You’ve mastered the past tense verbs. You’ve changed see to saw, am to was, and added the “-ed” for the regular past tense. You’ve read, learned, written, and spoken: but did you say it correctly? Even though we add two letters (“ed”) to make a verb past tense, we usually only add one sound. Sometimes, it’s a voiced “d” sound, as in played or listened. Sometimes, the “ed” is pronounced as the unvoiced “t” sound, as in “looked.” When the sound preceding the “ed” is voiceless, like the “k” in “look,” the “ed” will also be voiceless. When it is a vowel or voiced consonant, such as in play or listen, the “ed” will also be voiced. But when the verb ends with a t or d, we add a syllable, pronouncing the “e” as well as the “d,” and is “treated” or “headed.” Look at the lists below for more examples, or listen to the recording to practice the correct pronunciation.
| Past tense verbs with a voiceless “t” sound: liked looked worked helped stopped talked washed noticed | Past tense verbs with a voiced “d” sound: called showed lived moved answered turned learned played remembered dried rained snowed happened named | Past tense verbs with an added syllable (sounds “e” and “d”): ended sounded wanted landed needed pointed waited wanted |
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