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How do you say -ed ending in English?

How do you say -ed ending in English?

International English Test Editorial Team·2 Nov 2023·3 min read

Many English learners find it challenging to say ‘-ed’ ending in english and past participle forms of regular verbs.

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A significant number of English learners struggle with correctly pronouncing the ‘-ed’ ending in regular verbs’ past tense and past participle forms, such as ‘asked,’ ‘landed,’ or ‘explored.’

Let’s quickly review the verb forms:

  V1  +       ed        =          V2             or              V3

    Verb base                        past simple              past participle

Examples:

Past Simple    ask + ed = asked. She asked her husband where her book was.

Past Participle ask + ed = asked. Henry has asked her name.

Note that if the base verb ends with the letter “e,” only add “d” to form the past tense.

For example: like + d = liked

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3 Rules for Pronouncing the –ed ending in English

  •    If the base verb ends in k, s, ch, sh, the, p, f(gh), then the –ed ending sounds like “t.”

For example, lik + ed is pronounced as lik-/t/; watch-ed is pronounced as watch-/t/; and laugh-ed is pronounced as laugh-/t/.

  •    If the base verb ends in t, d****, then the –ed ending sounds like “id.”

For example, wait-ed is pronounced as wait-/id/; land-ed is pronounced as land-/id/.

  •    If the base verb ends in another letter, the –ed ending sounds like “d.”

For example, play-ed is pronounced as play-/d/; answer-ed is pronounced as answer-/d/; and burn-ed is pronounced as burn-/d/.

There are a few irregular verbs whose past tense forms also end in –ed. They follow the same rules as regular verbs. For example:

  •         Sew – sewed (sew/d/) – sewn
  •         Show – showed (show/d/) – shown

https://www.youtube.com/embed/TjAoWEithWg?feature=oembed

Practice pronouncing the –ed ending by reading and listening to English

Here’s a method for practicing the pronunciation of the ‘-ed’ ending:

  1.       Print out a text where there are many words with the –ed ending.
  2.       Over every verb, make a note of how to pronounce the –ed ending.
  3.       Find an audio recording of the text 
  4.       Play the recording and listen to the correct pronunciation of the verbs you marked.
  5.       Listen again and try to imitate the speaker, copying both the pace and intonation.

Try this method, and you’ll see that it works.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Regular past tense verbs end in one of three sounds. After verbs ending in k, s, ch, sh, p, or f the -ed sounds like a "t", as in watched and laughed. After verbs ending in t or d it sounds like "id", as in waited and landed. After any other letter it sounds like a "d", as in played, answered, and burned.
When the base verb already ends in a t or d sound, the -ed is pronounced "id" and adds an extra spoken syllable. That is why wait becomes wait-id and land becomes land-id. The rule exists because two near-identical sounds cannot blend smoothly, so a small vowel separates them and the word gains a syllable.
If the base verb already ends in the letter e, you only add d rather than the full -ed. For example, like becomes liked and explore becomes explored. The existing e does the job of the missing letter, so you never write a doubled e, and the pronunciation still follows the usual sound rules for the final consonant.
Yes, for regular verbs both the past simple (V2) and the past participle (V3) are formed by adding -ed to the base verb, so they look identical. The verb ask gives asked in both forms, as in "She asked her husband" and "Henry has asked her name." The grammatical role differs, but the spelling and the sound do not.
Some irregular verbs do have an -ed past tense, and when they do they follow exactly the same sound rules as regular verbs. Sew becomes sewed, pronounced sew/d/, and show becomes showed, pronounced show/d/, both taking the "d" sound because they end in a vowel sound. Their past participles, sewn and shown, are the irregular part.
Print a text containing many -ed verbs and mark above each one whether it sounds like t, d, or id. Find an audio recording of the same text, play it, and listen for how those verbs are actually pronounced. Then listen again and imitate the speaker, copying both the pace and the intonation until the endings feel automatic.
International English Test

International English Test Editorial Team

ALTE Associate Member · UK English assessment provider · Est. 2023

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