English Pronunciation Tip of the Day
Tip 58
Category:
Affixes
Author: JAM
The suffix <-ed>
You probably already know that the past tense suffix <-ed> has three different pronunciations:
- /Id/ or /@d/ when the verb stem ends in /t/ or /d/: wanted ended
- /t/ when the verb stem ends in a voiceless consonant: laughed washed
- /d/ when the verb stem ends in a voiced consonant or a vowel: roamed showed
However there are a number of adjectives which have the ending <-ed> and the above rules do not apply to these. The pronunciation is /Id/ or /@d/ no matter what the preceding sound is. Here are some examples:
| aged | /"eIdZId/ |
| beloved | /bi"lVvId/ |
| blessed | /"blesId/ |
| bow-legged | /%b@U"legId/ |
| crooked | /"krUkId/ |
| dogged | /"dQgId/ |
| jagged | /"dZ{gId/ |
| naked | /"neIkId/ |
| sacred | /"seIkrId/ |
| wicked | /"wIkId/ |
| wretched | /"retSId/ |
Watch out because some of the above can also be the past tense forms of a verb and then the rules do apply. For example, dogged = persevering = /"dQgId/, dogged = pursued = /"dQgd/.