FINAL “ED” PRONUNCIATION

If the final sound before the “ed” is a voiced sound such as tour, receive, or live, the
final “ed” is pronounced “d”.
 I lived in Cincinnati for one year.
 She believed my story.
 The mailman delivered the packages.
If the final sound before the “ed is an unvoiced or soft sound - such as k, ch, th, s, p, or
x - the final “ed” is pronounced “t”
 He walked to the store.
 They watched the movie last night.
 John worked at the factory for 10 years.
The exceptions to this rule are “t” and “d”. If the regular verb ends in either of these
letters, the final “ed” is pronounced “ed”.
 We decided not to eat at that restaurant again.
 Jose wanted to learn English quickly.
 Smoking is not permitted in this building.
If the verb ends in “y”, the past tense is made by changing the “y” to “i” then adding
“ed”. In this case, the final “ed is pronounced the same as a voiced sound, “d”.
 They carried the suit cases to the baggage counter.
 She tried hard to pass the test.
 We hurried to be at the meeting on time.
 He was worried about his new job.
1. Read the story and practice pronouncing the final ED.

Paul moved from Florida to New York because his father accepted a new job in New York. Since it
was during the school year, Paulo changed schools. He had many friends at his old school, and he
wondered if his new classmates would like him. He worried about his new school a lot. On the first
day of school, Paulo met his new teacher. She introduced herself and asked for his name. She said,
“Hello. I’m Ms. Parker, and I would like you to tell the class about yourself.” The class listened to
Paulo’s story of moving to New York. They all liked Paulo. During the day, they studied verbs. The
class also watched a video and practiced role playing a visit to the dentist. Paulo tried to learn a lot
that day. He liked his new teacher and classmates. They all helped him so much. He realized that his
new school was better. He remembered his old school very often but he enjoyed his new life.

Pronunciation Exercises for Final “ed” in Past Tense Regular Verbs

Voiced final “ed”
1. Bill lived in Texas for ten years.
2. She loved the gift we sent her.
3. His family traveled to New York to visit him.
4. The manager solved our problem for us.
5. Maria reserved four seats for the opera tonight.
6. The baseball players angered the fans because they played badly.
7. I called my sister last night.
8. They planned a special party for their anniversary.

1. Jim wanted to visit Chicago.

2. When he finally visited Chicago, he decided to stay in a hotel downtown.
3. Then he started his tour with the Art Institute which is located downtown, too.
4. Then he attended a theater performance.
5. The performance started at 8 PM.
6. It lasted for 3 hours.
7. When it finally ended, he was very tired.
8. As he waited for a taxi, he selected the events that he would participate in the next day.

1. Jim walked through downtown and looked at the beautiful architecture.

2. He even helped someone who asked him for directions.
3. When he finished, he stopped for pizza at Uno’s, and watched the people walk by.
4. He talked to the waiter and thanked him for the good service.
ED as in D
multiplied answered remembered accompanied
opened merged closed arrived
turned traveled judged carried
listened begged changed loved
returned failed pleased hurried
rained pulled studied discovered
leaned snowed telephoned breathed
sailed combed received doomed
tried clothed challenged seized
ED as in T
thanked established progressed discussed
asked finished typed reduced
worked washed hoped increased
looked pushed guessed produced
walked touched stopped decreased
liked watched addressed based
smoked dropped accessed reached
blocked collapsed tapped marched
ceased released faxed kissed
ED as in -ED
exhibited distributed contributed inhibited
lifted corrected demanded decided
waited subtracted halted expanded
lasted tasted ended rejected
wanted completed needed divided
started projected succeeded included
located operated attended attributed