Hadar Shemesh breaks down how to pronounce the -ed ending in past tense verbs. It's /d/ after vowels and voiced consonants like played, /t/ after voiceless ones like worked, and /ɪd/ after t or d sounds like invited. The trick: say /d/ and let voicing naturally shift it to /t/ when needed.
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Hey, guys, it's Hadar. And this is the accents way. Today we are going to talk about something that many of you have asked me to explain before, and that is how to pronounce the ed suffix. Or shall we call it the T suffix or just the D suffix? Now, the ed suffix can be pronounced three different ways. The first one is just as in played or organized. The second option is a t sound, as in worked or crossed. Now, the third option is id, a relaxed I sound, and a D, ID as in did. And you can find it in words like invented or executed. Now, like we don't have enough confusing things in English, this ed suffix sounds like three different sounds. When do we know when to use what? So I'll first lay out the rule, right? The phonological rule, and then I'll give you my rule, which is the shortcut, actually. Now, when the past suffix appears after a vowel, then it's pronounced as a D, as in played, fried, and stayed. Do you hear that? It's a D sound. Stay, stay, stayed, fry, fried. Now, when the ed suffix appears after a voiced consonant, as in B, G, okay, all of these are voiced consonants because the vocal cords are vibrating. For example, saved, The V is a voiced consonant, so the ed is pronounced as a D. Saved. There is no vowel here. Okay? It's not saved. The only time we add a vowel before the D is in the third option, and we're going to talk about that in a second. Okay? So in the word save, there is no E sound. It's just a D right after the consonant. Saved. And if it's difficult for you, then practice stretching out, holding out the sound before save. And as you're pronouncing it, lift the tongue up for the D. Save. And that's it. Saved. Determine. Determined. It's not determined. Okay, There is no vowel there. Why? Because there is a consonant. A voiced consonant at the end, that's an N sound. Determine. How do I know? I can feel my vocal cords vibrating as I'm pronouncing the N. Determined. Determined. Organize. Z is a voiced consonant. Organize. I'm closing it with a D. Not organized, organized. Okay, so a D after a vowel, that's easy. A D after a voiced consonant, that's a little more challenging. So you want to make sure there is no vowel there. Now, when the ed suffix appears after a voiceless consonant. So think about it. Let's try to say the word work and add to it the D sound. Work, worked. Work, worked doesn't come out as a D. Let's think of the word cross. Cross. Crossed. No, there is no vowel in between. Okay. So we have to connect the consonant. Let's try crossed. It's almost impossible. Doesn't sound good and it takes up too much energy. Why? Because when the D appears after a voiceless consonant, for example, C, Then the D turns into a T. It's like the D, which is a voiced consonant, takes the feature, the voicing feature of whatever comes before. So if it's a voiced consonant, then it remains a voice D. If it's a voiceless consonant, then it loses its voicing quality and it turns into a T. So the D turns into a T if it appears after a voiceless consonant. For example, Wash. Sh. Voiceless. Washed. That's a T. Cross. Crossed. Walk, Walked. Mix. Mixed. Right. So it's not mixed. It's not mixed. It's mixed. And I think this is the most important thing you need to remember. So when the ed suffix appears after a voiceless consonant, then it turns into a T. Only when the ed suffix appears after a verb that ends with a T or a D, Then we add the as in sit right before. Why? Because short. Try to say just one consonant, just the D sound after embed. Embed. Or invite. Invite. Right. I can't suggest that there is an ED suffix because they connect the two D's or the two T's. So we have to add a little vowel, an E sound. It can also drop to a schwa. Then add the D. That indicates that this is the past form. Embed, Embedded. Invite. Invited or invited. Right. Because the T turns into a D between two vowels. Execute. Executed. Okay, so when the ed suffix appears after a T or a D, that's the only time we add a V vowel. And that's the E sound or just the schwa, if you speak really fast. Embedded. Invited. Okay, now here's my tip. When it comes to how do you know if you should pronounce it as a D or a T? Always try to add a D with no vowel right after the verb. So played. That's okay. But then when you want to say a word like wash and add the D sound sound, because that's the thumb rule. Washed. It's almost impossible to say it. It's going to come out as a T anyway because English doesn't like it when you have a voiceless consonant and then a voice consonant right after wash. So as long as you don't turn it into washed to make it easy on you, it's okay. Just let it come out as it should and it's going to come out as a T. Washed. Washed. Okay, so sometimes non native speakers try to simplify it and then add the schwa sound. Right. Washed. Or an e sound Washed. So the d actually comes out. Don't worry, the D shouldn't come out if it's impossible to pronounce it right. Washed, crossed, mixed. I'm spitting all over the place here. But that's okay. You should too. I know it might still be a little bit confusing and this is why you can come on over to my website and see all the rules written out. So you can write it to yourself and practice it and just think about it. Okay guys, the most important thing is don't be afraid to make mistakes because that's the only way you learn. So speak up and don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel and have a wonderful week and I will see you next week in the next video. Bye.
