One area that non-native speakers of English frequently struggle with at all levels is pronouncing "-ed" endings in past tense verbs (such as "worked," "lived" and "needed"). This can be challenging because despite only having one spelling, these endings can be pronounced three different ways:

• with a t sound (after voiceless consonants)
• with a d sound (after voiced consonants and vowels)
• with an ed sound in an extra syllable (after the letters "t" and "d")

Accent coach Steven Nelson breaks it down for us in this episode with practice words, sentences, and a new practice passage:

"Last year, I worked on several projects and learned new skills. I joined a new team, attended meetings, and completed tasks on time. At first, it felt challenging, but  ...