1. Basics of Pronunciation of Past Form of
Regular Verbs with –‘ED’ Ending
o voiced sound is a sound that vibrates vocal cords. Voiceless sound does not vibrate vocal
cords.
o To find out voiced sound, touch your throat as you say a verb. Isolate the last
sound(syllables) before -ed and check whether it vibrates vocal cords or not. (If you
can’t isolate last sound, there will always be vibration).
o when the last sound before -ed is voiceless, the -ed sound pronounced as /t/.
Examples in the first column of the table.
o when the last sound before -ed is voiced, the -ed sound pronounced as /d/.
Examples in the second column.
o when the last sound before -ed is /t/ or /d/, the -ed sound pronounced as /id/.
Examples in the third column.
3 Simple Rules in support of above
1. -ED Pronounced Like T
when Verbs finished in “K”, “P”, “S”, “C”, “SH”, “CH” letter and the verbs ending with an
F / X sound, the verbs pronounced like “t”. If you pay attention, you only must
memorize the verbs finished in K, P and the “S” sounds like (S, C, SH, CH) and the last
one for example: laughed, fixed and relaxed.
2. -ED Pronounced Like ED (id)
When regular verbs finished in “T” and “D” letters, the verbs pronounced like “id”.
3. -ED Pronounced Like D
ALL other verbs that don’t fit into the first two categories are in this category. Verbs in
this category usually found ending with sound B,G,J,L,M,N,R,V,Z,W,Y or vowel sound.
Table Showing Pronunciation of Past Form of Some Regular Verbs with –‘ED’ Ending
/t/ sound (Voiceless) /d/ sound (voiced) /id/ sound (with extra syllable)
announced advised accepted
asked annoyed appreciated
brushed appeared avoided
checked arranged cheated
confessed arrived connected
cooked belonged decided
crashed borrowed ended
crossed burned excited
danced buzzed expanded
dressed carried guarded
3. Remarks:
-ED only adds an extra syllable when a verb ended with T or D. In other cases, it adds no extra
syllables.
want –> wan / ted
(1 syllable –> 2 syllables)
de / cide –> de / ci / ded
(2 syllables –> 3 syllables)
ac / cept –> ac / cep / ted
(2 syllables –> 3 syllables)
In all other cases, it does not add an extra syllable
miss –> missed (“misst”)
(1 syllable –> 1 syllable)
re / ceive –> re / ceived
(2 syllables –> 2 syllables)
To find out more, please visit:
https://www.espressoenglish.net/105-regular-verbs-with-ed-in-the-past/