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A lot of my Workplace and Business Communication clients have difficulty with the pronunciation of /ed/ verb endings in English. It’s a problem that isn't limited to any particular language group and for many of my clients, the error is fossilized.
I’m going to explore this pronunciation feature here but rather than merely repeating the rules, I think it’s more informative (and more interesting!) to consider why /ed/ verb endings present such a challenge to a wide range of English language learners.
The /ed/ verb ending is used to form the simple past tense for regular verbs. For example,
walk -> walked
shout -> shouted
It’s also used as a participle in other verb forms,
I have walked
I will have walked
And it’s found in some adjectives like:
tired
relaxed
exhausted
Most resources explain this pronunciation rule by saying that sometimes the /ed/ ending is pronounced as a separate syllable and sometimes it isn’t, and then give a long list of words. Confusing? Definitely! Let's explore this some more.
The key is to listen carefully to the sound before the /ed/ ending.
If the sound before the /ed/ ending is /t/ or /d/, make an extra syllable by saying /id/.
end -> ended -> say en-did
start -> started -> say star-tid
decide -> decided -> say de-ci-did
print -> printed -> say prin-tid
The is the only time an /ed/ ending creates an extra syllable.
If the sound before the /ed/ ending is a voiceless consonant like:
/ch/ /f/ /h/ /k/ /p/ /s/ /sh/ /x/
Say /t/. Do not make an extra syllable.
jump -> jumped -> say jumpt
talk -> talked -> say talkt
finish -> finished -> say fin-isht
watch -> watched -> say watcht
For all other sounds, say /d/. Do not make an extra syllable.
explore -> explored -> ex-plord
change -> changed -> changd
advise -> advised -> advizd (the /s/ is pronounced as a /z/ sound)
believe -> believed -> be-lievd
If you're finding this too confusing, just focus on the first rule. Understand where you do make an extra syllable, and then remember that for all other sounds, you don't.
I have two theories about this:
In English, we don’t pronounce words in the same way they are spelled. If you are used to a phonetic language then this alone will likely cause difficulties.
If you see a word like jumped with a one syllable main verb (jump) and an /ed/ ending, it seems the most natural thing in the world to pronounce it with two syllables -> jump-ed. Unfortunately that logic doesn’t work because English is not a phonetic language.
Your past learning experience will have an impact too. If you learned English from reading and writing, and you didn't hear much spoken English, then this could also be why you're making this error.
I had two clients recently - both from difference language groups - who told me that they had learned from early teachers always to make an extra syllable for an /ed/ ending. If those teachers hadn't been exposed to much spoken English, it's easy to understand why they were mistaken.
In situations where we don’t make an extra syllable at the end of the word, consonant clusters are created. Like these:
searched -> /cht/
travelled -> /ld/
charged -> /rgd/
asked -> /skt/
These combinations of consonants are hard to pronounce and require a lot of practice and repetition to perfect.
In most cases, it's easier for your mouth to add the extra /id/ syllable so that could be why the error is so widespread.
Native English speakers may not comment on errors in /ed/ pronunciation, but they will most certainly notice them.
Like all things, correcting /ed/ pronunciation errors takes a lot of practice but it's worth it because your English will sound more fluent as you reduce these kinds of errors.
Here is a practice routine you can adapt and use in your own self-study:
Learn the rules so you know where to make an extra syllable.
Practise by starting with the consonant cluster at the end of the word.
Practise that in isolation a few times.
Then add on the rest of the word and practice the whole word a few times.
Then make phrases and sentences with the word.
Speak them out loud and repeat them a lot.
Keep practising this over and over again until you develop automaticity and start to reduce your fossilized errors.
Written by me, not AI, so I can be clear, precise, and say exactly what I mean.
Header photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com M on Unsplash