Glossary · Word parts and vocabulary
What are the three sounds of -ed?
Definition
The suffix -ed is spelled one way but said three ways: /t/ in jumped, /d/ in hummed, and /ĕd/ in landed.
The sound depends on the last sound of the base word. After t or d, -ed adds a whole syllable, /ĕd/ or /ĭd/ depending on accent: landed, wanted. After any other unvoiced sound, it says /t/: jumped, wished, packed. After a voiced sound, it says /d/: hummed, filled, played.
Students don't have to think about voicing while reading. They try /ed/ first, and if that doesn't sound like a word, try /t/ or /d/. The spelling never changes. That's the point: -ed marks the past tense whatever it sounds like, and a reader who knows that stops worrying about the sound.
That is why students who spell by sound write jumpt or hummd. Teaching -ed as a meaning unit, not a sound, fixes it.
In a lesson
Make three columns headed /t/, /d/ and /ĕd/. Read jumped, landed, hummed, wished and planted aloud; the student sorts each by sound. Then ask what all five have in common on paper.
Examples
Each word with its spelling units, one per sound.
- jumpedj·u·m·p·ed
- landedl·a·n·d·ed
- wishedw·i·sh·ed
Words come from our lexicon, checked against a pronouncing dictionary. Words a student sees in our assessments are left out.
Why does this matter for the record?
Spelling errors like jumpt are worth a note. They mean the student is spelling by sound alone and needs -ed taught as a word part.
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