Pronunciation

The Final '-ed'

The Final '-ed'

The regular past and the past participle end in -ed, but that ending is pronounced in three different ways. The phonetics question of the exam asks you to classify verbs in three columns.

1. The rule

Look at the sound that comes just before the -ed.

| Pronunciation | After | Examples | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | /ɪd/ — an extra syllable | t and d | wanted, needed, started, decided, visited, added, ended | | /t/ — no extra syllable | voiceless sounds: p, k, f, gh, sh, ch, ss, c, x | stopped, worked, laughed, washed, watched, passed, fixed | | /d/ — no extra syllable | voiced sounds: b, g, l, m, n, r, v, z and all vowels | called, begged, filled, seemed, opened, answered, lived, played |

2. The easy first step

Ask only one question: does the verb already end in the sound t or d?

• **Yes** → pronounce **/ɪd/**, and the verb gains a syllable: *want* (1 syllable) → *wanted* (2 syllables).
• **No** → go on to the second question: is the last sound voiceless or voiced?

3. Voiceless and voiced

Put your hand on your throat and pronounce the last sound of the verb.

• No vibration → **voiceless** → *-ed* is **/t/**: *p, k, f, s, sh, ch, x*.
• Vibration → **voiced** → *-ed* is **/d/**: *b, g, l, m, n, r, v, z*, and every vowel.

4. Classified examples

| /ɪd/ | /t/ | /d/ | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | wanted | stopped | called | | needed | worked | opened | | started | laughed | answered | | decided | washed | lived | | visited | watched | played | | added | passed | seemed | | protected | helped | studied | | graduated | dressed | honoured |

5. The traps

• **Spelling is not sound.** *Laughed* ends in the letters *-ghed* but the sound before *-ed* is **/f/**, so the ending is **/t/**.
• **Silent -e does not count.** *Lived* ends in the sound **/v/**, so the ending is **/d/**.
• **Only t and d give the extra syllable.** *Worked* is one syllable, not two; only *wanted*, *needed* and their kind gain one.

6. Adjectives that break the rule

A handful of adjectives in *-ed* are always pronounced /ɪd/, even though the rule would say otherwise: *aged, blessed, learned, naked, wicked, wretched*.

> In *a learned professor*, the adjective *learned* has two syllables (/ˈlɜːnɪd/), whereas the verb *learned* has only one.

7. Practice

A. Classify these verbs in three columns: /ɪd/, /t/, /d/.

> *called, stopped, started, booked, begged, addicted, honoured, watched, smelled, graphed, decided, played, washed, opened*

B. Which verb gains an extra syllable?

• worked — 2. needed — 3. played — 4. visited

C. True or false?

• *Laughed* is pronounced with /d/.
• *Wanted* has two syllables.
• *Lived* is pronounced with /t/.

The Final '-s'

The Final '-s'

The -s of the plural, of the third person singular and of the possessive is pronounced in three ways, on exactly the same principle as the final *-ed*.

1. The rule

| Pronunciation | After | Examples | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | /ɪz/ — an extra syllable | sibilant sounds: s, ss, c, x, z, sh, ch, ge | classes, boxes, watches, dishes, changes, prices, buzzes | | /s/ — no extra syllable | voiceless sounds: p, k, t, f, ph, th | books, cats, stops, laughs, months, maps | | /z/ — no extra syllable | voiced sounds: b, d, g, l, m, n, ng, r, v, y and all vowels | dogs, tables, cars, days, boys, gives, plans, things |

2. The same first step

Ask: does the word already end in a hissing sound? (*s, z, sh, ch, ge, x*)

• **Yes** → **/ɪz/**, and the word gains a syllable: *class* (1) → *classes* (2).
• **No** → voiceless gives **/s/**, voiced gives **/z/**.

3. Classified examples

| /ɪz/ | /s/ | /z/ | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | glasses | books | cars | | boxes | cats | dogs | | watches | maps | tables | | dishes | laughs | planets | | changes | months | stars | | prices | stops | boys | | languages | roofs | galaxies |

Note that *planets* and *stars* fall into different columns: *planet* ends in /t/ (voiceless, so /s/) while *star* ends in /r/ (voiced, so /z/).

4. Compare the two systems

| | Extra syllable | Voiceless | Voiced | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | -ed | after t, d → /ɪd/ | /t/ | /d/ | | -s | after s, z, sh, ch, ge, x → /ɪz/ | /s/ | /z/ |

The logic is identical: when the two sounds are too close to be pronounced one after the other, English inserts a small vowel.

5. The irregular cases

A few nouns change their final sound in the plural:

> *house* /s/ → *houses* /zɪz/ · *leaf* /f/ → *leaves* /vz/ · *knife* → *knives* · *wife* → *wives*

Here the f becomes v, so the ending is /z/, not /s/.

6. Practice

A. Classify: /ɪz/, /s/, /z/.

> *books, boxes, days, watches, maps, cars, dishes, planets, galaxies, months, stars, prices*

B. Which words gain an extra syllable?

• classes — 2. books — 3. changes — 4. cars

C. Explain why the ending differs.

• *planets* and *stars*
• *roofs* and *leaves*

Silent Letters

Silent Letters

Many English words contain letters that are written but not pronounced. The exam asks you to find the word in which a given letter is silent.

1. The list

| Letter | Rule | Examples | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | b | silent in -mb at the end of a word, and in -bt | bomb, climb, thumb, lamb, debt, doubt, subtle | | c | silent in sc- before *e, i*; and before *k, q* | science, scene, muscle, scissors | | d | silent in -dg- | bridge, edge, judge, knowledge, Wednesday | | g | silent before m, n | sign, design, foreign, campaign, reign | | gh | silent after a vowel | night, light, though, through, daughter, bought | | h | silent after r, g, ex and in a few common words | hour, honest, honour, ghost, exhaust, rhythm | | k | silent in kn- | knife, know, knee, knock, knowledge | | l | silent after a, o, u before certain consonants | calm, half, talk, walk, could, should, would | | n | silent in -mn at the end of a word | autumn, column, hymn, condemn | | p | silent in ps-, pn- at the beginning, and in *receipt* | psychology, psychiatrist, pneumonia, receipt | | s | silent before l in some words | island, isle | | t | silent in -sten, -stle | listen, castle, whistle, often | | w | silent in wr- and in *who, whose, two, answer* | write, wrong, wrist, answer, two |

2. The ones the exam loves

Five appear again and again: knowledge (silent *k* and silent *d*), honest (silent *h*), debt (silent *b*), column (silent *n*), listen (silent *t*).

3. Silent h and the article

Because *h* is silent in *hour* and *honest*, those words take an, not *a*:

> *an hour*, *an honest man*, but *a house*, *a hotel*.

The article follows the sound, not the spelling.

4. Two words to compare

| Word | Pronounced | Silent | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | *sign* | *sine* | g | | *signature* | *sig-na-ture* | nothing | | *bomb* | *bom* | b | | *bombard* | *bom-bard* | nothing |

A letter that is silent in one word may be pronounced in a word of the same family, because the following syllable changes.

5. Practice

A. Which letter is silent?

• knife — 2. autumn — 3. debt — 4. island — 5. castle — 6. foreign — 7. psychology — 8. honour

B. *a* or *an*?

• ______ hour — 2. ______ house — 3. ______ honest answer — 4. ______ university

C. In which word is the letter in brackets pronounced?

• (b) — *climb / bombard / thumb*
• (t) — *listen / often / attend*
• (k) — *know / knee / kitchen*

Words Ending in -ics

1. A family of nouns

Many nouns that name a science, a field of study or an activity end in -ics. Several of them belong to the ethics unit:

*ethics, economics, politics, physics, mathematics, statistics, electronics, genetics, athletics, linguistics, robotics.*

2. The stress rule

In a word ending in -ics, the stress falls on the syllable just before the ending. This is the same rule as for -ic: count back one syllable from the end.

| Word | Stress | | :--- | :--- | | ethics | E-thics | | physics | PHY-sics | | economics | e-co-NO-mics | | mathematics | ma-the-MA-tics | | statistics | sta-TIS-tics | | genetics | ge-NE-tics | | electronics | e-lec-TRO-nics | | athletics | ath-LE-tics |

The famous exception is politics, stressed on the first syllable: *PO-li-tics*. A few words in *-ic* also break the rule: *A-ra-bic*, *a-RITH-me-tic*.

3. Pronouncing the ending

The ending -ics is pronounced /ɪks/. Its final s is /s/, not /z/, because it follows the voiceless sound /k/: this is the rule of the final *-s* you already know.

The first vowel of *economics* has two accepted pronunciations: /ˌiːkəˈnɒmɪks/ or /ˌekəˈnɒmɪks/. Both are correct; what matters is the stress on -NO-.

4. Singular or plural verb?

Although these nouns end in *-s*, when they name a subject of study they take a singular verb.

• **Economics is** my favourite subject.
• **Ethics is** the study of right and wrong behaviour.
• **Physics explains** the movement of the planets.

But when *statistics* means figures, it is plural: *The latest statistics show a rise in prices.*

5. Stress shift in the word family

When the word changes its suffix, the stress moves. This is exactly the stress shift listed in the programme of the ethics unit.

| Science | Adjective | Person | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | e-co-NO-mics | e-co-NO-mic | e-CO-no-mist | | PO-li-tics | po-LI-ti-cal | po-li-TI-cian | | ma-the-MA-tics | ma-the-MA-ti-cal | ma-the-ma-TI-cian | | PHY-sics | PHY-si-cal | PHY-si-cist | | E-thics | E-thi-cal | — |

Notice: a *physicist* is a scientist, while a *physician* is a doctor.

6. The mistakes to avoid

| Wrong | Right | | :--- | :--- | | po-LI-tics | PO-li-tics | | E-co-no-mics | e-co-NO-mics | | Economics are difficult. | Economics is difficult. | | ethics pronounced with a final /z/ | final /s/ after /k/ |

7. Practice

A. Mark the stressed syllable.

• economics — 2. statistics — 3. politics — 4. genetics — 5. electronics — 6. ethics

B. Choose *is* or *are*.

• Mathematics ______ my best subject.
• The statistics on unemployment ______ worrying.

C. Give the person who works in each field.

• economics — 2. politics — 3. physics

Practice and Review

Practice and Review

1. The three systems side by side

| Ending | Extra syllable after | Voiceless | Voiced | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | -ed | t, d → /ɪd/ | /t/ | /d/ | | -s | s, z, sh, ch, ge, x → /ɪz/ | /s/ | /z/ |

| Stress | Falls on | | :--- | :--- | | two-syllable noun or adjective | the first syllable | | two-syllable verb | the last syllable | | word in -ic, -tion, -sion | the second from the end | | word in -cy, -ty, -gy, -al, -phy | the third from the end |

2. The method for a phonetics question

• **Classification of -ed or -s**: look only at the **sound before the ending**, never at the spelling.
• **Stress**: identify the ending of the word first; if there is none of the endings listed, decide whether the word is a noun or a verb.
• **Silent letter**: read the word aloud in your head and compare with the list.

3. Mixed exercise

A. Classify according to the pronunciation of the final *-ed*.

> *washed, decided, opened, laughed, needed, played, watched, honoured*

| /ɪd/ | /t/ | /d/ | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | | |

B. Classify according to the pronunciation of the final *-s*.

> *classes, planets, stars, watches, maps, galaxies, months, prices*

| /ɪz/ | /s/ | /z/ | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | | |

C. Mark the stressed syllable.

• *consumer* — 2. *advertise* — 3. *scientific* — 4. *technology* — 5. *pollution* — 6. *responsibility*

D. Find the silent letter.

• *knowledge* — 2. *doubt* — 3. *column* — 4. *whistle* — 5. *honest*

E. Noun or verb? Say where the stress falls.

• Companies **export** their products.
• Oil is our main **export**.
• Please **present** your report.
• He gave me a **present**.

4. Answers to check yourself

A. /ɪd/: decided, needed — /t/: washed, laughed, watched — /d/: opened, played, honoured.

B. /ɪz/: classes, watches, prices — /s/: planets, maps, months — /z/: stars, galaxies.

C. con-SU-mer · AD-ver-tise · scien-TI-fic · tech-NO-lo-gy · pol-LU-tion · res-pon-si-BI-li-ty.

D. 1. *k* and *d* — 2. *b* — 3. *n* — 4. *t* — 5. *h*.

E. 1. verb, ex-PORT — 2. noun, EX-port — 3. verb, pre-SENT — 4. noun, PRE-sent.