Forming regular verbs in the past simple can be straightforward once you know the rules and have practiced conjugating them. But how do you pronounce them?
This is something that a lot of English learners have difficulty with as 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 when speaking.
This article will outline the three different sounds of the past simple regular verbs along with ways to practice these sounds.
The 3 sounds are;
- /id/ e.g., wanted
- /t/ e.g., worked
- /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 yesterday
- He suggested the restaurant
- I added the water
- We decided to go
- They visited her yesterday
2. /t/
This sound is used when ‘ed’ is preceded by all unvoiced sounds. (k), (p), (f), (s), (S), (tS)
- I worked on Monday.
- He helped me on Tuesday.
- You laughed all day.
- He faxed the report.
- She washed her hands.
- We watched the game.
- She kissed me!
3. /d/
This is used for all voiced sounds.
- I covered the cake in icing.
- I played football all day.
- He offered me the job.
- I returned the video.
Practice the sounds above and repeat them after the recording. Listen for the ending of each sound and practice saying this out loud. It takes time to familiarize yourself with these sounds and the more you see of them the more natural it will become.
Please take the following quiz that will test your knowledge of the sounds.
Past Simple Pronunciation Test
If you need help forming the past tense simple.
(edited Jan 19th, 2012)