"ED" Endings
ED appears at the end of regular verbs in the past tense (e.g. wanted, helped, lived) sometimes in adjectives ending in ED (e.g. tired, embarrassed, relaxed) as well as in some Past Participles.
However the pronunciation of ED sometimes causes problems for non-native speakers because it can be pronounced in three different ways: as /id/, as /t/ or as /d/.
Note: Whenever you see letters or symbols between two slash marks (/ /), it refers to the pronunciation of that letter or sound
Before we learn the different ways to pronounce ED, we must first know what voiced and voiceless consonants are.
If we know the difference between voiced and voiceless sounds we can look at the following rules for the correct pronunciation of ED in English:
The /id/ sound
If the last letter of the word is spelled with D or T, the ED is pronounced as a separate syllable with an /id/ sound (it rhymes with kid and lid).
The /t/ sound
If the last consonant of the word is voiceless, then the ED is pronounced as a T. Be careful not to create an extra syllable or /id/ sound.
Note: As an example, with the word helped, if you say help-id as a two
syllable word, then it is very likely that people will NOT understand the word
or what you are saying. It is pronounced like helpt.
The /d/ sound
If the last letter of the words ends in a voiced consonant (or sound), then the ED is pronounced like a D (without creating another syllable).
An easy way to remember how to pronounce ED words
The most important thing to remember is that there are two main divisions:
- The words that end in
TorD: TheEDis pronounced as a syllable/id/. - And the REST of the words: You can pronounce the
EDas/t/and people will understand.
References
Woodward. (n.d.). Pronunciation of ED in English. Grammar. https://www.grammar.cl/english/pronunciation-ed.htm