-ed pronunciation checker

Type a regular verb, in the past (fixed) or the base form (fix), and the checker tells you how the -ed ending sounds: /t/, /d/ or /ɪd/, and why. The answer depends on the last sound of the verb, not its last letter, so the checker knows the tricky spellings too: fixed, laughed, danced, used to and adjectives like naked. It runs in your browser, is free and needs no account.

The three sounds of -ed

Regular past tense verbs all end in -ed in writing, but in speech that ending has three sounds. Only one of them, /ɪd/, adds a syllable. Which one you use depends on the last sound of the base verb.

A voiceless sound is made with air only. Put your fingers on your throat and say /sss/: nothing moves. A voiced sound makes your throat buzz: say /zzz/ and you feel it. English keeps the end of a word all voiceless or all voiced, so voiceless /k/ in work is followed by voiceless /t/, and voiced /v/ in live by voiced /d/. After /t/ or /d/ you could not hear another /t/ or /d/, so English adds a short vowel: /ɪd/.

The sound of ed in fixed

Fixed is pronounced /fɪkst/, with /t/, and it has one syllable. The verb fix ends in the letter x, but x is said /ks/, and the last sound /s/ is voiceless. So -ed is /t/, exactly like kissed /kɪst/. The same goes for mixed /mɪkst/, relaxed /rɪˈlækst/, boxed and taxed. Never say “fix-ed” with two syllables.

Spellings that trick you

• laughed /lɑːft/, coughed /kɒft/

  gh is said /f/, a voiceless sound, so /t/.

• danced /dɑːnst/, noticed /ˈnəʊtɪst/

  ce is said /s/, so /t/. The final e is silent.

• hoped /həʊpt/, liked /laɪkt/

  Ignore the silent e: the sounds before -ed are /p/ and /k/.

• stopped /stɒpt/, planned /plænd/

  A double letter is one sound: /p/ gives /t/, /n/ gives /d/.

• raised /reɪzd/, used (a pen) /juːzd/

  Here s is said /z/, a voiced sound, so /d/.

• increased /ɪnˈkriːst/, promised /ˈprɒmɪst/

  Here s is said /s/, so /t/. The spelling se can be /s/ or /z/.

• studied /ˈstʌdid/, weighed /weɪd/

  The verb ends in a vowel sound, so /d/.

Used to, supposed to and adjectives

Used to is said /ˈjuːst tə/, with /s/ and /t/, even though used on its own (I used a pen) is /juːzd/. Supposed to works the same way: /səˈpəʊst tə/. In fast speech the /t/ of the ending and the /t/ of to join into one.

A few words ending in -ed keep an old full /ɪd/ ending, because they are adjectives, not past tenses: naked /ˈneɪkɪd/, wicked /ˈwɪkɪd/, sacred, rugged, ragged, wretched. Some words have two forms: learned is /lɜːnd/ as a verb but /ˈlɜːnɪd/ in a learned professor, and beloved is usually /bɪˈlʌvɪd/ before a noun. Adverbs like supposedly and allegedly keep /ɪd/ too.

Why the ending is so hard to hear

The /t/ or /d/ of -ed is short and quiet, and before another consonant it almost disappears: in I watched TV the two t sounds meet. Before a vowel it links forward, so worked a lot sounds like “work-ta-lot”. When you cannot hear it, use the context: words like yesterday or last week tell you the verb is past. Our post on how to pronounce -ed has the full rules, the research on why learners drop the ending, and four drills.

Want a full course? In Typeflu's past tense course you hear real sentences, type them word by word, and every missing -ed is marked on the spot. You can try Typeflu free, no card needed.

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