Lesson 35 of 41 in the Test Ninjas TOEFL course: Listen and Repeat, Speaking. This lesson teaches how spoken English carries weight: strong content words, quick weak words, words that run together, and the small -s and -ed endings that carry number and time.
Test Ninjas Research · Updated October 1, 2026
Lesson at a glance
Detail
This lesson
Module
Listen and Repeat (Speaking)
English focus
Sentence stress, linking, weak forms, -s and -ed endings
Task skill
Keeping grammar endings when repeating
Time
About 50 minutes
Access
Included in the TOEFL plan
What this lesson teaches
This lesson teaches how spoken English carries weight: strong content words, quick weak words, words that run together, and the small -s and -ed endings that carry number and time.
In Listen and Repeat you must say the sentence exactly, and an ending is part of the word.
You'll learn to hear weak words instead of losing them, to say each ending with the right sound, and to use the grammar of the sentence to check every ending as you speak.
By the end of the lesson, you can
Stress the content words, reduce the function words to their weak forms, and hear weak forms such as a, the, of, to and has instead of losing them.
Say the three sounds of -s (/s/, /z/, /ɪz/) and of -ed (/t/, /d/, /ɪd/), and keep them when they link into the next word.
In Listen and Repeat, use the grammar of the sentence (subject, number, time, has / is / were) to check every ending, and keep the exact form of every word.
What’s inside
Around the 3 teaching cycles below, the lesson opens with a quick check and closes with applied practice, a Check and a debrief. How every course lesson is built.
Teaching cycles in lesson 35
Cycle
Focus
What it teaches
Drills
Cycle 1
English
Stress and weak forms
7
Cycle 2
English
Linking and the sounds of -s and -ed
7
Cycle 3
Task skill
Keeping endings when you repeat
7
Word bank
The 10 words and phrases this lesson teaches. They come from the real course questions you practice on in the Apply step, so you meet each one again in context.
route noun
the way you go from one place to another
The number 9 bus changes its route on Sundays. (Said /ruːt/ or /raʊt/ in US English.)
Goes with:
a bus route
Word family:
route (verb: route a call); reroute (verb)
landmark noun
an easily recognized building or place
The hiking map marks each landmark, such as the old mill and the stone bridge, so walkers can find their way. (Stress: LANDmark.) It can also mean an important event: a landmark decision.
Goes with:
a local landmark; a famous landmark
Word family:
landmark (used before a noun: a landmark decision, an important one)
display verb / noun
to show something so that people can see it
The screen displays an error message if the card is not inserted correctly. (The -ed form is /d/: dis-PLAYED.)
Goes with:
display a message
Word family:
display (noun: on display); displayed (adjective)
endpoint noun
the point where something ends
A line segment has two endpoints: the point where it starts and the point where it stops. (Plural endpoints ends in /nts/.)
Goes with:
the two endpoints of a segment / of a route
Word family:
end (noun, verb); point (noun)
direct adjective
going straight, in the shortest way, or without stops
There's a direct bus from the station to campus, so you don't need to change.
Goes with:
a direct flight / the direct distance between two points
Word family:
directly (adverb); direction (noun); indirect (adjective)
measure verb
to find the size, amount or level of something
Teachers measure progress with short weekly quizzes. (Stress: MEAsure.)
Goes with:
measure progress
Word family:
measurement (noun); measurable (adjective)
bend noun
a curve or turn in something
The pipe has a bend under the sink, so the water drains slowly. (Plural bends ends in /dz/.)
Goes with:
a sharp bend
Word family:
bend (verb: bend your knees); bent (adjective)
match verb
to be the same as, or go well with, something
The number on the wheel should match the number on the worksheet.
Goes with:
match the words to the pictures
Word family:
match (noun: a perfect match); matching (adjective)
total noun / adjective
the whole amount
A total of forty students signed up for the trip.
Goes with:
in total
Word family:
total (verb: the bill totaled $30); totally (adverb)
counter noun
a device that counts something; also, a long flat surface where customers are served
The wheel has a small counter that shows the distance in meters.
Goes with:
a step counter / a counter on a wheel
Word family:
count (verb); countless (adjective)
The takeaway: Say the small words lightly but say them, and let the grammar remind you of every -s and -ed.
In the full course
Stress, linking and word endings is part of the full TOEFL course
Unlock all 41 lessons with the TOEFL plan, or try one of the free lessons first.
✓All 3 teaching cycles of this lesson, with 21 drills and feedback on every answer
✓The 10-word bank, each word with a recall drill
✓A walk-through, guided practice and a Check on Listen and Repeat