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The ending -ed in English
13.11.2025
3 minutes to read
If you’re learning English, you’ve definitely come across the -ed ending. It seems small and insignificant, but in fact, there’s a whole set of rules behind it. It’s especially important to understand it when you move from basic phrases to more meaningful sentences. Because it’s with -ed that we start telling proper stories about the past, expressing emotions, and even turning verbs into adjectives. So let’s break it down in a simple way — no memorization or fancy grammar terms.
Table of contents
Why it’s important to know the rules of -ed
Where it’s used: verbs and adjectives
What is the -ed ending
The -ed ending has two main “homes.” The first one is past tense verbs. For example:
- I visited my grandma.
- They talked about school.
- tired — tired
- excited — excited
- bored — bored
When you don’t know how -ed works, it’s easy to make mistakes. For example, saying Yesterday I play football sounds wrong and immediately shows your level is low. Even worse is pronouncing the ending incorrectly — imagine saying want-id when it should just be want-t. Your listener will look at you like you’re from another planet.
English grammar is logical — it’s like traffic rules. If you want to “drive” safely in conversations, learn and follow them.
English grammar is logical — it’s like traffic rules. If you want to “drive” safely in conversations, learn and follow them.
Let’s start with the basics. The -ed ending is what we add to regular verbs in English to show that an action has already been completed. It might have happened yesterday, a week ago, or an hour ago — all of that is the past. Here are some examples:
- clean → cleaned
- jump → jumped
- play → played
Participles and adjectives with -ed
Past Simple tense
Main cases when we use -ed
This is the tense you use to talk about things that already happened. The easiest rule: take a regular verb, add -ed, and you’re done.
- I watched a video yesterday.
- We opened the door.
Here’s where the magic begins. The -ed ending can not only indicate past time but also turn a verb into an adjective — kind of a “supercharged” verb form.
- tired → tired
- confused → confused
- annoyed → annoyed
Let’s recap where we use -ed:
- Past Simple — the most common use.
- Past Participle — used in Perfect tenses.
- Adjectives — to describe feelings or states.
- We finished our homework.
- She’s interested in music.
- I have watched this movie already.
Changes when adding -ed
Spelling rules for the -ed ending
If the verb ends with -e, just add -d:
- live → lived
- study → studied
- stop → stopped
- plan → planned
In 90% of cases, adding -ed is super easy: take the verb, add -ed, and done.
- clean → cleaned
- jump → jumped
Table of verbs with the -ed ending
Common mistakes with -ed
- Adding -ed to irregular verbs: go-ed, buyed — that’s wrong.
- Mispronouncing the -ed ending. Quick guide:
- [t] — if the verb ends with a voiceless sound: watched
- [d] — if it ends with a voiced sound: played
- [ɪd] — if it ends with t or d: wanted, needed
Practice exercise
Fill in the blanks with the correct -ed form of the verb:
- Yesterday I (clean) ______ the kitchen.
- She (call) ______ her mom.
- They (start) ______ a new project.
- We (wash) ______ the car.
- He (open) ______ the window.
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