɪʻnʌf/, rough, tough

Examples where GH = /g/:
gherkin
ghost
ghoul

How to remember the pronunciation:

  • Just memorise the words where GH = /f/ (there are a few other rare ones, e.g. DRAUGHT)
  • Most of the other words use a silent GH 
  • When GH is at the beginning of a word, it is pronounced /g/

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