pretended
Pronouncedpree-TEHN-dihd
verbDid act as if something were true when it was not.
verbDid play games that involve make-believe.
verbDid act as though having a feeling or quality that was not real.
adjectiveNot real or genuine, but made to look or seem that way.
Phonics breakdown
Phonics Rule: Prefix PRE-
Sound“pree”·/priː/
PRE- means 'before'. 'Preview' means to view something before.
The prefix pre- is added to the start of a word to mean 'before' or 'in advance'. 'View' → 'preview' (view before); 'heat' → 'preheat' (heat before).
Tip
PRE- comes before — preview, predict, preheat!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Letter T
Sound“t”·/t/
The letter T makes the /t/ sound, like in 'top', 'tap', and 'ten'. The tongue tip taps behind the upper teeth.
T is a voiceless alveolar stop. The tongue tip touches the ridge behind the upper teeth and releases with a puff of air. Double T (tt) makes the same /t/ sound.
Tip
T taps — touch your tongue to make /t/!
Examples
When the letter E appears in a closed syllable, it usually makes the short E sound “eh”. This is often confused with short I by new readers.
Tip
E says “eh” like an egg on your head.
Examples
Phonics Rule: ND End Blend
Sound“nd”·/nd/
ND at the end of a syllable blends /n/ and /d/ together, like in 'hand', 'sand', and 'send'.
ND is a common end blend (coda blend). The nasal /n/ and voiced stop /d/ are both heard. It appears very frequently in English words.
Tip
ND ends with a d-d-d — hand, sand, send!
Examples
Phonics Rule: Suffix -ED (“id” sound)
Sound“id”·/ɪd/
After T or D, -ED says “id” as an extra syllable, like in 'wanted' and 'needed'.
When the base word ends in T or D, -ed adds a whole new syllable “id”. This is the only time the E in -ed is pronounced.
Tip
After T or D, -ED gets its own beat — want-ED, need-ED!
Examples
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