As the year draws to a close you may find yourself talking about all of the amazing experiences you have had in 2011!  For that you will need the past tense.  The simple past tense (and past participle) for regular verbs in English is formed by adding -ed to the end of a base verb.  As I am sure you already know though, it is never just that “simple” even with the simple past tense.  To start, there are the many irregular verbs to learn (for example: go-went), but also there are three different ways the past tense -ed ending is pronounced (/Id/ or /t/ or /d/).  The pronunciation of the simple past tense -ed depends on the letters proceeding the -ed ending.

Here is quick review of how and when to use the three different pronunciations for the -ed ending of the simple past tense in English.

Now go out, talk about, and enjoy reliving all that you have done in 2011!