English

English Highway Podcast
Pronunciation: /-ed/ ending (#0282)
Learn how the /-ed/ ending sounds like a /d/, /t/, or /-ed/. Announcer: You’re about to listen to an audio lesson from OpenEnglish.com. Welcome. I’m Andres Moreno, your coach for this audio lesson. How are you feeling today? I’m feeling great. I’m ready to help you master some new sounds of the English language. Today we’re going to betalking about the pronunciation of verbs in the past tense. Most verbs in the past tense have an “ed” ending. For example, “needed” and “fixed,” they both end in the letters “ed.” The pronunciation of this “ed” ending isn’t always the same. You have three different pronunciations. The “ed” ending can sound like a “d” as in the word, “turned.” Can you hear that “d” sound at the end? “turned”Repeat after me: “turned” And again: “turned” That’s it. The “ed” ending can also sound like a “t” as in the word, “walked.” Repeat after me: “walked” You wouldn’t say, “walk-ked.” There’s no “d” at the end. It’s a “t” sound. So repeat after me: “walked” That’s it. Third and last, the “ed” ending can also sound like an “ed” as in the word, “needed.” You actually pronounce the “e.” “needed” So repeatafter me: “needed” That’s it. So let’s look at these three cases again. The “ed” ending can
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sound like just a “d” without the “e” as in the word, “turned.” You don’t say, “turn-ned.” The “e” is silent. So repeat after me: “turned” In the second case, it cansound like a “t.” Repeat after me: “walked” That’s right. Again, you wouldn’t say, “walk-ked.” You say, “walked.” sounds like a “t.” It

The third case, the “ed” ending actually sounds like an “ed.” You pronounce the “e” and the “d” as in the word, “needed.” So repeat after me: “needed” That’s it. I know it sounds complicated, but it’s very common, and we’re going to keep practicing until we getit perfect. So let’s get started with some common verbs in the past tense that have a “d” sound at the end. So repeat after me: “turned” The “e” is silent: “turned” Again, you don’t want to say, “turn-ned.” You say: “turned” Here’s a sentence. Repeat after me: “I turned the page.” And again: “I turned the page.” That’s right. Let’s keep practicing. Here’s another example. Repeat after me:“required” Again, the “e” at the end is silent. You wouldn’t say, “required-ed.” You say, “required.” So repeat after me: “required”

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Here’s a sentence. Let me hear it: “I am required to write a letter.” And again: I am required to write a letter. Okay, that’s it.Here’s a third example. Repeat after me: “burned” And again: “burned” That’s it. You wouldn’t say, “burn-ned.” You say, “burned.” Here’s a sentence. Repeat after me: “I burned my pancake.” And again: “I burned my pancake.” Way to go. Now let’s practice some common words in the past tense that have a “t” sound at the end. Repeat after me: “walked” That’s right. We wouldn’t say, “walk-ked” with a“d” at the end. We say, “walked” with a “t.” So repeat after me: “walked” “I walked to the beach.” And again: “I walked to the beach.” That’s it. Here’s another example. Repeat after me: “dropped” That’s it. The “ed” ending sounds like a “t”: “dropped” “I dropped my glasses.” Repeat after me. Come on, let me hear it: “I dropped my glasses.”
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That’s it. Last example, repeat after me: “stopped” Again, the “ed” ending sounds like a “t”: “stopped” Repeat after me: “I stopped drinking alcohol.” And again: I stopped drinking alcohol. Way to go. Now, let’s practice some common verbs in the past tense that actually have an “ed” sound at the end. So...