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Bilabial Labio- Dental

Dental Alveolar Palato-Alveolar

Palatal Velar Glottal

Stop

Voiceless

p t k ʔ

Voiced

b d g

Affricate

Voiceless

ʧ

Voiced

ʤ

Fricative

Voiceless

f θ s ʃ

h

Voiced

v ð z Ʒ

Nasal Voiced m n ŋ

Lateral Voiced l

Semivowel

(Approximant)

Voiced w r j

Group A Voiceless sounds

Voiceless p t k f θ s ʃ ʧ h

Voiced b d g v ð z Ʒ ʤ m n ŋ l w r j h All vowels

Ed as “T”

askedbakedbrushed cookedcrackedcrasheddanced (da:ns) + tdresseddroppedescaped finished fixedguessedhelpedhopedhikedjokedjumped knocked kissedlaughed (læf) + tlocked lookedmissedmixedpackedpassedpickedpressedpushedpronouncedrelaxed slippedsmokedstopped

shopped talkedtyped walked washedwatchedworked

Group B

Voiced sound : – l – v – n – m – r – b – v – g – w – y – z – and vowel sounds (diphthongs) pronounce ED as “D”

Example: Allow, allowed = allow(D)

Ed as “D”

advised (ad’vaiz) + dagreedallowed answered appearedarrivedbelievedbelonged burnedcalledcarriedchanged cleanedclosed coveredcrieddamageddescribeddieddriedearned encouraged enjoyedenteredexplained explored filledfollowed happened

interviewedimagined jailed killedlistened livedlovedmeasured movedopenedplannedplayedperformedpulledrealized remembered rainedrepaired savedsharedshavedshowedsignedslammed stayedsnowedstudiedtriedtraveledturnedused welcomedwhispered worriedyawned

Group C: T or D pronounce ED as “ID”

Example: Need, needed = need(id)

Ed as “ID”

acceptedaffordedattendedarrested

collectedcontactedcounteddecideddefended demanded dividedendedexpandedexpected exported flooded graduated hated hunted includedinvited inventedlandedneededpaintedplantedprintedpresented pretendedprotectedprovided rentedrepeated reported respected restedscoldedskatedstartedshouted treated visitedwaitedwantedwasted

Voiced and Voiceless Consonants

One problem that many students face in pronunciation is whether a consonant is voiced or voiceless. This guide should help you understand the differences and give you some simple rules.

To help you I've recorded this voiced and voiceless consonant page so you can listen to the examples. (Suggestion: open the sound file in another page or tab so you can read along while you listen)

What is Voiced?

A simple explanation of voiced consonants is that they use the voice. This is easy to test by putting your finger on your throat. If you feel a vibration the consonant is voiced. Here is a list of some voiced consonants. Pronounce each consonant sound (not the letter) and feel the vibration of your vocal chords.

bdth (as in then)vlrzj (as in Jane)

What is Voiceless?

Voiceless consonants do not use the voice. They are percussive and use hard sounds. Once again, you can test if a consonant is voiceless by putting your finger on your throat. You will feel no vibration in your throat, just a short explosion of air as you pronounce. Pronounce each of these consonant sounds and feel NO vibration in your throat.

ptksshchth (as in thing)

Careful! Some Consonants Voiced, but are Voiceless

When consonants are put in groups they can change the voiced or voiceless quality of the consonant that follows. A great example of this is the past simple form of regular verbs. As you know, regular verbs add -ed to the end of the verb in the past simple.

play - playedwash - washedlive - lived etc.

These past simple verbs all end in '-ed'. However, some of the verbs are pronounced with a voiceless 't' sound and some are pronounced with the voiced 'd' sound. Why? Here are the rules:

If -ed is preceded by a voiceless consonant sound (p, k, sh, etc.) -ed sounds as a voiceless 't'. Remember that the 'e' is silent.

If -ed is preceded by a voiced consonant sound (d, b, v, etc.) -ed sounds as a voiced 'd'. Remember that the 'e' is silent.

If -ed is preceded by a vowel sound (often 'ay') -ed sounds as a voiced 'd' because vowels are always voiced. Remember that the 'e' is silent.

Exception: If -ed is preceded by 't' pronounce a voiced -id. In this case, the 'e' is pronounced.

This pattern can also be found with plural forms. If the consonant preceding the 's' is voiced, 's' will sound as voiced 'z':

chairsmachinesbags

If the consonant preceding the 's' is voiceless, 's' will sound as voiceless 's':

batsparkspipes

Connected Speech

Finally, when speaking in sentences the ending consonant sounds can change based on the following words. This is often referred to as 'connected speech'. Here is an example of a change from a voiced 'b' in the word 'club' to a voiceless 'p' because of the voiced 't' of 'to' of the following word:

We went to the club to meet some friends.

Here is an example of a change from a voiced 'd' past simple verb changed to voiceless 't':

We played tennis yesterday afternoon.

Exercise:

Take this list of words and decide if the final consonants are voiced or voiceless. Once you have made your decision, click on the link to check the answers (or, if you are listening, I will provide the answers in the audio):

washedtraveledcoatsglovesshellswatchedstartedchangedbookswheelsliveddreamsseatsdroppedexchangedglobesphonescartslistenedorganized

washed - voicelesstraveled - voicedcoats - voicelessgloves - voicedshells - voicedwatched - voicelessstarted - voicedchanged - voicedbooks - voicelesswheels - voicedlived - voiceddreams - voicedseats - voicelessdropped - voicelessexchanged - voicedglobes - voicedphones - voicedcarts - voicelesslistened - voicedorganized - voiced

Pronunciation of Third Person Singular

Note: The letters between the slash marks / / refer to sounds, not to spelling.

1. The -(e)s of the simple present tense is pronounced as /z/ after a voiced sound, except /z/, /zh/, and /j/. The voiced sounds are sounds that are produced by vibration of the vocal chords. The voiced sounds in English are:

     a. All vowels

     b. /b/, /g/, j sound (as in judge), /l/, /m/, /n/, /r/, voiced th (as in bathe), /v/, ng (as in bang), zh sound (as in measure), z sound (as in buzz)

Examples: plays, sees, goes, robs, hangs, calls, rams, learns, blurs, clothes, receives

2. The -(e)s of the simple present tense is pronounced as /s/ after a voiceless sound, except /s/, /sh/, and /ch/. The voiceless sounds are sounds that are produced with no vibration of the vocal chords. The voiceless sounds in English are:

     a. /f/, /k/, /p/, /s/, voiceless th (as in with), ch (as in watch), sh (as in wash)

Examples: laughs, talks, stops

3. When a word ends in /s/, /sh/, /ch/, /z/, /j/ the -es is pronounced as a separate syllable: /ɪz/. Therefore, if a verb ends in one of these sounds, the present tense will have one more syllable than the simple form.

Examples:

fix (1 syllable)-->fixes (2 syllables)

kiss (1 syllable)-->kisses (2 syllables)

wash (1 syllable)-->washes (2 syllables)

watch (1 syllable)-->watches (2 syllables)

damage (2 syllables)-->damages (3 syllables)

memorize (3 syllables)-->memorizes (4 syllables)

exercise (3 syllables)-->exercises (4 syllables)

 

FORM OF THE SIMPLE PAST TENSE WITH REGULAR VERBS

 

The form is the same for all persons.

Pronunciation spelling

I > played /d/ arrive/arrivedYou > arrived /d/ wait/waitedHe > worked /t/ stop/stopped

She > dreamed/dreamt /dri:md/ or /dremt/ occur/occurredIt > posted /Id/ cry/cried

We >You >They >

Pronunciation of the regular past verbs in the regular past always end with a -d in their spelling, but the pronunciation of the past ending is not always the same:

play/played /d/

The most common spelling characteristic of the regular past is that -ed is added to the base form of the verb: opened, knocked, stayed, etc. Except in the cases noted below, this -ed is not pronounced as if it

were an extra syllable, so opened is pronounced: /@Up@nd/, knocked: /nQkt/, stayed: /steId/, etc.

arrive/arrived /d/

Verbs which end in the following sounds have their past endings pronounced /d/: /b/ rubbed; /g/ tugged; /dZ/ managed; /l/ filled; /m/ dimmed; /n/ listened; vowel + /r/ stirred; /v/ loved; /z/ seized. The -ed ending is

not pronounced as an extra syllable.

work/worked /t/

Verbs which end in the following sounds have their past endings pronounced /t/: /k/ packed; /s/ passed; /tS/ watched; /S/ washed; /f/ laughed; /p/ tipped. The -ed ending is not pronounced as an extra syllable.

dream/dreamed /d/ or dreamt /t/

A few verbs function as both regular and irregular and may have their past forms spelt -ed or

-t pronounced /d/ or /t/: e.g. burn, dream, lean, learn, smell, spell, spill, spoil.

post/posted /Id/

Verbs which end in the sounds /t/ or /d/ have their past endings pronounced /Id/: posted, added. The -ed ending is pronounced as an extra syllable added to the base form of the verb.

Spelling of the regular past

The regular past always ends in -d:

arrive/arrived

Verbs ending in -e add -d: e.g. phone/phoned, smile/smiled. This rule applies equally to agree, die, lie, etc.

wait/waited

Verbs not ending in -e add -ed: e.g. ask/asked, clean/cleaned, follow/followed, video/videoed.

stop/stopped

Verbs spelt with a single vowel letter followed by a single consonant letter double the consonant: beg/begged, rub/rubbed.

occur/occurred

In two-syllable verbs the final consonant is doubled when the last syllable contains a single vowel letter followed by a single consonant letter and is stressed: pre'fer/preferred, re'fer/referred. Compare:

'benefit/benefited, 'differ/differed and 'profit/profited which are stressed on their first syllables and which therefore do not double their final consonants. In American English labeled, quarreled, signaled and

traveled follow the rule. In British English labelled, quarrelled, signalled and travelled are exceptions to the rule.

cry/cried

When there is a consonant before -y, the "y" changes to "i" before we add -ed: e.g. carry/carried, deny/denied, fry/fried, try/tried. Compare: delay/delayed, obey/obeyed, play/played, etc. which have a

vowel before -y and therefore simply add -ed in the past.

 

FORM OF THE SIMPLE PAST TENSE WITH IRREGULAR VERBS

 

The form is the same for all persons

I >}You >

He > took >She > shut > the suitcase

It > sat on >We >You >They >

Notes on the past form of irregular verbs

Unlike regular verbs, irregular verbs (about 150 in all) do not have past forms which can be predicted:

shut/shut

A small number of verbs have the same form in the present as in the past: e.g. cut/cut, hit/hit, put/put. It is important to remember, particularly with such verbs, that the third person does not change in the past:

e.g. he shut (past); he shuts (present).

sit/sat

The past form of most irregular verbs is different from the present: bring/brought, catch/caught, keep/kept, leave/left, lose/lost.

 

USES OF THE SIMPLE PAST TENSE

1. Completed actions

We normally use the Simple Past Tense to talk about events, actions or situations which occurred in the past and are now finished.

They may have happened recently:

Sam phoned a moment ago.

or in the distant past:

The Goths invaded Rome in A.D. 410.

A time reference must be given:

I had a word with Julian this morning.

or must be understood from the context:

I saw Fred in town. (i.e. when I was there this morning) I never met my grandfather. (i.e. he is dead)

When we use the simple past, we are usually concerned with when an action occurred, not with its duration (how long it lasted).

 

2. Past habit

Like used to, the simple past can be used to describe past habits:

I smoked forty cigarettes a day till I gave up.

3. The immediate past

We can sometimes use the Simple Past without a time reference to describe something that happened a very short time ago:

Jimmy punched me in the stomach. Did the telephone ring?

Who left the door open?

 

4. Polite inquiries, etc.

The Simple Past does not always refer to past time. It can also be used for polite inquiries (particularly asking for favours), often with verbs like hope, think or wonder. Compare:

I wonder if you could give me a lift. I wondered if you could give me a lift. (more tentative/polite)

 

ADVERBIALS WITH THE SIMPLE PAST TENSE

 

The association of the Past Tense with adverbials that tell us when something happened is very important. Adverbials used with the past tense must refer to past (not present) time. This means that

adverbials which link the present (before now, so far, till now, yet) are not used with past tenses.

Some adverbials like yesterday, last summer and combinations with ago are used only with past tenses:

I saw Jane yesterday/last summer.

Ago, meaning 'back from now', can combine with a variety of expressions to refer to the past: e.g. two years ago; six months ago; ten minutes ago; a long time ago:

I met Robert Parr many years ago in Czechoslovakia.

The Simple Past is often used with when to ask and answer questions:

When did you learn about it? - When I saw it in the papers.

When often points to a definite contrast with the present:

I played football every day when I was a boy.

Other adverbials can be used with past tenses when they refer to past time, but can be used with other tenses as well:

adverbs: I always liked Gloria.

I often saw her in Rome. Did you ever meet Sonia?

I never met Sonia.

adverbial/prepositional phrases: We left at 4 o'clock/on Tuesday.

We had our holiday in July.

adverbial clauses: I waited till he arrived.

I met him when I was at college.

as + adverb + as: I saw him as recently as last week.

Spelling rules for adding s in the third person singular

Some verbs change their spelling when s is added in the third person singular.

a. Verbs ending in yThe English letters a, e, i, o and u are generally referred to as vowels. The other English letters are generally referred to as consonants.

When a verb ends in y immediately preceded by a consonant, the y is changed to ie before the ending s is added. In each of the following examples, the consonant immediately preceding the final y is underlined.

Bare Infinitive Third Person Singular  study   studies  fly   flies  carry   carries

However, when a verb ends in y immediately preceded by a vowel, the y is not changed before the ending s is added. In each of the following examples, the vowel immediately preceding the final y is underlined.

Bare Infinitive Third Person Singular

  say   says  enjoy   enjoys  buy   buys

See Exercise 3.

b. Verbs ending in oWhen a verb ends in o, the letter e is added before the s ending. For example:

Bare Infinitive Third Person Singular  do   does  echo   echoes  go   goes

c. Verbs ending in ch, s, sh, x or zWhen a verb ends in a sibilant sound such as ch, s, sh, x or z, the letter e is added before the s ending. For example:

Bare Infinitive Third Person Singular  pass   passes  push   pushes  watch   watches  fix   fixes  buzz   buzzes

See Exercise 4.

3. Pronunciation of the es ending

A syllable is a unit of pronunciation, usually consisting of a vowel sound which may or may not be accompanied by consonants.

When a verb ends in a sibilant sound such as ch, s, sh, x or z, the es ending of the third person singular is pronounced as a separate syllable. The reason for this is that these sounds are so similar to the sound of the es ending, that the ending must be pronounced as a separate syllable in order to be heard clearly.

In each of the following examples the bare infinitive consists of one syllable, whereas the form of the verb used in the third person singular consists of two syllables.

Bare Infinitive Third Person Singular  pass   passes  push   pushes  catch   catches  mix   mixes

Similarly, when s is added to verbs ending in ce, ge, se or ze, the final es is usually pronounced as

a separate syllable. In each of the following examples the bare infinitive consists of one syllable, whereas the form of the verb used in the third person singular consistsof two syllables.

Bare Infinitive Third Person Singular  race   races  rage   rages  praise   praises  doze   dozes

However, when s is added to a verb ending in e preceded by a letterother than c, g, s or z, the final es is not pronounced as a separate syllable. In each of the following examples, both the bare infinitive and the form of the verb used in the third person singular consist of one syllable.

Bare Infinitive Third Person Singular  make   makes  smile   smiles  dine   dines  save   saves

See Exercise 5.

If the simple form ends with the sounds /s/, /z/, /sh/, /zh/, Ich/, /j/, /ks/, then pronounce -s and -es as an extra syllable /iz/:

Verbs slice ---- slices (c = /s/)

lose ---- loses (s = /z/)

wash ---- washes

watch ---- watches

judge ---- judges

relax ---- relaxes (x = /ks/ )

Nouns price ---- prices (c= /s/)

size ---- sizes

dish ---- dishes

garage ---- garages (ge = /zh/

inch ---- inches

language ---- languages

If the simple form ends with the voiceless sounds /p/, /t/, /k/, /f/, or /th/, then pronounce -s and -es as /s/

Verbs sleep sleeps

hit hits

work works

Nouns grape grapes

cat cats

book books

laugh laughs (gh = /f/) cuff cuffs

fifth fifths

If the simple form ends with any other consonant or with a vowel sound, then pronounce -s and -es as /z/:

Verbs learn learns

go goes

Nouns name names

boy boys

Pronunciation of Verbs Ending in -ed

These pronunciation rules are for verbs ending in ed:

The ending -ed is pronounced as an extra syllable /id/, or as /t/ or /d/ at the end of the simple past and past participle forms of verbs. The pronunciation depends on the final sound of the

simple form of the verb:

If the simple form of the verb ends with the sounds / t / or I d /, then pronounce -ed as an extra syllable /id/:

Verbs start started

need needed

wait waited

decide decided

Listen to the words:

If the simple form ends with the voiceless sounds /f/, /k/, /p/, /s/, /sh/, /ch/, /ks/, then pronounce -ed as / t /:

 Verbs laugh laughed (gh =/ f /

wish wished

look looked

watch watched

Listen to the words:

jump jumped

fax faxed (x = /ks/)

slice sliced (c= /s/)

If the simple form ends with the voiced sounds /b/, /g/, /j/, /m/, /n/, /ng/, /l/, /r/, Ithl, /v/, /z/, or with a vowel, then pronounce -ed as /d/:

Verbs rob robbed

call called

brag bragged

order ordered

judge judged

bathe bathed

hum hummed

rain rained

wave waved

close closed (s = /Z/)

bang banged

play played

The Pronunciation of –ed , –s on Verbs, and the Plural –s

The –ed ending can be pronounced /t/, /d/, or /d/ (The symbol represents the upside-down e or schwa.).

The –s ending can be pronounced /s/, /z/, or /Iz/After unvoiced consonants the pronunciation is /t/ or /s/. After vowels and voiced consonants the pronunciation is /d/ and /z/.The pronunciations /d/ and /Iz/ are sometimes needed to make the endings heard. This rule refers to sounds as pronounced rather than as written.

Unvoiced consonants are /f/, /k/, /p/, /s/, // to represent the sound of sh, /t/ as in chew, / / as in thing.

Voiced consonants are /b/, /d/, /g/, /d/ as in ridge, college, /l/, /m/, /n/,/ (the sound represented by ng), /r/, /v/, /z/, and / / as in them.

1) The – ed ending

Examples of the –ed ending pronounced /t/:worked, sniffed, hopped, wished, passed, matched, unearthed

Examples of the –ed ending pronounced /d/: robbed, begged, polled, stormed, hinged, banged, bored, lived, gazed, breathed, sighed, played

Examples of the –ed ending pronounced /d/ when a verb ends in d or t. Otherwise, the ending could not be heard.

loaded, hated

2)The – s ending

Examples of noun plurals pronounced /s/:laughs, backs, naps, breaths

Examples of noun plurals pronounced /z/:labs, loads, hands, legs, bells, hams, pans, songs, rivers, lives

When a noun ends in /s/, /z/, //sh, /t/ch, or /d/college, plural ending is pronounced /Iz/. With theses-type sounds, the /Iz/ is needed for the plural ending to be heard.

cases, roses, wishes, churches, colleges, judges

When the verb in the third person singular ends in a vowel or a voiced consonant, the ending is pronounced /z/:

it pays, , he reads, he digs, she rolls, he hums, she runs, he sings, that bores me, she lives, she breathes

When the verb in the third person singular ends in an unvoiced consonant, the ending is pronounced /s/:

he laughs, she sniffs, he picks, she hopes,

When the verb ends in /s/, /z/, //, /t/, or /d/, the third person singular ending is pronounced /Iz/. With these s-type sounds, the /Iz/ is needed for the ending to be heard.

she tosses, he loses, she rushes, he clutches, it budges