Last week there was an article about Regular Verbs and Their Spelling. The main spelling rule is that the past tense of all regular verbs ends with -ed.
However, the -ed ending is pronounced differently in different words…
worked – sounds like workt (just one syllable) cleaned – sounds like cleand (just one syllable) started – sounds like startid (2 syllables)
How do you know which sound to use?
Feel your throat while you say a sound.
For some sounds (‘voiced’ sounds like n, d, and m) you will feel vibration (). For other sounds (‘unvoiced’ sounds like t, k, and p) you will not feel vibration.
Now feel your throat while you pronounce a regular verb (like work, clean, start) and notice the last sound of the word (work, clean, start)
If the last sound was unvoiced (as in work), pronounce the -ed sound as a t
worked > /workt/; stopped > /stopt/
If the last sound was voiced (as in clean), pronounce the -ed as a d
cleaned > /cleand/; called > /calld/
But – if the last sound was a t or d sound, pronounce the -ed as id (which adds a syllable)
started > /startid/; loaded > /loadid/
Smartphones can listen to you speak, and display your words. So can iPads and computers. If your phone can understand you, other people will probably understand you.
Practice your speech on iPhone or iPad
Open the Notes App and create a new note
Press the Microphone icon next to the Space Bar on the keyboard
Start talking – and see what words are shown
Are they the same words that you spoke? If not, try again.
Then open your email or memo app, or use a free notes app like Evernote
Press the Microphone icon next to the Space Bar on the keyboard
Start talking – and see what words are shown
Are they the same words that you spoke? If not, try again.
When your phone can understand you, you can use your voice for … email, text messages, Siri questions on iPhones (“Hey Siri“), Google searches (“OK Google“), Alexa, and more.
Google Translate
On iPhones or Android phones, you can also use the Google Translate app (Android; Apple) for this.
Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg is the name of a lake in the town of Webster, Massachusetts, near Connecticut. It is also known as Webster Lake. The 45-letter name is the longest name for a place in the United States and 6th longest in the world.
Here’s a video about the lake, and – can you believe that someone wrote a song about it?