English On Air

During my many years of running English classes for non-native speakers there were certain common issues which, if corrected, could potentially improve a student’s English skills dramatically or more accurately improve other people’s perception of their level of English. One that comes to mind is the pronunciation of the ed with respect to forming the regular past tenses. Many students, especially those on an intermediate level, were unsure of the correct pronunciation and would either pronounce the ed as in the word bed (which is always wrong), or just leave off the ed which depending on the circumstances can be even worse.

The positive thing for me as a teacher would be that when students have this kind of issue, by learning the rules and with some practice, knowing how to pronounce the ed can have a very positive effect and with a relatively small amount of effort increase how others perceive their level of spoken English.

Understanding Regular Past Participles:

In English grammar, regular past participles are formed by adding the suffix “-ed” to the base form of a verb. For example, the base form “walk” becomes “walked” in the past tense and “walked” is also the past participle. It is essential to note that not all verbs follow this pattern, as irregular verbs have their own unique forms.

Pronunciation of “-ed”:

When it comes to pronouncing the “-ed” ending in regular past participles, there are three distinct sounds that can occur: /t/, /d/, and /ɪd/. The specific pronunciation depends on the final sound of the base verb.

/t/ sound:

If the base verb ends in an unvoiced sound, such as /k/, /p/, /s/, /ʃ/, /tʃ/, and /f/, the “-ed” ending is pronounced as /t/. For instance:

‘’Work’’ (base verb) becomes ‘’worked’’ (past participle) e.g. worked hard

“kiss” (base verb) becomes “kissed” (past participle) e.g. kissed passionately

“stop” (base verb) becomes “stopped” (past participle) e.g. stopped immediately

/d/ sound:

When the base verb ends in a voiced sound, such as /b/, /g/, /l/, /m/, /n/, /r/, /v/, /w/, /j/, /z/, and vowel sounds, the “-ed” ending is pronounced as /d/. Examples include:

“grab” (base verb) becomes “grabbed” (past participle) e.g. grabbed her bag

“smile” (base verb) becomes “smiled” (past participle) e.g. smiled at him

/ɪd/ sound:

If the base verb ends in a voiced sound created by a “d” or “t” sound, the “-ed” ending is pronounced as /ɪd/. This is the most common pronunciation. For instance:

“end” (base verb) becomes “ended” (past participle) e.g. ended their relationship

“wait” (base verb) becomes “waited” (past participle) e.g. waited over an hour

It is crucial to note that the pronunciation of the “-ed” ending is not influenced by the number of syllables in the base verb. Instead, it is determined by the final sound.

Examples of Pronunciation:

To further illustrate the pronunciation patterns, here are a few examples of regular past participles with their respective pronunciations:

Base verb: cook

Past participle: cooked

Pronunciation: /t/ sound

Base verb: play

Past participle: played

Pronunciation: /d/ sound

Base verb: start

Past participle: started

Pronunciation: /ɪd/ sound

Base verb: watch

Past participle: watched

Pronunciation: /t/ sound

Conclusion:

Understanding the pronunciation of “-ed” in regular past participles is a valuable skill for English language learners. By recognising the final sound of the base verb, one can confidently articulate the correct pronunciation of the “-ed” ending. Remember, the three possible pronunciations are /t/, /d/, and /ɪd/. Consistent practice and exposure to spoken English will further enhance your proficiency in using regular past.

I always suggest to students to download the most common 100 regular English verbs, familiarise themselves with the rules and then go down the list applying the rules and saying the past participle out loud and over pronounce the ending. By the time the student gets to the end of the list the pronunciation issue is normally solved.

For a great place for English speaking practise and to meet other members, sign up for our new free English for non-native speakers community and if during reading this article you were not sure about voiced and unvoiced sounds, it would be very helpful to learn the International Phonetic Alphabet. Check out our ‘Sounds’ course which breaks down the 44 different sounds which make up the English language and teaches them in a way where they become ingrained.

Happy days 😉