Suffix -ED is a vowel suffix and changes the base word to “happened in the past” as in “steam” to “steamed”.

Suffix -ED has three sounds.

If the base word ends with a vibrating or voiced sound, Suffix -ED will say /d/, as in “steamed”.

Suffix /d/, Suffix /d/, Suffix /d/, steamed.

The sounds /t/ and /d/ can be confusing because the mouth does almost the same thing for both sounds. Depending on the speaker, the sound may not be said fully,  and the difference in sounds can be very small or hard to hear. 

Do not get stuck if Suffix -ED says /t/ or /d/ when spoken by another. Instead, focus on accurate decoding and encoding.

With markup, circle Suffix -ED first. Then, focus on the base word’s sound right before the suffix. If the base word ends with /t/ or /d/ sound/, Suffix -ED says /əd/ and becomes its own syllable, so divide before Suffix -ED.

If the base word ends with any other sound, Suffix -ED stays with the base word and does not get its own syllable.