105 Regular Verbs with ED in the Past

American English Pronunciation Course

Many English learners make pronunciation mistakes with the -ED ending of regular verbs in English in the past tense. There are 3 ways to pronounce it:

  1. Like T
  2. Like ED (with an extra syllable)
  3. Like D

Let’s do some English pronunciation practice with examples:

-ED pronounced like T

After English verbs ending with a K sound

  • asked
  • checked
  • kicked
  • liked
  • looked
  • talked
  • thanked
  • walked
  • worked

After English verbs ending with an S sound

  • confessed
  • crossed
  • dressed
  • embarrassed
  • guessed
  • impressed
  • increased
  • missed
  • passed
  • promised

Remember that C in English can also have an S sound:

  • announced
  • danced
  • forced
  • influenced
  • introduced
  • noticed
  • reduced

After English verbs ending with an SH sound

  • brushed
  • crashed
  • punished
  • pushed
  • rushed

After English verbs ending with a CH sound

  • matched
  • punched
  • reached
  • searched

After English verbs ending with an F / X sound

  • laughed
  • fixed
  • relaxed

-ED pronounced like ED (with extra syllable)

After English verbs ending with a T sound

  • accepted
  • appreciated
  • cheated
  • connected
  • excited
  • interrupted
  • invented
  • rejected
  • started
  • waited

After English verbs ending with a D sound

  • avoided
  • decided
  • ended
  • expanded
  • guarded
  • included
  • needed
  • pretended
  • reminded
  • succeeded

-ED pronounced like D

After ALL other English verbs that don’t fit into the first two categories

ap / pear –> ap / peared
(no extra syllable)

ac / cept –> ac / cep / ted
(the ED adds an extra syllable)

After English verbs ending with an R sound

  • appeared
  • compared
  • considered
  • entered
  • remembered

After English verbs ending with a V sound

  • arrived
  • received
  • observed
  • improved
  • saved

After English verbs ending with a Z sound

  • advised
  • buzzed
  • paused
  • raised
  • sneezed

After English verbs ending with an L / M / N sound

  • killed
  • pulled
  • traveled
  • claimed
  • jammed
  • burned
  • examined
  • explained
  • turned
  • warned

After English verbs ending with a vowel sound

  • borrowed
  • annoyed
  • cried
  • glued
  • carried
  • weighed

After English verbs ending with a B / G / J sound

  • robbed
  • scrubbed
  • belonged
  • hugged
  • arranged
  • encouraged
  • challenged
  • judged
  • managed

Let’s review:

-ED only adds an extra syllable when after a verb ending with T or D

want –> wan / ted
(1 syllable –> 2 syllables)

de / cide –> de / ci / ded
(2 syllables –> 3 syllables)

In all other cases, it does not add an extra syllable

miss –> missed (“misst”)
(1 syllable –> 1 syllable)

re / ceive –> re / ceived
(2 syllables –> 2 syllables)

Speak English more clearly & confidently!

105 Regular Verbs with ED in the Past Espresso English

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