Pronunciation of -ED
(Past Tense Verbs & Adjectives)
Reading & Pronunciation
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Pronunciation of -ED
With regular verbs, -ED is used to form the past tense. It's also used to create the past participle (the V3) which also gets used as an adjective.
A lot of students mistakenly think that this -ED ending adds an extra syllable. However, -ED actually only adds an extra syllable in a few cases. The majority of time, it creates a sound that gets blended into the consonant which comes before it.
-ED creates either a -T or -D sound depending on whether the final consonant is voiced or unvoiced.
-ED adds an additional syllable (like /id/) only when the final consonant is a -D or -T.
Voiced Consonants
Voiced Consonants
Voiced consonants are the ones where your vocal chords vibrate while making the sound:
b, v, g, z, j, ð (voiced th), l, m, n, r
Here, the -ED is pronounced like -D.
The -D merges with the preceding consonant. It doesn’t create a syllable.
Examples: moved, stayed, studied, married, raised, engaged, travelled
Unvoiced Consonants
Unvoiced Consonants
Unvoiced consonants are the ones where your vocal chords do not move while making the sound:
p, f, k, s, sh, ch, θ (unvoiced th)
Here, the -ED is pronounced like -T.
The -D merges with the preceding consonant. It doesn’t create a syllable.
Examples: worked, dropped, finished, divorced, stopped, laughed, coughed
After T and D
After T and D
The only time -ED makes an extra syllable is when it comes after a -T or -D sound.
It usually sounds like /ɪd/
Examples: started, bended, visited, separated, dated, attended, amended
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