Hello. Welcome to pronunciation practice.
My name is Sammy
and I am an American English language student.
Today we are going to practice pronouncing past tense
sounds using regular verbs ending in "-ed".
For regular verbs, we usually add "-ed" to the end of the verb to make it past tense.
The spelling is easy because you just add "-ed"
but the pronunciation can be a little tricky.
Last weekend, I walked to the restaurant.
When I got there, I glanced through the menu.
The waiter arrived, and I ordered a steak.
After dinner, the waiter handed me the bill.
I left happy because my meal tasted great.
These verbs all have the past tense "-ed".
but they are pronounced in three different ways.
In walked and glanced the "-ed" makes a /t/ sound.
Walked. Glanced.
The "-ed" in arrived and ordered ended with a /d/ sound.
Arrived. Ordered.
The "-ed" in "handed" and "tasted" ended with an /Id/ sound.
Handed. Tasted.
So how do you know which "-ed" pronunciation to use?
There are three rules to remember.
First, if the verb ends in a /t/ or /d/ sound, use the /Id/ ending.
For example, the past tense of verbs "want" and "need"
becomes "wanted" or "needed".
If the verb ends in one of the following voiceless sounds,
such as /p/, /k/, /f/, /s/, /sh/, /ch/, or /th/
use the /t/ sound for past tense.
For example we have "helped" and "washed".
If the verb ends in any vowel or in a voiced sound like
/l/, /m/, /n/, /j/, /r/, /g/, /b/, /v/, /w/, /z/,
use the /d/ ending.
For example, "called", "played".
Remember how we saw that spelling and sounds don't match up?
Well look at the following words. "Missed", "sliced", and "fixed".
The last sound in each verb is spelled differently
but they all make the /s/ sound.
That's why they get the /t/ past tense ending.
Remember to focus on the last sound of a word.
Both"promised" and "closed" have an "s" before the "-ed" ending.
However, promised has an "s" sound and closed has a "z" sound.
That's why promised has a /t/ ending
and closed has the /d/ ending.
Now you try.
What are the American English pronunciations for these past tense verbs?
Click pause to try the activitiy
and press play when you are ready to continue.
I used an umbrella. The ice cream melted.
He pushed the button. I studied for the test.
Next time, we'll practice pronouncing long and short vowels.
This is American English. Thanks for watching!