Your three words
Say "stacked," "poured" and "compacted" again. Your teacher will tell you which endings matched and which did not.
Before you say your three words again, predict: does the -ed add an extra syllable?
Three sounds, one spelling
-ed has three real pronunciations
| Sound | Example | When |
|---|---|---|
| /t/ | stacked, compacted* | After an unvoiced sound (k, p, s, ch) |
| /d/ | poured, installed | After a voiced sound (r, l, n, most vowels) |
| /ɪd/ | compacted, bolted | After the sounds /t/ or /d/ themselves |
Compacted is the tricky one — it ends in /t/ before the -ed, so the -ed adds a full extra syllable: com-PACT-ed, three syllables, /ɪd/. "Stacked" has no extra syllable at all — stackt, one syllable, /t/. Confusing these two patterns is the single most common -ed error, in any L1.
/dʒ/ in joist and aggregate. This is the sound at the start of "job" — Portuguese does not have it, and the nearest Portuguese sound (the "j" in já) is further forward in the mouth. Listen to the difference before you try to reproduce it.
Match each word to its -ed sound.
Articles with materials, one more time
The pattern from Lesson 4, reinforced
| Wrong | Right |
|---|---|
| a concrete | concrete / a slab of concrete |
| a gravel | gravel / a truckload of gravel |
| a lumber | lumber / a piece of lumber |
This is worth a second pass because it is genuinely persistent — Lesson 4 taught the rule, and the error still tends to survive into spontaneous speech under time pressure, which is exactly the condition this unit’s tasks create.
Fix the article error in each sentence.
1. The retaining wall needs a crushed stone behind it.
2. A gravel is used for drainage.
Fix them
Choose the sound group for each word.
1. stacked
2. poured
3. compacted
4. installed
Each sentence has one article error with a material. Rewrite it.
1. A concrete was poured for the footing.
2. The wall needs a gravel behind it for drainage.
3. A pressure-treated lumber is used for the joists.
Redo the explanation
Task card
Your Lesson 5 explanation to Marcus
Say it again, fixing every -ed ending and every article error you can hear.
- Say it aloud, not silently — both of these errors are easier to hear than to see.
- Slow down on "compacted" specifically — three syllables, not two.
- Say the whole thing straight through at the end, without stopping.
One check before you say it again.
1. How many syllables does "compacted" have?
Which error was yours?
Of the two patterns — -ed endings and articles with materials — which one did your Lesson 5 recording actually have?
Apply today's lesson.
1. Why is it worth fixing errors that rarely block understanding, like -ed sounds and articles?
Before the next lesson
Homework. Find a detail on your own drawings that you have not already studied for this unit. Do not prepare it — just know roughly what it is.
One check before you go.
1. What should you do with your homework detail?