Adjectives made from the past participle of a regular verb also end in ‘ed’.
The newly constructed garage was very large. In a whispered voice, she told us the secret.
The aged woman walked slowly to the door. This is a crooked desk!
All of these words end in ‘ed’. Yet they are not all pronounced the same way. Some sound as if they end in ‘t’, some in ‘d’, and some sound as if they end in ‘id’, adding another syllable to the word. How to tell the difference? Here’s how:
|
If the base verb ends in one of these sounds: (It is the SOUND, not the letter that makes the difference.) |
base verb*: |
becomes |
pronounce |
adds a syllable? |
|
|
unvoiced |
/t/ |
paint |
painted |
id |
yes |
|
voiced |
/d/ |
bend |
bended |
||
|
unvoiced |
/p/ |
jump |
jumped |
/t/ |
no |
|
/f/ |
cough |
coughed |
|||
|
/s/ |
ax |
axed |
|||
|
/sh/ |
wish |
wished |
|||
|
/tch/ |
bewitch |
bewitched |
|||
|
/k/ |
wreck |
wrecked |
|||
|
voiced |
All other sounds. These are only a few examples. |
cheer |
cheered |
/d/ |
|
|
hug |
hugged |
||||
|
howl |
howled |
||||
|
dream |
dreamed |
||||
There are always exceptions. These adjectives (not all of them are verbs used as adjectives) end in ‘ed’, and they are always pronounced with the extra end syllable ‘id’. There are probably more. If you are unsure how to pronounce a word, don’t be afraid to ask someone.
aged blessed crooked learned naked ragged wicked
