Are you having trouble pronouncing adjectives ending in -ed in English?
Look no further as this blog will help pronounce them perfectly from now on!
The pronunciation rule
There is in fact a rule in English pronunciation to help you pronounce the adjectives ending in -ed in English.
There are 3 different sounds for -ed ending in English : /t/ , /d/ or /id/
To know which one to use depends on the sound in the word just before the -ed ending.
/id/ ending:
If a word ends in a t or d before the -ed ending, the -ed will be pronounced /id/:
- Interested
- Excited
- Frustrated
- Delighted
- Crowded
/t/ ending:
If a word has a unvoiced consonant sound (a sound using just the mouth and no vibration from the throat or chest) such a s, p, k, ch, f, sh then we use the /t/ sound for the -ed ending:
- Shocked
- Depressed
- Astonished
- Striped
- Touched
/d/ ending:
When an adjective has a voiced (vibration in throat) consonant sound or a vowel sound before the -ed ending then we pronounce it /d/:
- Tired
- Amazed
- Satisfied
- Confused
- Bored
The exception to the rule…
English is English and of course there is an exception to the rule!
There are some adjectives that do not follow the rule above and are pronounced with the /id/ ending . Here they are:
- short-legged / long-legged : Despite ending in a voiced consonant sound we pronounce the -ed as /id/ instead of /d/
Her dog is very short-legged. - beloved: The ‘v’ here is a voiced consonant sound and yet we pronounce this adjective with the /id/ sound
He missed his beloved wife. - crooked: Here the ‘k’ is an unvoiced consonant sound so -ed should be pronounced /t/ but it is pronounced /id/
Her back was very crooked after working on the farm her entire life. - learned: This adjective is not to be confused with the verb in the past tense! When it is an adjective it is pronounced /id/ at the end.
My father was a very learned man. - naked: Despite the ‘k’ sound we only pronounce this with the /id/ ending:
He ran naked onto the pitch. - wicked: As above this is an /id/ sound at the end.
The wicked witch of the West strikes again.
If you want to see more of the adjectives that don’t follow the rule, check out my YouTube live on these special adjectives and also be able to practise the pronunciation of them with me: