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Today I'm going to talk about how to pronounce the past tense of regular verbs.  Regular verbs take the -ed ending in the past.  There are three different ways to pronounced the -ed.  How you pronounce it depends on the final sound of the verb in the infinitive form.

When the final sound of the verb in infinitive form is an unvoiced consonant sound, then the -ed is also pronounced as an unvoiced consonant, and that is the tt, T sound.  For example, the word 'pack'.  When you add the -ed, it becomes packed because the kk sound is unvoiced.  Other unvoiced sounds are pp, ff, ss, ch [], sh [], and th [].  So any regular verbs that ends in one of these sounds will have the -ed pronounced as the tt T sound.

The second case is when the final sound of the infinite verb is a voiced consonant or a vowel or diphthong sound.  In this case the -ed is pronounced as the dd D sound, a voiced consonant.  For example, the verb 'to save'.  The final sound is the vv V, voiced consonant sound, so the -ed will take the dd, voiced D sound ending.  Saved, saved.  Other unvoiced sounds are vv, bb, gg, th [], zz, dj [], rr [], mm, nn , ng [], ll.  So any regular verb ending in one of these consonant sounds, or a vowel or diphthong sound, will take the dd sound when the -ed is added.

The final case is when the verb in the infinitive form ends in either a D or T sound.  In this case, the ending is pronounced with the 'ih' as in 'sit' [] vowel and the D sound.  For example, the verb 'to land'.  It ends with the D sound, so the past tense of this regular verb is landed.  -ed, with the 'ih' as in 'sit' and the D sound.  Landed.

Now we will look at some regular verbs.  Based on the information you just heard, you should now be able to tell how the -ed will be pronounced.  How do you pronounce this word?  The final sound of the verb in the infinitive form 'to bake' is the K sound.  It's unvoiced.  Therefore the -ed is pronounced tt, unvoiced, with the T sound.  Baked, baked.  How do you pronounce this word?  In the infinitive, the final sound is the dd D sound.  Therefore it is case three, ended, where the -ed is pronounced with the 'ih' as in 'sit' and the D sound.  Ended.  How do you pronounce this word?  The final sound of the verb in infinitive form is the N consonant sound.  This is a voiced consonant.  Therefore it is case two where the -ed is pronounced as the D sound.  Leaned, leaned.

How do you pronounce this word?  The infinitive form 'to believe' ends in the vv V consonant sound, which is voiced.  Therefore it is again case two, where the -ed is pronounced as the D sound.  Believed.  How do you pronounce this word?  The final sound in infinitive form is sh, the unvoiced SH sound.  Since it is unvoiced, it is case one, where the -ed is pronounced as the T.  Washed, washed.  How do you pronounce this word?  In the infinitive, the final sound of the verb is pp, P, which is unvoiced.  Therefore it is case one, and the -ed is pronounced as a T.  Flipped, flipped.

How do you pronounce this sound?  The final sound in the infinitive is the N consonant sound, nn, which is voiced.  Therefore it is case two, where the -ed is pronounced as the D sound.  Turned, turned.  How do you pronounce this verb?  The final sound in the infinitive is the 'ee' as in 'she' vowel sound.  Since it is a vowel, it must be case two, where the -ed is pronounced as the D sound.  Carried, carried.  How do you pronounce this verb?  The final infinitive sound is ss, the S sound.  That is unvoiced, so it is case one where the -ed is pronounced as the T sound.  Missed, missed.

How do you pronounce this word?  The final infinitive sound is the tt T sound.  This means it is case three where the -ed is pronounced as the 'ih' as in 'sit' with the D sound.  Punted, punted.  How do you pronounce this word?  The final sound in the infinitive is the M consonant sound, mm; it is voiced.  Therefore it is case two and the -ed is pronounced as the D.  Bummed.  Bummed.  How do you pronounce this sound?  The final sound in the infinitive is ff, the unvoiced F sound.  Since it is unvoiced, it is case one, where the -ed is pronounced as the tt T sound.  Laughed, laughed.

How do you pronounce this word?  The final sound in the infinitive is the 'ai' as in 'buy' diphthong.  Therefore it is case two and the -ed is pronounced as the D sound.  Shied, shied.  How do you pronounce this word?  The final sound of the infinitive form of the verb is the tt, T sound.  Therefore it is case three, where the -ed is pronounced as the 'ih' as in 'sit' with the D sound.  Rested, rested.  How do you pronounce this word?  The final sound of the verb in infinitive form is ch:  that is an unvoiced consonant sound.  Therefore it is case one where the -ed is pronounced as the T sound.  Watched, watched.  How do you pronounce this word?  The final sound of the verb in the infinitive form is the dd, D sound.  Therefore it is case three where the -ed is pronounced as the 'ih' as in 'sit' with the D sound.  Needed, needed.  Congratulations!  Now you know how to pronounce regular verbs in the past tense.

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I got an email recently from a frequent visitor of the website asking me to explain something.  He says, "I'm still at a loss to understand how Americans link the F/V and W sounds ... Can you point out what needs to be done?  Absolutely.  Let's review the F and V sounds.

To make these sounds, the bottom lip moves up and touches the front top teeth.  To make the W, the lips round into a very tight circle.  The teeth are almost closed, but not quite closed, behind the lips.  Now let's take some of those phrases and say them slowly, drawing out the sounds.  /// Five ways.  Safeway.  So you can see, the lip needs to move from this position into the rounded position.  It's that one gesture.  ffww, vvww.  Let's practice that.  ffww, vvww. Here are some phrases in slow motion, so you can study how the mouth moves when linking these sounds.

Five ways.  The bottom lip comes up here for the V, and immediately they point into the W sound.  Of which.  Bottom lip up, lips point to make the circle for the W.  Safeway.  Bottom lip moves up and the lips form the tight circle pointing out for the W.  /// Five phrases that link these two sounds to help you practice are:  five ways, of which, Safeway, enough wind, I'd love one.

I hope this helps clear up the movement of the mouth between these two sounds for you, thank you so much for your question.

Note: This video gives you word pairs to repeat to practice the R [] and L [] sounds.  Remember from the how-to videos (for R, for L), that the sounds take a different mouth position depending on where they fall in the word.  You might want to review those how-to videos, and also this comparison video before working through this one!

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I've recently done a video to help you understand the difference between the R and the L consonant sounds.  In this video, you will get the opportunity to practice those sounds.  You will hear a word pair, and then you will be given time to repeat the word pair.  When you are repeating the words, you will see a photo of either the R or the L consonant sound.  I urge you to practice this with a mirror and to watch your mouth, and study to make sure that it is taking the correct position for either the R or the L consonant sound.

Wrap, lap.  Rain, lane.  Rest, lest.  Rate, late.  Write, light.  Rent, lent.

Now you'll hear word pairs where the R or L consonant sound comes at the end of the words.  Cobble, robber.  Apple, dapper.  Label, later.  Battle, batter.  Shovel, shudder.  Frank, flank.  Grass, glass.  Brain, blame.  Broke, blown.  Press, please.  Creep, clip.  Sorrow, shallow.

Now you will hear word pairs where the R and the L consonant sounds are reversed.  So make sure that you are doing the L at the right spot and the R at the right spot.  Rail, lair.  Real, leer.  Role, lore.  Rule, lure.

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Today we are going to go over the difference between the R [] and the L consonant sounds.  Many of my students have problems hearing and feeling the difference between these two sounds.  Therefore, they have problems saying the two sounds correctly.  First, let's review the mouth position.   To make the L, the tongue comes forward, and the tip of the tongue presses against the roof of the mouth just behind the teeth, or sometimes comes through the teeth.  To make the R sound, the tip of the tongue is down while the back/mid part of the tongue raises.  The back/mid part of the tongue presses against the insides of the top teeth.  So, to make the L sound, the tongue tip is up and forward, and to make the R sound it is down and further back.  In the R sound, the tip of the tongue is not touching anything.  Also, in the L sound, the lips remain more neutral.  In the R sound, they round somewhat.  And sometimes, at the beginning of a word especially, they round a lot.

Let's look at a word pair where the only difference between the two words is the R and the L consonant.  Rate, late.  Here you see both of the sounds side-by-side.  Notice in the R sound for 'rate', that the lips are more rounded.  In the L sound, the tip of the tongue is up against the roof of the mouth, behind the front teeth.  Now you will see me speak one of the words, either 'rate' or 'late', with no sound.  I want you to study the mouth position and guess which one it is.  The word that I said is 'rate', which begins with the R.  Note the starting mouth position.  Rate.  The lips were in a tight circle for the R sound.

Now let's look at a word pair where it is the sound that comes at the end of the words that makes the difference.  Cuddle, which ends in the L sound, and cutter, which ends in the R sound.  Here the sounds are a little more relaxed as they come at the end of the word.  However, the tongue is still up in position, tongue tip touching behind the front top teeth for the L sound, and the lips are still somewhat rounded for the R sound.  You can see this dark space in the mouth for the R sound.  That is because the tongue is further back in this sound.  Here again I will say one of the words without the sound.  Guess what the word is based on the mouth position.  Cuddle.  The word was 'cuddle' with the L sound.

And now a word pair where the R and L sound comes in the middle of the word.  Feeling and fearing.  Here again are both sounds.  The lips are more rounded for the R sound.  And the tongue tip for the L is, as expected, raised to the roof of the mouth.  In the R sound you can see more dark space in the mouth because the tongue is pulled further back.  In the L sound the tongue is more forward, and therefore you can see it more easily through the teeth.  Again, I will repeat one of the words without sound.  Guess which word it is, based on the mouth position you see.  The word was 'feeling', with the L sound.

I hope this helps you to understand how these sounds are different.  When you practice, use a mirror.  And make sure that you see in the mirror the correct mouth position for these sounds.