Speaking Pronunciation

Pronunciation of the (e)d ending

IMPORTANT!!!!!

NEVER pronounce /ed/!!! pronounce a /t/ or a /d/ instead!

Whenever you see a word ending in ed, visualize the e as crossed out, if you want to
increase your chances of pronouncing it correctly!
(Practice this visualization technique as you read aloud stories, news, poems...)

The way we pronounce the ed ending depends on the last consonant sound of the base form
of the verb (infinitive). First you need to learn the difference between voiced and unvoiced
sounds:
Which consonants are voiced (your chords vibrate) and voiceless (your chords do not vibrate)? You
can do the following exercise:

Say "Ahhhhhh"
Feel your throat with your fingers until you find the exact place where the vibration comes from.
That place is where your vocal chords are.
Say different vowels. All vowels, both in Spanish and English, are VOICED, which means, our vocal
chords vibrate when they are pronounced.
Is your hand in the correct place? OK then, now, to the consonants.
Being careful of not saying any kind of vowel sound, say /k/
Your vocal chords don't vibrate, so /k/ is a voiceless sound.
Say /v/. Your vocal chords vibrate, so /v/ is a voiced sound.
Pronounce this (both): ask - asked. Did you say "askd" or "askt"? The first one is IMPOSSIBLE or very
difficult to pronounce. The sound /k/ is voiceless, thats why the sound in the -ed ending is
pronounced as a /t/ (voiceless dental).
Pronounce this (both): receive - received. Did you say "risiivd" or "risiivt"? The first one is CORRECT.
Because /v/ is voiced (vibrates), the dental sound in the -ed ending is pronounced as a /d/ (voiced
dental).

There are 3 ways of pronouncing the ed ending depending on its preceding vowel or
consonant:
1) You pronounce /d/ (voiced dental sound) if the last sound in the infinitive form is a vowel
or a voiced consonant (your chords vibrate).
-

All the vowels!

play - played /pleid/ NEVER "pleilled"!!!
stay - stayed /steid/ NEVER "steied"!!!
argue - argued /aargiud/ NEVER "argued"!!!
continue - continued /kontiniud/ NEVER "kontinued"!!!
1

Speaking Pronunciation

And verbs/adjectives ending in voiced consonants (your chords vibrate):

Plumb-plumbed, change-changed, judge-judged, log-logged, fill- filled, jam-jammed,

Pin-pinned, bore-bored, receive-received, buzz-buzzed (this is no zeta sound, but a voiced
s)
is voiced, but its usually at the beginning of words: the, these, this, that...

2) You pronounce /t/ (voiceless dental sound) if the last sound in the infinitive form is a
voiceless consonant:
watch watched, laugh laughed, ask asked, stop stopped, pass passed, wash washed
is voiceless, but I can't think of verbs/adjs ending in this sound! (through, thin...)

Notice that it would be really difficult to pronounce a /d/ sound with these words:
stopped /stpd/ asked /skd/
3) With infinitives that end in a dental sound - a /d/ or a /t/ you pronounce /id/
Start started /st(r)tid/, demand demanded /dmndid/
- you need a vowel support /i/ that separates the first dental from the second, so that it is
clear you are expressing a past.

/d/

IF YOU HAVE NO TIME TO WORK THE RULES OUT, PLEASE TRY TO PRONOUNCE A
or a /t/, make it clear to the listener that you are not using a present or infinitive form!
I strongly recommend practicing regularly by reading verb forms out loud, and forming short
sentences; you can start by practicing with the following exercises:

Speaking Pronunciation

1. After considering the pronunciation of the ed ending, copy in the corresponding column the
verbs below.
Pronunciation of the <-ed> ending (regular past simple, past participle)
/t/
/d/
/id/

argued
asked
attacked
boiled
booked
changed
closed
composed
cooked
decided
helped
escaped

finished
listened
liked
opened
played
received
rented
smiled
started
stayed
imagined
studied

worked looked
loved
murdered
needed
talked
wanted
washed
wished
happened
hated

2. Now practice reading the following sentences aloud, add your own examples using the verbs from the
list above.
Weve accepted your loan request.
Theyve rejected our offer.
Were not allowed to be here, you know?
I arranged our stay abroad about six moths in advanced.
They asked me if I was ok.
We attended a meeting which was rather boring.
Hes believed to have worked in this company before.
I got blamed for something I didnt do.
I locked the door so that they could not get in.
The girl brushed her teeth because she had to.
She combed her hair.
I never called back.
I cashed my check yesterday.
Injuries caused by earthquakes are not covered.
They charged us far too much, really.
We cleaned the sitting-room, that was all.
We were concerned about you.

Source: talkingpeople.com