It's not "wor-ked" — the -ed ending has only three sounds

You've memorized thousands of words, but the -ed ending still trips you up.

Is it "wor-ked" or "workt"? And why does wanted seem to have an extra syllable?

Good news: you don't have to memorize anything. How -ed sounds depends only on the sound right before it — and there are just three cases.

Case 1: /t/ — after a voiceless sound

If the last sound is voiceless (your vocal cords don't vibrate) — except t — the -ed is a quick /t/, with no extra vowel.

• worked /wɜːkt/, watched /wɒtʃt/, hoped /həʊpt/, laughed /lɑːft/

worked is not "wor-ked." It's "workt" — one syllable, the t barely there.

Case 2: /d/ — after a voiced sound

If the last sound is voiced (vocal cords vibrate) — a voiced consonant or a vowel, except d — the -ed is /d/.

• played /pleɪd/, loved /lʌvd/, cleaned /kliːnd/, called /kɔːld/

Case 3: /ɪd/ — after t or d

Only when the word ends in /t/ or /d/ does -ed become its own syllable, /ɪd/. This is the only case that adds a beat.

• wanted /ˈwɒntɪd/, needed /ˈniːdɪd/, decided /dɪˈsaɪdɪd/

A trick you don't have to memorize: put a finger on your throat and say the last sound of the base word. Buzzing → /d/. No buzz → /t/. If that sound is already t or d → /ɪd/.

That's all three rules. Next time you hit an -ed, check the sound before it first.

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