How to Say It..."-ed"

The Sound of the "-ed" Ending of the Past Tense of Regular Verbs:

Is it difficult to remember how to say words like ''played'' or "liked" or ''harmed"?  Don't feel bad; it is sometimes difficult for native English speaking children to remember.  Do you want some rules which might make it easier to know when the sound of "-ed" changes?
Well, here's the "rules":

OK, before we begin, let's review the rule for forming the past tense of regular verbs.   You need to add "ed" to the infinitive form of the verb (In English, the infinitive form is the same as the present tense form):

So, "pray" becomes "prayed", "clap" becomes "clapped"  "kill" becomes "killed", and "fit" becomes "fitted", etc...(Notice in some examples you must add an extra letter before adding "ed".   See HERE for the rules for doubling the final consonant.)

When the verb ends in an "e", you add only "d", so "plane" becomes "planed", "fade" becomes "faded", etc...

Now, for the pronunciation rules-   

To speak the past tense correctly, do this:

1. When the last sound (not the last letter) in the present tense verb is either "t" or "d", then the -ed ending sounds like "id" like in "did".

Examples:

trade/traded (Note! The last sound in "trade" is "d"

since the final "e" which follows a consonant is always

silent!)

pat/patted

bat/batted

want/wanted

need/needed

decide/decided

invited/invited

(Remember! This rule is for verbs that end in "t" or "d" ONLY. The following rules are for verbs that do NOT END in "t" or "d".)

2. When the last sound in the verb is "voiced", then the -ed ending sounds like "d". Note! "D" is also a "voiced" sound!

What is a "voiced" sound? Notice the letters "b", "g", "j", "l", "m", "n", "r", "v" "w", "z", and "th" (as in That), "dg", and all vowel sounds. You must use your voice, or your vocal cords, to make the sounds of these letters, and your throat vibrates when you use them.

With this rule, the written -ed ending looks like an extra syllable, but is not spoken as a separate syllable. So, the "e" is silent, and it sounds like you only added a "d" to the word!

Examples:

bribe/bribed (brib'd)

dream/dreamed (dream'd)

enjoy/enjoyed (enjoy'd)

marry/married (marri'd)

save/saved (sav'd)

clean/cleaned (clean'd)

dredge/dredged (dredg'd)

3. When the last sound in the verb is "unvoiced", then the -ed ending sounds like "t". Note! "T" is also an "unvoiced" sound!

Which sounds are "unvoiced"? Notice the letters "c", "f", "h", "k", "p", "q", "s", "x", and also "sh", "ch", "ph", "th" (as in "thin"). You do not use your voice or vocal cords to make these sounds, only your mouth parts and your breath.

With this rule, the -ed ending is also not spoken as a separate syllable. The "e" is also silent; it sounds like you only added a "t" to the word!

Examples:

kick/kicked (kick't)

kiss/kissed (kiss't)

trip/tripped (tripp't)

wish/wished (wish't)

hope/hoped (hope't)

switch/switched (switch't)

Rules #2 and #3 are particularly difficult for many non-native speakers to remember and also to pronounce. I can only recommend reviewing these rules and practicing making these sounds.

It might help if you can remember:

* "ed" always sounds like the voiced letter "d" when it is added after a voiced sound except "d" or "t", and:

* "ed " aways sounds like the unvoiced letter "t" when it is added after an unvoiced sound except "t" or "d", and:

* ed always sounds like "id" after the letters "t" or "d".

Note! These rules apply for the past tense verb form ending in "ed". Other words ending in "ed" such as "beloved", rugged", "wicked", etc. (which are adjectives), are usually pronounced as they are spelled. This usually also includes past tense (past participle) verb forms being used as adjectives, such as: "blessed", "aged", "learned", "dogged", etc.

The videos HERE and HERE might help with these rules and your pronunciation. The website HERE has an audio explanation with a printed lesson.

*********************************************