English Pronunciation - Past Tense

This article looks at the three sounds of the English past tense.

The pronunciation of the past simple can be difficult for English language learners. Because each verb ends in “ed” it is thought that each word is pronounced the same. But there are three distinct sounds. But after learning the rules, familiarizing yourself with them and then practicing the examples you will be able to pronounce them correctly..
This article will outline the three different sounds of the past simple regular verbs along with examples of each sound.

The 3 sounds are;

1. /id/ e.g., wanted
2. /t/ e.g., worked
3. /d/ e.g., covered

1. /id/

We use this sound when the ‘ed’ is preceded by (t) or (d).

Pronouncing this the ‘e’ changes to an ‘i’. The /id/ sound is added as an extra syllable.

• I started this job two years ago
• He suggested the bar
• I added the salt
• They visited her last week

2. /t/

This sound is used when ‘ed’ is preceded by all unvoiced sounds. (k), (p), (f), (s), (S), (tS)

• I worked last week.
• He helped me this morning.
• You laughed all day.
• He faxed the report.
• She washed her hair.
• We watched television.
• She kissed me!

3. /d/

This is used for all voiced sounds.

• I covered the food.
• I played tennis on Sunday.
• He offered me a raise.
• I returned the book.

Practice

The original article contains sound recordings and different examples. It can be found here – Past Simple Pronunciation with Recordings

For help with forming the past tense - The English Past Simple Tense

The best way to practise is to say each of the sentences out loud. After a while the pronunciation will come naturally.

Article Tags: Past Tense, Past Simple

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