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13.4　Pronunciation of -ed Endings

The past tense ending for regular verbs can present pronunciation problems to Chinese learners because even though all regular past tense endings are spelt as ed ( d,ied )there are actually three different pronunciations:

/d/ as in begged /begd/,failed /feɪld/,saved,spied

/t/ as in wished /wɪʃt/,taped,watched,cooked

/ɪd/ as in needed /΄niːdɪd/,mated /΄meɪtɪd/

The sound of the -ed ending in any given word is determined by a very simple phonetic principle: when two sounds are pronounced together as /ʃ/ and /t/ in wished,/g/ and /d/ in begged,or /l/ and /d/ in failed,it is difficult to voice one and leave the other voiceless.Therefore the pronunciation of -ed is pronounced /d/ after a voiced sound,and /t/ after a voiceless sound.This is called voicing agreement.

1.The /d/ pronunciation occurs after all voiced consonants except /d/ itself,and after all vowels.

Listen,and practice the following words.

2.The /t/ pronunciation occurs after all voiceless consonants except /t/ itself.

Listen,and practice the following words.

3.The /ɪd/ pronunciation occurs as a separate syllable after /t/ or /d/.

Listen,and practice the following words.

The most common errors found among Chinese learners are owing to their failure to observe principles and to release the plosive or affricate correctly.For instance,they may pronounce -ed as a separate syllable after consonants other than /t/ or /d/,e.g.lagged /΄lægɪd/ instead of /lægd/,robbed /΄rɒbɪd/ instead of /rɒrbd/.

However,the pronunciation of -ed in a group of adjectives is quite contrary to the principles outlined above.-ed is read as a separate syllable in the following words.

Listen,and practice the following words.