Place Bilabial Labio- Dental Alveola Palato- Palat Velar Glotta

Denta r Alveola al l
l r
Manner

Stop p t k ʔ

Voiceless

b d g

Voiced

Affricate ʧ

Voiceless

Voiced

Fricative f θ s ʃ

Voiceless h

v ð z Ʒ

Voiced

Nasal Voiced m n ŋ

Lateral Voiced l

Semivowel Voiced w r j

(Approximan
t)
Group A Voiceless sounds

Voicel p t k f θ s ʃ ʧ h
ess
Voiced b d g v ð z Ʒ ʤ m n ŋ l w r j h All
vowe
ls

Ed as “T”

asked
baked
brushed
cooked
cracked
crashed
danced (da:ns) + t
dressed
dropped
escaped
finished
fixed
guessed
helped
hoped
hiked
joked
jumped
knocked
kissed
laughed (læf) + t
locked
looked
missed
mixed
packed
passed
picked
pressed
pushed
pronounced
relaxed
slipped
smoked
stopped
shopped
talked
typed
walked
washed
watched
worked

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) + d
agreed
allowed
answered
appeared
arrived
believed
belonged
burned
called
carried
changed
cleaned
closed
covered
cried
damaged
described
died
dried
earned
encouraged
enjoyed
entered
explained
explored
filled
followed
happened
interviewed
imagined
jailed
killed
listened
lived
loved
measured
moved
opened
planned
played
performed
pulled
realized
remembered
rained
repaired
saved
shared
shaved
showed
signed
slammed
stayed
snowed
studied
tried
traveled
turned
used
welcomed
whispered
worried
yawned

Group C: T or D pronounce ED as “ID”

Example: Need, needed = need(id)

Ed as “ID”

accepted
afforded
attended
arrested
collected
contacted
counted
decided
defended
demanded
divided
ended
expanded
expected
exported
flooded
graduated
hated
hunted
included
invited
invented
landed
needed
painted
planted
printed
presented
pretended
protected
provided
rented
repeated
reported
respected
rested
scolded
skated
started
shouted
treated
visited
waited
wanted
wasted

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.

b
d
th (as in then)
v
l
r
z
j (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.

p
t
k
s
sh
ch
th (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 - played
wash - washed
live - 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':

chairs
machines
bags

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

bats
parks
pipes

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):

washed
traveled
coats
gloves
shells
watched
started
changed
books
wheels
lived
dreams
seats
dropped
exchanged
globes
phones
carts
listened
organized

washed - voiceless
traveled - voiced
coats - voiceless
gloves - voiced
shells - voiced
watched - voiceless
started - voiced
changed - voiced
books - voiceless
wheels - voiced
lived - voiced
dreams - voiced
seats - voiceless
dropped - voiceless
exchanged - voiced
globes - voiced
phones - voiced
carts - voiceless
listened - voiced
organized - 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/arrived

You > arrived /d/ wait/waited
He > worked /t/ stop/stopped
She > dreamed/dreamt /dri:md/ or /dremt/ occur/occurred
It > 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 y
The 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 o
When 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 z

When 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 consists
of 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 letter

other 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 Nouns
slice ---- slices (c = /s/) price ---- prices (c= /s/)

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

wash ---- washes dish ---- dishes

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

judge ---- judges inch ---- inches

relax ---- relaxes (x = /ks/ ) 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 Nouns
sleep sleeps grape grapes

hit hits cat cats

work works 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 Nouns
learn learns name names

go goes 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 Listen to the words:

start started
Play Audio
need needed

wait waited

decide decided

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

Verbs Listen to the words:

laugh laughed (gh =/ f / Play Audio

wish wished

look looked

watch watched

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/, /Σ / to
represent the sound of sh, /tΣ / as in chew, /Τ / as
in thing.

Voiced consonants are /b/, /d/, /g/, /dΖ / as in ridge,

college, /l/, /m/, /n/,/Ν (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 /Ι 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/, /Σ /sh, /tΣ /ch,
or /dΖ /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/, /Σ /, /tΣ /, or /dΖ /,

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