How to Pronounce -ed verb endings: American English Pronunciation

Today I’m going to talk about how to pronounce the past tense of regular verbs.

Regular verbs take the -ed ending in the past.

There are three different ways to pronounced the -ed.

How you pronounce it depends on the final sound of the verb in the infinitive form.

When the final sound of the verb in infinitive form is an unvoiced consonant sound,

then the -ed is also pronounced as an unvoiced consonant, and that is the tt, T sound.

For example, the word ‘pack’.

When you add the -ed, it becomes packed because the kk sound is unvoiced.

Other unvoiced sounds are pp, ff, ss, ch, sh, and th.

So any regular verbs that ends in one of these sounds

will have the -ed pronounced as the tt T sound.

The second case is when the final sound of the infinite verb

is a voiced consonant or a vowel or diphthong sound.

In this case the -ed is pronounced as the dd D sound, a voiced consonant.

For example, the verb ‘to save’.

The final sound is the vv V, voiced consonant sound,

so the -ed will take the dd, voiced D sound ending. Saved, saved.

Other voiced sounds are vv, bb, gg, th [e], zz, zh, rr, mm, nn , ng, ll.

So any regular verb ending in one of these consonant sounds,

or a vowel or diphthong sound, will take the dd sound when the -ed is added.

The final case is when the verb in the infinitive form ends in either a D or T sound.

In this case, the ending is pronounced with the ‘ih’ as in ‘sit’ vowel and the D sound.

For example, the verb ‘to land’.

It ends with the D sound, so the past tense of this regular verb is landed. -ed,

with the ‘ih’ as in ‘sit’ and the D sound. Landed.

Now we will look at some regular verbs.

Based on the information you just heard,

you should now be able to tell how the -ed will be pronounced.

How do you pronounce this word?

The final sound of the verb in the infinitive form ‘to bake’ is the K sound.

It’s unvoiced. Therefore the -ed is pronounced tt, unvoiced, with the T sound. Baked, baked.

How do you pronounce this word? In the infinitive, the final sound is the dd D sound.

Therefore it is case three,

ended, where the -ed is pronounced with the ‘ih’ as in ‘sit’ and the D sound. Ended.

How do you pronounce this word?

The final sound of the verb in infinitive form is the N consonant sound.

This is a voiced consonant.

Therefore it is case two where the -ed is pronounced as the D sound. Leaned, leaned.

How do you pronounce this word?

The infinitive form ‘to believe’ ends in the vv V consonant sound, which is voiced.

Therefore it is again case two, where the -ed is pronounced as the D sound. Believed.

How do you pronounce this word?

The final sound in infinitive form is sh, the unvoiced SH sound.

Since it is unvoiced, it is case one, where the -ed is pronounced as the T. Washed, washed.

How do you pronounce this sound?

In the infinitive, the final sound of the verb is pp, P, which is unvoiced.

Therefore it is case one, and the -ed is pronounced as a T. Flipped, flipped.

How do you pronounce this sound?

The final sound in the infinitive is the N consonant sound, nn, which is voiced.

Therefore it is case two, where the -ed is pronounced as the D sound. Turned, turned.

How do you pronounce this verb?

The final sound in the infinitive is the ‘ee’ as in ‘she’ vowel sound.

Since it is a vowel, it must be case two,

where the -ed is pronounced as the D sound. Carried, carried.

How do you pronounce this verb? The final infinitive sound is ss, the S sound.

That is unvoiced, so it is case one where the -ed is pronounced as the T sound. Missed, missed.

How do you pronounce this word?

The final infinitive sound is the tt T sound.

This means it is case three

where the -ed is pronounced as the ‘ih’ as in ‘sit’ with the D sound. Punted, punted.

How do you pronounce this word?

The final sound in the infinitive is the M consonant sound, mm; it is voiced.

Therefore it is case two and the -ed is pronounced as the D. Bummed. Bummed.

How do you pronounce this sound? The final sound in the infinitive is ff, the unvoiced F sound.

Since it is unvoiced, it is case one,

where the -ed is pronounced as the tt T sound. Laughed, laughed. How do you pronounce this word?

The final sound in the infinitive is the ‘ai’ as in ‘buy’ diphthong.

Therefore it is case two and the -ed is pronounced as the D sound. Shied, shied.

How do you pronounce this word?

The final sound of the infinitive form of the verb is the tt, T sound.

Therefore it is case three,

where the -ed is pronounced as the ‘ih’ as in ‘sit’ with the D sound. Rested, rested.

How do you pronounce this word?

The final sound of the verb in infinitive form is ch: that is an unvoiced consonant sound.

Therefore it is case one where the -ed is pronounced as the T sound. Watched, watched.

How do you pronounce this word?

The final sound of the verb in the infinitive form is the dd, D sound.

Therefore it is case three，

where the -ed is pronounced as the ‘ih’ as in ‘sit’ with the D sound. Needed, needed.

Congratulations! Now you know how to pronounce regular verbs in the past tense.