| The American Heritage® Book of English Usage. |
A Practical and Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English. 1996.
|
7. Pronunciation Challenges: Confusions and Controversy
|
| § 71. -ed |
The suffix -ed, which is used to form the past tense and past participle of regular verbs, may be pronounced (t), (d), or ( d) depending on the phonological environment. That is, -ed is always pronounced (t) after the consonant sounds p, f, s, ch, k; (d) after vowels and the consonant sounds b, m, n, v, l, z, j, r, g; and (d) after t and d. In a small group of adjectives including aged, alleged, beloved, blessed, cursed, dogged, and learned, -ed may also be pronounced (d) following consonants other than t and d. This distinction between the pronunciation of the adjective form and the pronunciation of the past tense or past participle form is not always strictly preserved, though. We say a learned (lûr´nd) professor but a beloved (b-l v´d or b-lvd´) spouse. There is some justification for retaining the pronunciation (d) since it does signal a subtle shift in meaning. | 1 |
|
|
|
| The American Heritage® Book of English Usage. Copyright © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
|
|
