Worked, played, wanted: the three sounds of -ed

The rule

Say /t/ after voiceless sounds like /p/, /k/, /s/, /ʃ/ and /tʃ/: stopped, worked, watched. Say /d/ after voiced sounds and vowels: played, lived, cleaned. Add a syllable, /ɪd/, only after a /t/ or /d/ sound: wanted, needed.

Arabic and French readers say what they see, so worked becomes work-ed, with an extra syllable. This makes speech slow and can confuse listeners. In most -ed verbs, the ending is just one small sound.

Examples

In a conversation

A: What did you do yesterday?

B: I worked in the morning and played football after lunch.

A: Nice. I wanted to come, but I needed to finish my essay.

B: No problem. We missed you!

Practice

Choose the best answer. The answers are at the end of the lesson.

1. Which verb has an extra syllable?
   • a) cooked
   • b) started
   • c) opened
2. Which -ed ending sounds different?
   • a) helped
   • b) asked
   • c) called
3. stopped
   • a) /t/
   • b) /d/
   • c) /ɪd/

Tip

Quick test: does the verb end in a /t/ or /d/ sound? Then add /ɪd/. If not, -ed adds no syllable. A few adjectives are different: wicked and crooked end in /ɪd/.

Answers

1. b) started. start ends in /t/, so -ed adds /ɪd/.
2. c) called. called ends in /d/; helped and asked end in /t/.
3. a) /t/. stop ends in voiceless /p/, so -ed is /t/.

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