Pronunciation of -ed endings

PRONUNCIATION RULES OF THE PAST SIMPLE TENSE OF REGULAR VERBS

1) After the sounds /f/, /k/, /p/, /s/, /sh/, /ch/ or /x/, the -ed syllable is pronounced /t/: look > looked (pronounced /lukt/); watch > watched; laugh > laughed; stop > stopped

2) After other consonants and vowel sounds, the –ed is pronounced /d/: live > lived; play > played; die > died; love > loved; clean > cleaned; marry > married

3) Verbs ending in the sound /t/ or /d/, add an extra syllable, pronounced /-id/: decide > decided; want > wanted; hate > hated; visit > visited; start > started

To practise these endings, watch the following lesson on YouTube.

WHO DID WHAT? 
Do you want to know more about 1 Pablo Picasso, 2 Albert Einstein, 3 Rudolf Nureyev or 4 Wolfgang Amedus Mozart? Match each activity with one of these four celebrities. Example: G2 = Einstein couldn't read until the age of 8. Then, say which past tense is pronounced /-tid/, /-vd/, /-zd/, /-ld/, /-rd/, /-pt/ or /-st/. Finally, read each sentence aloud for pronunciation practice.

A He came from a Jewish family.
B He painted the Guernica for the Spanish Republic.
C He emigrated from Russia to Paris.
D He escaped the Nazis and survived.
E He criticised Franco’s dictatorship all his life.
F You can find his face on some 50-cent coins.
G He couldn’t read until the age of 8.
H He died of Aids.
I He failed his Physics exam at school.
J He died young and poor.
K He invented cubism.
L He was the best dancer of his time.
M He composed a wonderful Requiem.
N He discovered the relativity theory.
O He died in exile.
P He wrote music for several kings.
Q His paintings are sold for millions.
R His mediocre competitor, Salieri, hated him.
S He never danced at the Maestranza theatre.
T He had the reputation of being a Latin lover.

ANSWER KEY:
A Einstein came from a Jewish family.
B Picasso painted the Guernica for the Spanish Republic.
C Nureyev emigrated from Russia to Paris.
D Einstein escaped the Nazis and survived.
E Picasso criticised Franco’s dictatorship all his life.
F You can find Mozart’s face on some 50-cent coins.
G Einstein couldn’t read until the age of 8.
H Nureyev died of Aids.
I Einstein failed his Physics exam at school.
J Mozart died young and poor.
K Picasso invented cubism.
L Nureyev was the best dancer of his time.
M Mozart composed a wonderful Requiem.
N Einstein discovered the relativity theory.
O Picasso died in exile.
P Mozart wrote music for several kings.
Q Picasso’s paintings are sold for millions.
R Mozart’s mediocre competitor, Salieri, hated him.
S Nureyev never danced at the Maestranza theatre.
T Picasso had the reputation of being a Latin lover.

The Chaos of English Pronunciation (C1/C2)

A2 Pronouncing Names, Learning Sounds

What's your favourite pop band?
GREEN DAY /i:/
THE CORRS /ko:rz/
U2 /ju: tu:/
THE CRANBERRIES /'krænberis/
GUNS N' ROSES /'rousez/
COLDPLAY /ou ei/
ROLLING STONES /stəunz/
THE WHO /hu:/
THE BEATLES /i:/
RED HOT CHILLI PEPPERS /'pepəz/
BOB MARLEY /'ma:rlei/
FRANZ FERDINAND
R.E.M.
POLICE /pə'li:s/
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND

What pop band is this? Can you guess?

What are these abbreviations? Match them with the definitions below.

BBC
MSN
www
EU
FAQ
CIA
AC/DC
M&S
UN
MIT
B&B

an international organisation

a technological institute

a heavy metal band

the European project

the internet

a network of spies

an American computer company

a television channel

a series of questions

a British department store

a cheap form of accommodation

A2 Phonetic Reading: The Aviator

Read the following text out loud making sure of pronouncing the past tenses correctly.

HOWARD HUGHES (1905-1976): Biography of a Billionaire Aviator

Howard Hughes was born on 24th December, 1905 in Houston, Texas. He started school at the age of seven. When his father died in 1924, he left school. He inherited $750,000 and he became director of his father’s oil-drilling company. When he was 20, he married Ella Rice and two years later he went to Hollywood. In 1928 he produced a film and divorced his first wife. In 1930 he directed the film Hell’s Angels.

In 1933, when he worked as an airline pilot, he changed his name. He even built a plane. In 1935 he broke the world air-speed record flying at 352 miles per hour, and President Roosevelt gave him a special aviation award. In 1938 Hughes flew round the world in 91 hours, setting a new world record.

In the 1940s he designed and manufactured war planes; he designed a new bra for film-star Jane Russell, too. He started TWA (Trans World Airlines). In 1947 he crashed a new war plane and nearly died. In hospital, he designed a new bed. He flew a new 700-seat passenger plane. The following year he bought RKO Film Studio, which he sold in 1954. In 1957 he sold TWA for $546,000. That year he got married to 30-year-old actress Jean Peters and retired from public life only a few months later.

In 1966 he went to Las Vegas, where he bought a lot of casinos, clubs and hotels. (He didn’t smoke, drink or gamble.) In 1971, after 14 years of marriage, he divorced Jean Peters, his second wife. He gave $100,000 to President Nixon for the 1972 Election. Howard Hughes died in Acapulco, Mexico, on 5th April, 1976. He left a fortune of $2 billion. 

Martin Scorsese's film The Aviator, starring Leonardo di Caprio, was based on his exciting life.