The pronunciation of –ed

The past simple tense and past participle of all regular verbs end in -ed. For example:

work, worked, worked

In addition, many adjectives are made from the past participle and so end in -ed. For
example:

I like painted furniture.

The question is, how do we pronounce the -ed? The answer is, in 3 ways:

 /ɪd/

 /t/

 /d/

If the base verb ends in one of example example pronounce

these sounds base verb* with -ed the -ed as

/t/ want wanted /ɪd/

/d/ end ended

unvoiced /p/ hope hoped /t/

/f/ laugh laughed

/s/ fax faxed

1
 If the base verb ends in one of example example pronounce
these sounds base verb* with -ed the -ed as

/ʃ/ wash washed

/ʧ/ watch watched

unvoiced

/k/ like liked

/t/

voiced all other sounds, play played /d/

eg:

allow allowed

beg begged

*Note that it is the sound that is important, not the letter or spelling. For example, fax ends
in the letter x but the sound /s/; like ends in the letter e but the sound /k/.

2
ACTIVITIES

1. Read the following text about Guns N’ Roses and pay attention to the regular verbs in
the past simple tense.

Guns N' Roses was founded in Los Angeles in June 1985. Their unique style incorporated
punk, blues, thrash, and other genres of music into the popular heavy metal music of the
time. The band was formed by singer Axl Rose, guitarists Tracii Guns and Izzy Stradlin',
bassist Duff McKagan, and drummer Rob Gardner. The name was derived from a
combination of the last names of Guns and Rose, as well as making reference to members'
affiliation with their previous bands: Hollywood Rose and LA Guns.

When Tracii Guns and Robbie Gardner could not attend the first Guns N' Roses show in
Seattle, Rose called guitarist Slash and drummer Steven Adler and asked if they would join
the band on stage for the show. The two agreed and the band's most famous line-up was
finalized. On the way back to Los Angeles, the five members wrote the lyrics for the song
"Welcome to the Jungle", which eventually became their signature song.

The band released a self-produced EP in 1986. Copies of the EP reached Geffen Records
executives who soon signed the band. Appetite for Destruction, GNR's debut album, was
released on August 21, 1987. The album sold 20 million copies and hit #1 on the charts.
The album included the songs "Welcome to the Jungle", "Sweet Child O' Mine" and
"Paradise City", all of which were top 10 singles on the Billboard charts. As of 2005,
Appetite For Destruction remains the best-selling debut album of all time.

The band began opening shows for major bands in the rock industry, but as Appetite for
Destruction's sales began to rise, a world tour in support of the album was scheduled. Guns
N' Roses travelled all across United States, and in the spring of 1988, they were invited to
co-headline the notorious Monsters of Rock Festival in Europe. The band shared the stage
with legendary groups like Iron Maiden, KISS and Judas Priest.

In 1989, Guns N' Roses were presented with an American Music Award for favorite
Pop/Rock single for "Sweet Child O' Mine".

3
In 1990 the band released a double album by the name of Use Your Illusion. Guns N' Roses
went on a world tour. During this time, guitarist Izzy Stradlin' deserted the band due to
differences with Rose. He was replaced by Los Angeles-based guitarist Gilby Clarke.

The Use Your Illusion Tour is notable for the many videos the band made to support it.
Among them, "Don't Cry", "November Rain" and "Estranged". The hit ballad "November
Rain" became the most requested video on MTV, eventually winning an MTV Video
Music Award for best cinematography. At the awards show, the band performed
"November Rain" with singer Elton John.

The historic tour ended in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on July 17, 1993. The tour set
attendance records and lasted for 28 months in which more than 200 shows were played.
The last show in Buenos Aires proved to be the last for the classic line-up of the band.

Guns N' Roses is recognized as the band that changed the way the heavy metal industry
was moving in the late 1980s. Their peers in the music industry spoke highly of the band.
Ozzy Osbourne and Joe Perry called GN'R "the next Rolling Stones." In 2002, Q magazine
named Guns N' Roses in their list of the "50 Bands To See Before You Die". Also, the
television network VH1 ranked Guns N' Roses # 9 in the "100 Greatest Artists of Hard
Rock". All of their studio albums of original material appeared in Rolling Stone Magazine's
"500 Greatest Albums of All-Time" list.

4
2. Complete the following table with the regular verbs found in the text:

REGULAR VERBS
/ɪd/ (/t/ and /d/) /t/ (unvoiced sounds) /d/ (voiced sounds)

3. Read the text out loud to practise pronouncing the regular verbs in the past simple
correctly.