How do I pronounce 'ed' at the end of regular verbs?

Regular verbs in the past end in –ed, for example, started, cooked, and rained. However, there are three different ways to pronounce the –ed. We can say /id/ e.g. started, /t/ e.g. cooked, and /d/ e.g. rained. But how do you know which to say?

You need to use your ears and listen to the final sound of the infinitive. For example, /t/ in start, /k/ in cook, and /n/ in rain. Ask yourself ‘Are these sounds voiced or unvoiced?’ Hold your fingers to your throat to check if they are voiced or unvoiced. You should feel something when the sound is voiced. Have a look at the chart below and see if you can feel the difference between voiced and unvoiced consonants.

Remember it is the sound that is important not the letters or spelling. For example, the final letter in like is ‘e’, but the final sound is /k/.

Let’s come back to our examples rained, cooked, and started. The final sound in rain is /n/ and this is voiced. The final sound in cook is /k/ and this is unvoiced, and the final sound in start is /t/ and this is unvoiced.
So what’s the rule?

We pronounce the –ed as /d/ after voiced consonants, except /d/. For example rained, failed, and robbed.
We pronounce the –ed as /t/ after unvoiced consonants, except /t/. For example cooked, helped, watched.
We pronounce the –ed as /id/ after /d/ and /t/. For example started, decided, and visited.

Help! The last sound isn’t a consonant it’s a vowel for example try. Try finishes in a vowel sound /ai/. If the final sound is a vowel, we pronounce the –ed as /d/, tried.

Test yourself

Look at these regular verbs in the box and decide if they are pronounced as /t/ /d/ or /id/

asked, called, discovered, enjoyed, invited, jumped, lived, looked, missed, reached, needed, rented, saved, travelled, worked, studied, avoided, counted, promised

Answers:

/d/	/t/	/id/
Called Discovered Enjoyed Lived Saved Travelled Studied	Asked Jumped Looked Missed Reached Worked Promised	Invited Needed Rented Avoided Counted

For more about sounds in English look at these websites:

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26 September 2019

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How do I pronounce 'ed' at the end of regular verbs?