-ed ending: [t], [d] or [Id]? | A Quick Overview
-ed ending: [t], [d] or [Id]?
A Quick Overview
Introduction
The -ed ending of past tense verbs in English has 3 pronunciations:
[t]
[d]; or
[ɪd].
Why 3 different pronunciations?
Because the sound that comes before the -ed ending carries forward, naturally affecting the sound that comes after it.
Rules
So, the rules are, if the sound that comes before the -ed ending is:
voiceless (no vibration in the vocal cords), -ed ending → voiceless [t]
voiced (vibration in the vocal cords), –ed ending → voiced [d]
[t], [d], -ed ending → [ɪd]
To test if a sound is vibrating in your vocal cords, just put your fingertips on the front of your throat and notice whether or not you feel the vibration when you say the sound.
It makes sense that the vibration or lack of vibration would carry forward, because it’s simply more efficient for your vocal cords to continue what they were doing before the -ed ending.
Got it?
Let’s practice.
Notice how I connect my speech between the -ed ending of the verb and the word that follows.
Listen and Repeat
[k] “He talked to him yesterday.”
[ŋ] “Ouch! I banged my knee on the coffee table.”
[t] “We visited Salzburg, but the town was so packed with tourists!”
[k] “I parked close so that I wouldn’t have to walk so far.”
[l] “I applied for that job earlier this year.”
[d] “The teacher handed out the syllabus at the beginning of the semester.”
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