How To Pronounce the

final –ed & -s

Phonetics S2

English lecture S2 #2

By Chaouli Mohamed

For 1st year ST students

Djelfa University –2020/2021

Part 1

How To Pronounce the

final –ed

By Chaouli Mohamed

For 1st year ST students

Djelfa University –2020/2021

1. How To Pronounce the final –ed

The combination -ed appears at the end of:

-regular verbs in the past tense (e.g. wanted, helped, lived)

-sometimes in adjectives (e.g. tired, embarrassed, relaxed)

-as well as in some Past Participles.

However the pronunciation of -ed sometimes causes problems for non-native

speakers because it can be pronounced in three different ways: as / id /, as / t / or

as / d /

(Note: whenever you see letters or symbols between two slash marks (/ /), it

refers to the pronunciation of that letter or sound)

Before we learn the difference ways to pronounce -ed , we must first know what

voiced and voiceless consonants are. 3

2. Voiced Consonants vs. Voiceless Consonants

A voiced consonant

(or sound) means that it uses the vocal cords and they produce a vibration or

humming sound in the throat when they are pronounced. Put your finger on your

throat and then pronounce the letter L. You will notice a slight vibration in your

neck / throat. That is because it is a voiced sound.

A voiceless consonant

(sometimes called an unvoiced sound) is when there is no vibration in your throat

and the sound comes from the mouth area. Pronounce the letter P. You will

notice how it comes from your mouth (in fact near your lips at the front of your

mouth). The Psound doesn't come from your throat.

Now we know the difference between voiced and voiceless

sounds we can look at the following rules for the correct

pronunciation of -ed in English in 3 ways:

•/ɪd/

•/t/

•/d/

1. The /id/ sound

If the last letter of the word is spelled with Dor T, the -ed is

pronounced as a separate syllable with an /id/ sound (it

rhymes with kid and lid).

•wanted (sounds like "want-id")

•waited

•needed

•folded

2. The /t/ sound

If the last consonant of the word is voiceless, then the -ed is pronounced as aT.

Be careful not to create an extra syllable or "id" sound.

•talked (sounds like "talkt")

•missed (the Ssound comes from the front of mouth so it would sound like

“misst")

•parked

•Helped

Note:As an example, with the word "helped", if you say "help-id" as a two syllable

word, then it is very likely that people will NOT understand the word or what you

are saying. (It is pronounced like "helpt")

3. The /d/ sound

If the last letter of the words ends in avoiced consonant (or

sound), then the -ed is pronounced like a D(without creating

another syllable)

•played (sounds like "playd")

•closed (the S sounds like a vibrating Zso the word would sound

like "clozd")

•opened

•lived

An easy way to remember how to pronounce -ed words

The most important thing to remember is that there are

two main divisions:

1. The words that end in Tor D

•the -ed is pronounced as a syllable /id/

2. and the REST of the words

•you can pronounce the -ed as /t/ and people will understand.

In time you will learn when to pronounce the -ed as /t/

or /d/.

Summary Chart

Part 2

How To Pronounce the

final -s

By Chaouli Mohamed

For 1st year ST students

Djelfa University –2020/2021

1. How To Pronounce the final –s

The pronunciation of Sat the end of plural nouns, verbs in third person and

as a part of the possessive case sometimes causes problems for non-native

speakers because it can be pronounced in three different ways: / ɪz /, / s /

or / z /.

The pronunciation depends on the last sound of the verb or noun which is

usually a consonant. Before we learn the difference ways to pronounce the

final S, we must first know what voiced and voiceless consonants are as

well as sibilant sounds

2. Sibilant Sounds

Another sound which is relevant to this is the sibilant sound which is

produced by forcing air out toward your teeth. It is characterized by a

hissing sound (sssss), abuzzing sound (zzzzz)or the sound teachers make

when they want you to be quiet (shhhh!).

•Z like the sound a bee makes... zzzzzz

•S like the sound a snake makes... sssssss

•SH like the sound a teacher makes when they want you to be quiet... shhhhh

Now we know the difference between voiced, voiceless and sibilant sounds

we can look at the following rules for the correct pronunciation of Sat the

end of words in English:

3. The pronunciation of the Sat the end of words in English

The pronunciation of the final S in plural words and verbs in the

third person depend on the final consonant sound before that S.

The ending is pronounced /s/ after a voiceless sound, it is

pronounced /z/ after a voiced sound and is pronounced /ɪz /or

/əz/ after a sibilant sound:

•Voiceless: helps /ps/-- sits /ts/ -- looks /ks/

•Voiced: crabs /bz/-- words /dz/-- gloves /vz/,

•Sibilant: buses /sɪz /or /səz /, bridges /dʒɪz /or /dʒəz /, wishes /shɪz /

or /shəz /

Rule #1. The /ɪz/ sound (or /əz/ sound)

Sometimes this sound is written as /əz/ and uses the symbol "schwa" or "upside down e" before

the z. For ease we will write this sound as /ɪz/or /iz/

If the last consonant sound of the word is asibilant sound (a hissing or buzzing sound), the final S

is pronounced as /ɪz/. This /ɪz/ sound is pronounced like an extra syllable. (e.g. the word buses

has two syllables)

If the sound has a J sound (/dʒ/ like the letter J at the beginning of the word jacket or /ʒ/ like the

Sin pleasure), then the final S is also pronounced as /ɪz/.

Examples of words ending in the /ɪz/ sound:

C: races (sounds like "race-iz") S: pauses, nurses, buses, rises

X: fixes, boxes, hoaxes Z: amazes, freezes, prizes, quizzes

SS: misses, passes, bosses CH: sandwiches, teaches

SH: dishes, wishes, pushes, crashes GE: garages, changes, ages, judges

Remember: after verbs ending in -sh, -ch, -ss and -x, we add the -es to the end of the verb (in

third person) and the pronunciation is /iz/as an extra syllable.

Rule #2. The /s/ sound

If the last consonant of the word is voiceless, then the Sis

pronounced as /s/. Be careful not to create an extra syllable.

Note: The consonants c, s, sh,ch and xare voiceless though they use

the sibilants ending seen above.

Examples of words ending in the /s/ sound:

P: cups, stops, sleeps

T: hats, students, hits, writes

K: books, drinks, walks

F: cliffs, sniffs, beliefs, laughs, graphs (the -gh and -ph here are pronounced like a F)

TH: myths, tablecloths, months (voiceless th)

Rule #3. The /z/ sound

If the last letter of the words ends in a voiced consonant (or sound), then the S is

pronounced like a Z/z/(without creating another syllable). This Z sound is similar

to the sound a bee makes zzzz.

We also use this ending when the word ends in a vowel sound (e.g. bees, flies

etc.)

Examples of words ending in the /z/ sound:

B: crabs, rubs D: cards, words, rides, ends

G: rugs, bags, begs L: deals, calls, falls, hills

M: plums, dreams N: fans, drains, runs, pens

NG: kings, belongs, sings R: wears, cures

V: gloves, wives, shelves, drives Y: plays, boys, says,

THE: clothes, bathes, breathes VOWEL SOUNDS: sees, fleas

Summary Chart

Thank you