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Pronouce Past Simple

The document explains the three different pronunciations of the "-ed" ending in past tense English verbs: as [t], [d], or [ɪd]/[əd]. It states that the pronunciation depends on whether the final sound of the verb is voiced or voiceless. Verbs ending in voiceless sounds take an "-ed" ending pronounced as [t], verbs ending in voiced sounds take an "-ed" ending pronounced as [d], and verbs ending in [t] or [d] take an "-ed" ending pronounced as [ɪd] or [əd]. Examples are provided to illustrate the three rules.

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98 views

Pronouce Past Simple

The document explains the three different pronunciations of the "-ed" ending in past tense English verbs: as [t], [d], or [ɪd]/[əd]. It states that the pronunciation depends on whether the final sound of the verb is voiced or voiceless. Verbs ending in voiceless sounds take an "-ed" ending pronounced as [t], verbs ending in voiced sounds take an "-ed" ending pronounced as [d], and verbs ending in [t] or [d] take an "-ed" ending pronounced as [ɪd] or [əd]. Examples are provided to illustrate the three rules.

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oxygenleaves
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© © All Rights Reserved
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-ed in the Past tense [t], [d] or [Id]?

You may have noticed that in English, past tense verbs with an -ed ending are
pronounced in three different ways:
[t]
[d]
[Id]
For example, if I say the past tense verb walked, as in, I walked away, what is
the last sound that you hear in the verb?
Walked [wakt]
1) The -ed verb ending sounds like a [t], Walked [wakt], even though it ends in the
letter d.
What do you hear when I say:
smelled, as in, it smelled bad.
2) The -ed verb ending sounds like a [d]: smelled [smeld]
And when I say, visited, as in I visited New York City, how did I pronounce that
-ed ending?
[Id] [vizitid].
3) The -ed verb ending sounds like [d], [vizitid].
*******
This lesson teaches you the three rules that explain the differences in past tense
verb -ed pronunciation. But dont be surprised if most Americans cant explain
these rules to you! The truth is, Americans make these changes in sound without
even noticing.
Why the Sound Changes
Place your fingertips on the front of your neck, and pronounce the following words.
What do you feel on your fingers when you say the underlined sound?
vow | fake (vvv | fff)
zebra | snake (zzz | sss)

> When we pronounce voiced sounds, our vocal chords vibrate when we say those
sounds. [v] [z]. Did you feel the vibration?
> When we pronounce voiceless sounds, our vocal chords do not vibrate. [f] [s]. No
vibration.
This vibration or lack of vibration then carries forward to the following sound in the
word. Therefore, this vibration or lack of vibration explains why we pronounce the
past tense of verbs in three voiced or voiceless ways: [t], [d] or [Id].
1) [t] final sound
Verbs ending in voiceless sounds [p, k, , f, s, , t] cause the -ed ending to be
pronounced as the voiceless [t] (with no vocal chord vibration).
Listen and Repeat
[p] He popped a balloon. [papt]
[k] They talked a lot [takt]
[] th: She frothed a cup of milk [frawt]
[f] I laughed at the movie. [lft]
[s] She kissed a frog. [kIst]
[] sh: We brushed it off. [brut]
[t] ch: I reached around for it. [riytt]

2) [d] final sound


Verbs ending in the voiced sounds [b, g, , v, z, , d, m, n, , r, l] cause the -ed
ending to be pronounced as a voiced [d].
Listen and Repeat
[b] It bobbed up and down. [babd]
[g] He begged her to stay. [bgd]
[] She breathed loudly. [briyd]
[v] They loved it. [luvd]
[z] We raised her expectations. [reyzd]
[d] They bridged the gap. [brIdd]

[m] I claimed it was mine. [kleymd]


[n] They banned new members. [bnd]
[] She banged into the chair. [bd]
[r] He cleared it up. [kliyrd]
[l] I rolled up the paper. [rowld]

3) [d] or [d] final sound


Verbs ending in the sounds [t] or [d] will cause the -ed ending of a verb to be
pronounced as the syllable [d] or [d].
Listen and Repeat
[t] I visited the Empire State Building. [vztd]
[t] She edited the research paper. [dtd]
[d] We ended the game early. [ndd]
[d] He breaded the chicken. [brdd]

Exercise
Kathy: Tom, have you started your diet? I hope you havent gained weight.
Tom: I boiled eggs and sliced celery for lunch.
Kathy: Have you exercised at all?
Tom: I walked 5 miles and jogged in the park.
Kathy: Have you cleaned the house? Calories can be worked off that way.
Tom: I washed and waxed the floors. I even painted the bathroom.
Kathy: Who baked this apple pie? Who cooked this ham?
Tom: When I finished cleaning, I was starved. I prepared this food for dinner.
Kathy: Oh, no! Ill take this food home so you wont be tempted .
I really enjoyed being with you. You diet is great!

Tom: What happened? Somehow, I missed out on all the fun.

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