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The Sound /d/
To make the sound /d/ place the tip of the tongue on the alveolar ridge and make a voiced sound. Hold the /d/ slightly at the beginning of a word, then release it with the next sound.

day
dime
does
dollar
do
dress
drive
dwarf


At the end of the words, before consonants, hold your tongue briefly on the alveolar ridge, then go on to the next word.

1. Tell dad to drive.

2. The bed belongs to me.

3. The lid fell off.

4. When does the tide come in?

5. The code number is on the back.


To make the sound of flap between vowels and after the consonant /r/, tap the tongue quickly on the palate without holding it, then go on to the next vowel. Note that this sound is often spelled with the letters dd, t, and tt.

lady
body
faded
graded
harder
order
daddy
muddy
added
city
later
shorter
grated
subtle
little
fitted


* To make the regular past tense, add /d/ to verbs that end in a vowel sound or one of the voiced consonants /b/, /g/, /v/, /j/, /l/, /m/, /n/, /r/, /z/, /w/, or /y/. Even though there is a letter e before the letter d, do not make a vowel sound before the /d/. The e is silent.


played
stayed
cried
snowed
glued
rubbed
hugged
loved
jodged
rolled
hemmed
canned
feared
buzzed

* Add the ustressed vowel /&/ plus /d/ to verbs ending with the sound /d/ or /t/ (some regions add the /id/ sound). The verb now has one more syllable

faded
ended
landed
folded
loaded
wanted
planted
invited
created
greeted

* A pronoun plus '/d/ forms contraction for the modals had and would. Be careful to NOT use the unstressed vowel /&/ here, which would add another syllable to the word.

1. I'd been there before. (I had been there before.)

2. They'd called us earlier (They had called us earlier.)

3. We'd better stay. (We had better stay.)

4. You'd better not do that. (you had better not do that.)

5. I'd help you if I could. (I would help you if I could.)

6. He'd come if he wanted to. (He would come if he wanted to.)

7. We'd like a drink. (He would like a drink.)


Practice
1. Dan drove us around before dinner.

2. Does Donna have a dollar?

3. David didn't do the dishes.

4. He said it.

5. I got it.

6. He did it.

7. That bed is old.

8. She had a bad cold.

9. He ate a bit of butter.

10. Fred is a forty-year-old veteran.

11. Patty sat on the little ladder.

12. Eddy's thirty today.

13. It's a beautiful city, but it's so dirty!


* The letter d followed by the sound /yoo-/ is usually pronounced /j/.
Examples: education
graduate
individual
did you
would you
could you
had you

* The letter d is silent in the following words.
Wednesday
grandfather
granmother
grandchildren
handkerchief

Listen to the follwing poem featuring the final past tense sounds /t/,/d/, and /&d/ or /i(d/.

The Surprise Party

/t/
They shopped, spent, cooked, ate,
Drank, gossiped, laughed, baked.
Stopped and talked.
Worked and walked.

/d/
They planned, saved, sewed, schemed,
Progrmmed, whispered, giggled, dreamed,
Enjoyed and played.
A party made.

/&d/ or /id/
They decoreated and waited.
Then shouted and celebrated.


Now listen to a tongue twister that features the sounds /t/ and /d/.

The Tutor

A tutor who tooted the flute
Tried to teach two young tooters to toot,
Said the two to the tutor:
"Is it harder to toot,
or to tutor two tooters to toot?"