It’s usually quite difficult for Spanish speakers to get the pronunciation of regular past tense verbs right. They are often unsure whether to pronounce them with /t/, /d/ or /ɪd/ at the end. So, as a ‘solution’, students generally say /ed/ or /ɪd/ for most verbs, when in fact this is not always correct. So, in the classroom we often hear things like /ə'raɪved/, /wɒtʃɪd/ or /'mɪssed/ instead of the correct forms /ə'raɪvd/, /wɒtʃt/ or /mɪst/.
How to pronounce the regular past tense and the sound /ɪd/
Section one: spotting the problem
Students often struggle to pronounce the /ɪd/ sound at the end of regular past tense verbs. They tend to say /ed/ or /ɪd/ at the end of most verbs, but this is not correct in all cases.
Section two: correcting the problem
See if you can spot any differences between the following verbs and their past tenses. Try counting the syllables! The number after the word indicates the number of syllables each one has.
- play (1) – played (1)
- watch (1) – watched (1)
- decide (2) – decided (3)
We can see two things:
- decided is pronounced with /ɪd/ at the end. The sounds in the other two past verbs are /d/ and /t/.
- decided contains one syllable more than the infinitive form decide. The other two verbs have no extra syllables in their past forms.
Now listen. Which of the following verbs do we say with /ɪd/ in the past form?
- play ➡️ played
- end ➡️ ended
- call ➡️ called
- like ➡️ liked
- decide ➡️ decided
- arrive ➡️ arrived
- represent ➡️ represented
- attach ➡️ attached
The answer is: ended, decided, represented. They are pronounced with /ɪd/, and they are one syllable longer than their infinitive forms. But why exactly is this?
The rule is: if the infinitive ends with the sounds /d/ or /t/, the pronunciation of the past form is with /ɪd/, and it will be a syllable longer. Of the verbs above, end and decide finish with the sound /d/, and represent with /t/: this is why they are pronounced with /ɪd/ at the end in the past tense.
Now you know the rule for when to pronounce the past form with /ɪd/ and when not to .
Now look at the verbs call, attach and like. These verbs do not end in /d/ or /t/ in the infinitive. So, you cannot pronounce their past forms with /ɪd/ at the end: you cannot say /kɔ:lɪd/ for called, /ə'tætʃɪd/ for attached or /'laɪkɪd/ for liked. We know that the number of syllables doesn’t change, either. So, the same number of syllables as there are in the infinitive must fit into the past form: call (1) - called (1); attach (2) – attached (2); like (1) – liked (1 syllable).
The only way to do this is by pronouncing the past form with /d/ or /t/ at the end, not /ɪd/. So, the correct pronunciation is: called /d/, attached /t/ and liked /t/.
Section three: practice
Let’s start using past verbs in sentences. Listen carefully to how the verbs are joined to words that follow them. For example, when saying picked up, you actually say ‘pick tup’; for shopped for, you say ‘shop tfor’. Listen and repeat the sentences after the beep.
- picked up
- She picked up the phone.
- shopped
- They shopped for clothes.
- changed
- He changed his mind.
- answered
- They answered me quickly.
- wanted
- I wanted to go.
- painted
- Who painted the portrait?
Section four: how to memorize
Here are some phrases for you to memorize. Let me give you a useful bit of advice here: when you learn English pronunciation, get used to relying on your ears more than your eyes, as spelling and sound can often be surprisingly different.
- We decided /ɪd/ to go.
- She looked /t/ up the number.
- I called /d/ the hotel.
- She booked /t/the room.
- I wanted /ɪd/ a different one.
- She changed /d/ the booking.
- I helped /t/ with the luggage.
- She cleaned /d/ the car.
- We started /ɪd/ off early.
- We visited /ɪd/ London.
- We stayed /d/ four nights.
- We returned /d/ on Friday.
- The story ended /ɪd/ well
