Past tense of regular verbs /ed/

Have you ever wondered why the pronunciation of the past tense of some regular verbs doesn’t sound the same? It may not sound very clear, but the answer is simple. We can classify these sounds into three categories:

• ./d/ played, loved, opened, nailed, named

The verbs in this category have a /d/ sound because the last sound of the infinitive is voiced. This means that you hear your voice when you say them. Put your fingers on your throat and say: play. The vocal cords should vibrate.

• /t/ asked, napped, passed, missed, gasped

The verbs in this category have a /t/ sound because the last sound of the infinitive is non-voiced. This means you do not hear your voice when you say them. Put your fingers on your throat again and say asked. The vocal cords should not vibrate.

• /id/ listed, padded, wasted, hated, ended

The rule here is simple. The infinitive of these verbs ends in either a t or a d.