The past-tense –ed ending is one of the most difficult details to master in American English pronunciation. Are you saying this sound properly?
The “-ed” endings of past tense verbs can be pronounced three different ways:
– /d/ a “d” sound, such as at the end of the word “bed”
– /t/ a “t” sound, such as at the end of the word “not”
– /ǝd/ a separate syllable which sounds much like the “-id” portion of the word “kid”
Last week, we provided detailed instructions and practice words for the first sound: /d/
Today, we continue with Part 2 of our series and focus on the second sound: /t/
When a word ends in a /t/ sound, this means the t is added directly to the last consonant. Often, non-native speakers put a vowel sound between these two consonants, adding an extra syllable to the word. For example, talked may be mistakenly pronounced as “talk-ed”. Take a look at the examples below:
Final Sound Example Word Correct Pronunciation
/k/ “talked” talkt
/p/ “helped” helpt
/f/ “laughed” lafft
/s/ “missed” misst
/ʃ/ (sh) “pushed” pusht
/ʧ/ (ch) “searched” searcht
The following words all end in the /t/ sound. Practice the correct pronunciation by reading each word aloud:
| askedclapped
coughed crossed faked smoked
|
stoppedlooked
matched touched passed reached
|
rushedwatched
wished clicked washed flashed |
placedpicked
raced kissed skipped walked |
Stay tuned! Next week we’ll continue our series on the past-tense form with the final sound: /ed/
Take a look at the video below to hear Corporate Speech Solutions founder and President Jayne Latz talk more about past tense endings in Standard American English:
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