Pronunciation of final -ed of regular verbs

PAST TENSE

Regular verbs. Most verbs in English form their past tense by the addition of an ending that is spelled -ed (or just -d if the base is spelled with final e). This spelling represents THREE DIFFERENT SOUNDS, depending on the final sound in the base word.

Now, the rules:

a) If the base ends in / t / or / d /, the ending is / d / (an extra syllable).

BASE FORM                            PAST TENSE                      SOUND OF ENDING
    wait                                       waited                                  / id /
    load                                       loaded                                  / id /

b) If the base ends in / f /, / p /, / k /, / s /, / sh /,  or / ch /, the ending is / t /.
    cough                                    coughed                                / t /
    hope                                      hoped                                   / t /  
    like                                        liked                                     / t /
    miss                                       missed                                 / t /
    wash                                      washed                                / t /
    watch                                     watched                               / t /

c) If the base ends in any sound not mentioned in a) or b), the ending is / d /
    love                                      loved                                    / d /
    bow                                      bowed                                   / d /
    call                                       called                                    / d /

Adapted from Cornelius Jr., Edwin T., A Practical English Grammar. New York: English Language Services, Inc., 1968, 1980.

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