hate, love, seize. Here we have three allomorphs which are phonologically conditioned: The final phoneme of the verb in its infinitival form decides upon the correct allomorph. If the verb ends in an alveolar plosive, we add /ɪd/ as in hate. With final voiced sounds other than alveolar plosives we add /-d/, otherwise /-t/. So far, so easy.
But there are a few adjectives with final <-ed> most of which require the pronunciation /ɪd/ or /əd/ (I may not have dug up all):
- aged
- beloved
- blessed
- cragged
- crooked
- cursed
- cussed
- deuced
- dogged
- jagged
- learned
- -legged, legged3
- naked
- ragged3
- reserved
- rugged
- sacred
- wicked
- winged (sense: having wings)
- wretched
| 1 | he aged quickly, she's aged 12 | --> | my aged grandma | |
| 2 | I was beloved again | --> | my beloved daughter | |
| 3 | he blessed them | --> | the Blessed Virgin Mary | |
| 4 | ?? | --> | what a cragged stone | |
| 5 | its horns crooked backwards | --> | a crooked nose | |
| 6 | she cursed her fate | --> | she's a cursed woman | |
| 7 | the witch cussed him | --> | what a cussed day | |
| 8 | planes are deuced by some people | --> | don't be so deuced obstinate | |
| 9 | he dogged her footsteps | --> | their dogged resistance | |
| 10 | he jagged his hand | --> | Cornwall's jagged coast | |
| 11 | I've never learned this | --> | my learned friend | |
| 12 | I got on my toes and legged it | --> | he sat cross-legged on a stool | |
| 13 | ?? | --> | she was stark naked | |
| 14 | ?? | --> | men in ragged clothes | |
| 15 | he reserved two seats | --> | go fetch the reserved tickets | |
| 16 | she ragged him mercilessly about his sex life | --> | a land of rugged mountains | |
| 17 | ?? | --> | our chapel is a sacred place | |
| 18 | ?? | --> | she is a wicked person | |
| 19 | the bird winged back and forth | --> | Pegasus is a winged horse | |
| 20 | ?? | --> | he made the wretched happy |
- What about their pronunciations?
| pronunciation(s)1 | ||||
| 1 aged | 'of a particular age' 'old' | --> | eɪdʒd ˈeɪdʒɪd | |
| 2 beloved | --> | bɪˈlʌvɪd, bɪˈlʌvd | ||
| 3 blessed | --> | ˈblesɪd | ||
| 4 cragged | --> | ˈkraɡɪd | ||
| 5 crooked | 'not straight' 'having a crook' | --> | ˈkrʊkɪd krʊkt | |
| 6 cursed | --> | 'kɜːsɪd, kɜːst | ||
| 7 cussed | --> | 'kʌsɪd | ||
| 8 deuced | --> | 'djuːsɪd, djuːst | ||
| 9 dogged | --> | 'dɒgɪd | ||
| 10 jagged | --> | 'ʤagɪd | ||
| 11 learned | --> | 'lɜːnɪd | ||
| 12 -legged | --> | 'legɪd | ||
| 13 naked | --> | 'neɪkɪd | ||
| 14 ragged | --> | 'ragɪd | ||
| 15 reserved | --> | rɪ'zɜːvd | ||
| 16 rugged | --> | 'rʌgɪd | ||
| 17 sacred | --> | 'seɪkrɪd | ||
| 18 wicked | --> | 'wɪkɪd | ||
| 19 winged | --> | wɪŋd, 'wɪŋɪd (= poetic) | ||
| 20 wretched | --> | 'reʧɪd |
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1 based on LPD3 and CPD18 (if listed at all); /æ/ -> /a/; the reference accent is GB.
2 nominal = adjectival and substantival
3 My thanks go to John Maidment for drawing my attention to these two verbs. The sentences were pinched from various sources.
