[McLovin]

Sorry for bumping such an old thread but I had to ask this question:

My mom teaches English and we recently had an argument that I thought could be settled on here.

First, she claims that the word "text" cannot be used as a verb. Whether it is or not is a discussion for another time. Now, let's say that we can use text as a verb which would mean to send a text message to someone. How would the past tense of the word be spelled and pronounced?

I claim it would be spelled "texted" and pronounced with "ed" as id.

Se says it would still be spelled "texted" but pronounced as if it was spelled "text"

I think she's off her rocker.

What are your thoughts?

[DaveESL]

Apologies to your mom, but I agree with you. I'd say "texted", pronouncing the ending /Id/.

It's not a word I use, though, and I fall squarely within the descriptive camp (teaching how English is, rather than how it *should* be) so I'd want to see how people actually pronounce the past tense of the verb "text" before I really commit to an answer.

[mesmark]

Here's an example from above with the verb " to text"

Quote McLovin

I claim it would be spelled "texted" and pronounced with "ed" as id.

Se says it would still be spelled "texted" but pronounced as if it was spelled "text"

both pronounciations would be right.

If you pronounce the "t" at the end, the "ed" would be pronounced /Id/

If you drop the final "t" which is often the case the "ed" matches voicing with the "s" (-voice) and is pronounced /t/