HELPED /T/ OPENED /D/ INVITED /ID/ THE PRONUNCIATION OF THE PAST -ED

IMPORTANT !!!! There are 3 possible ways of pronouncing the past –ed, but you never say /ed/  INVITED /Id/  HELPED /t/  OPENED /d/

YOU PRONOUNCE / Id /… When the infinitive ends in the sounds / d / or / t /, for example: o INVITE – INVITED / ɪ n'va ɪ t ɪ d/ o DECIDE – DECIDED /d ɪ 'sa ɪ d ɪ d/ o START – STARTED /'st ɑ :t ɪ d/ o WAIT – WAITED /'we ɪ t ɪ d/ o VISIT – VISITED /'v ɪ z ɪ t ɪ d/

YOU PRONOUNCE / t / … When the infinitive ends in a voiceless sound (the vocal cords do not vibrate and there is no voice): / θ / / k / look – looked /'l ʊ kt/ / s / miss – missed /'m ɪ st/ / p / stop – stopped /'st ɒ pt/ / f / cough – coughed /'k ɒ ft/ / ʃ / wash – washed /'w ɒʃ t/ / t ʃ / watch – watched /'w ɒ t ʃ t/

Clue to know the voiceless sounds of English:  “ A thick spy ” / θ / / k / / s / / p /  “ A fish in church ” / f / / ʃ / / t ʃ /

YOU PRONOUNCE / d /… When the infinitive ends in a voiced sound (the vocal cords vibrate when the air comes from the lungs and creates “voice”). The voiced sounds of English are:  All vowel sounds.  All the consonant sounds which are not voiceless.  For example: LISTEN – LISTENED /'l ɪ s ə nd/ LIVE – LIVED /'l ɪ vd/ STAY – STAYED /'ste ɪ d/

EXCEPTIONS: Notice that / t / is voiceless and / d / is voiced, but when a regular verb ends in /d / or / t / the ending is pronounced / Id /.  WANT – WANTED /'w ɒ nt ɪ d/  LAND – LANDED /'lænd ɪ d/

Your turn now … Regular Past Tense Verb Pronunciation Practice: Read the following dialogue and write the phonetic symbol representing the sound of the –ed ending for each past tense verb. Check your answers. Then, practise the dialogue aloud with a partner.  Be sure to carefully pronounce all past tense endings!

Practice: Kathy: Tom, have you started your diet? I hope you haven’t gained weight. Tom: I boiled some eggs and sliced celery for lunch. Kathy: Have you exercised at all? Tom: I walked 5 miles and jogged in the park. Kathy: Have you cleaned the house? Calories can be worked off that way. Tom: I washed and waxed the floors. I even painted the bathroom. Kathy: Who baked this apple pie? Who cooked this ham? Tom: When I finished cleaning, I was starved. I prepared this food for dinner. Kathy: Oh, no! I’ll take this food home so you won’t be tempted. I really enjoyed being with you. Your diet is great! Tom: Oh, no!What happened? Somehow, I missed out on all the fun!!!.

See if you can pronounce these verbs correctly!!

GOOD LUCK WITH IT!!!!