Eight Different Ways to Pronounce "ough" There are eight different ways to pronounce "ough". In the photo below shows a sentence with all these different eight pronunciations. I agree that English is difficult. Too many exceptions ranging from spelling; singular and plural forms; and of course different forms of tenses. However, I would rather remove the place name of "Scarborough" and have the sentence changed to, "The thoroughly rough-coated, dough face ploughman strode through the streets, coughing and hiccoughing thoughtfully"