Past Tense -ed in English
Verb tenses are important because they tell us when the action of the verb happens.  As you know, when regular verbs are conjugated in English into the past tense, the suffix -ed is added:

For example:
Present tense:  "I work today."

Past tense:  "I worked yesterday."

This rule in English grammar is not difficult to understand, but it can be harder to master when speaking. English speakers pronounce the -ed suffix 3 different ways.  For example, listen to the following three clips which all have the -ed suffix:
Excited (excite)


Remembered (remember)


Talked (talk)

Did you hear the differences in the sounds at the end of each word?  Say the root word in (parentheses) and listen again.

Why is this ending pronounced in these different ways?  How can you tell when to say each one? Let's look at some examples.


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