Saturday April 11th, 2009
English Pronunciation Podcast 31-
How to Pronounce Words that End in <ed> : This podcast teaches you how to pronounce words that end in <ed>, the simple past form.

In this week's podcast, we're going to learn the different ways that the <ed> ending is pronounced. This is the ending that we use in the simple past tense. Learning the proper pronunciation of <ed> is an essential part of speaking English correctly with a standard American accent.

The focus of this weeks podcast is:

• Learning the three possible pronunciations of <ed> and when to use each one
• Practicing these pronunciations in some key words

As you may already know, we use the <ed> ending to indicate the past tense of regular verbs.

Exercise: Listen to the following sentence. It contains three regular verbs in the past tense.

She worked on the weekend because she realized that she needed more money.

This sentence contains three regular verbs in the past tense. It contains the three possible pronunciations of <ed>. Notice how the pronunciation of <ed> in each word is different.

She worked on the weekend because she realized she needed the money.

In this sentence, we have: worked , realized and needed.

Exercise: Listen and repeat the three verbs in the simple past.

worked ... realized ...needed

In the verb "worked" <ed> is poronounced /t/ - /wɚrkt/

In "realized", <ed> is pronounced /d/ - /riəlaIzd/

In "needed" <ed> is pronounced /Id/  - /nidId/

This sentence demonstrates the three possible pronunciations for <ed> in the past tense.
The three possible pronunciations for <ed> are /t/, /d/, and /Id/.

How to Determine When to Use each of these Pronunciations :

Let's learn the rules for when to use each of these pronounciations of <ed>.

Rule #1: If the verb ends in a voiceless sound, <ed> is pronounced /t/.

As in the previous example, work ends in /k/. /k/ is voiceless. Our vocal folds do not vibrate when we say /k/. Therefore, we pronounce <ed> as /t/ : /wɚkt/

Rule #2: If the verb ends in a voiced sound , <ed> is pronounced /d/.

As in the previous example, "realize" ends in /z/. /z/ is a voiced consonant- our vocal folds vibrate when we say /z/. Therefore, we pronounce <ed> as d : /riəlaIzd/

*Click here if you need a list of the voiced and voiceless consonants

Rule #3: If the verb ends in< t> or <d>, <ed> is pronounced /Id /.

As in the previous example, the verb "need" ends in <d>. Therefore, <ed> is pronounced /Id/. /nidId/
Notice how this pronunciation has a vowel in it. /Id/ contains the vowel /I/. Because it contains this vowel, <ed> will add an extra syllable.
Need (1) -needed (2). want (1) wanted (2).
In the other two cases, we don't add an extra syllable, just a consonant sound, /t/ or /d/.

Avoid this Common Mistake:

I often hear English students make the mistake of adding an extra syllable to verbs like 'talk" or "change". They make the mistake of saying /tɔkId/ or /tʃeIndʒId/.
These verbs, "talk" and "change" do not end in <t> or <d>and therefore, the past tense only has one syllable.
/tɔkt/,   /tʃeIndʒd/ - the <e> is silent.
Students often comment that a word like <changed> sounds like it has two syllables but actually it does not . The <ed> ending in <changed>does not have a vowel sound. According to the rules of English pronunciation, without a vowel, there can be no syllable.

Exercise: Pronunciation of <ed> in verbs that end in a voiceless sound. (rule #1)

Listen and repeat the following pairs of words. The first word is the verb in its simple form. The second is the verb in its simple past with the <ed> ending. Because they end in a voiceless sound, the <ed> will be pronounced as /t/ with no extra syllable.

Simple Form... ..... Past tense <ed> pronounced as /t/

like...                        liked /laIkt/

kiss...                       kissed /kIst/

push...                     pushed /pʊʃt/

laugh...                    laughed /læft/

help...                      helped   /hɛlpt/

Exercise: Prononunciation of <ed> in verbs that end in a voiced sound. (rule#2)

Listen and repeat the following pairs of words.
The first word is the verb in its simple form. The second is the verb in its simple past with the<ed> ending. < ed> will be pronounced as /d/ with no extra syllable because these verbs end in voiced sounds.

Simple Form... ..... Past tense: <ed> pronounced as /d/

rob                       robbed /rabd/

hug                     hugged /həgd/

call                      called /kɔld/

love                     loved /ləvd/

charge                charged /tʃardʒd/

agree                  agreed /əgrid/

Exercise: Pronunciation of <ed> in verbs that end in < t> or <d>.

Listen and repeat the following pairs of words.
The first word is the verb in its simple form. The second is the verb in its simple past with the <ed> ending. <ed> will be pronounced as /Id/ with an extra syllable.

Simple Form ....   Past tense: <ed> pronounced as /Id/

need                      needed /nidId/

add                        added /ædId/

want                     wanted /wɔtId/

attend                   attended /ətɛndId/

react                     reacted /riæktId/

Now that you've learned the rules for pronouncing <ed> in the past tense, you may have realized that you've been pronouncing some words incorrectly.

At the same time, you may have realized that you've learned the pronunciaton of <ed> naturally "by ear" in many cases. Maybe you just picked it up.
If you can remember the pronunciation of <ed> endings naturally , instinctually, without thinking about the rules, that's good!

But at the same time, it's also good to know the rules which English pronunciation follows.
That way, when you encounter a new word, you will have a point of reference to guide you in the right direction.
You might also discover that you have been pronouncing some past tense verbs incorrectly. These rules will make you aware of your mistakes and how to correct them.

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Thank you and see you next time!

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