A Pronunciation Secret for Past Tense Endings

We all know that to make some past tense verbs we add an -ed ending. But did you realize that when you pronounce the ending, sometimes it is said with a /t/ sound and sometimes it is pronounced as a /d/. Consider the word "walked." If you say it slowly, note how you actually end the word with a /t/ vs. the word "jogged" which is pronounced with a /d/. Other times we actually add an -ed ending like “paint” becomes “painted” or “end” become “ended.”  If English is your first language, you subconsciously learned this by modeling English speaking adults. Non-native speakers must learn the rule of when to say /d/ vs. /t/ and apply it in conversation.

The rule is really quite simple but you have to know voiced vs. voiceless consonants.  Remember there are only a few voiceless consonants and if you can remember them, you will catch on to this rule really quickly. Here is the rule:

If a word ends in a voiceless sound, the –ed ending is pronounced with a /t/ and remember /t/ is voiceless.  Here are the voiceless consonants that this rule applies to:

/p, k, f, sh, s, ch, th/

Memorize these few because all the other sounds including all of the vowels are made with the vocal cords vibrating together or they are called voiced sounds.  Here are some words to practice adding a /t/ to the ending.  Note that the ending is still spelled with an -ed:

Lap=lapped (t)

Walk=walked (t)

Laugh=laughed (t)

Watch=watched (t)

If a word ends in a voiced consonant and an-ed is added, the –ed ending is pronounced with a voiced /d/.

Jog=jogged (d)

Throb=throbbed (d)

If the word ends in with a voiced /d/ or a voiceless /t/ and an –ed is added, the –ed is pronounced.  Consider these words:

Paint=painted

Start=started

Land=landed

Knowing the difference between voiced and voiceless consonants will assist the non native English speaker to learn past tense endings.