Decoding exercises: "eo"

The letter combination "eo" has several different pronunciations. This article sets out some words teachers can use to help their students become more aware of the differences.

"eo" as one syllable

 * /iː/: people
 * /ɔː/ George - Georgia
 * //: Geoffrey - jeopardy - Leonard - leopard
 * /ə/: dungeon - luncheon - surgeon
 * "eou" as /ə/: advantageous - courageous - gorgeous - outrageous - righteous

"eo" in two different syllables

 * /iːəʊ/: deodorant - Leo - Romeo - stereo - video
 * /iːɒ/: neon
 * disciplines: archeology - choreography - geography - geology - geometry - theology


 * /iːə/: Leonardo - leotard
 * "eou" as /iːə/: courteous - erroneous - hideous - homogeneous - instantaneous - miscellaneous - simultaneous - spontaneous


 * Two words written together
 * moreover - someone

Variant pronunciations

 * chameleon /kəˈmiːliːən, kəˈmiːljən/
 * meteor /ˈmiːtiːər, ˈmiːtiːˌɔːr/
 * nauseous /ˈnɔːziːəs, ˈnɔːsiːəs, ˈnɔːʃəs/
 * /ɪə, iːə/: theorem - theoretical - theory
 * /ɪ, ə/: pigeon

Homophones

 * pidgin - pigeon

Respellings

 * Def Leppard
 * "Lenny" is a nickname for "Leonard"