Questions about verbs with two past-tense/past-participle forms, one ending in -ed, the other in -t.
3
votes
3answers
4k views
“Lept” vs. “leapt” vs. “leaped”
After reading this discussion, I'd like to know what example sentences distinguish the meaning of the words lept, leapt, and leaped from each other?
3
votes
1answer
222 views
Is there a difference between saying a place is “well-lighted” versus “well-lit” or is it just stylistic? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What's the difference between “well-lighted” and “well-lit”?
I feel that "well-lit" means there is enough light whereas "well-lighted" ...
3
votes
2answers
8k views
Which past tense of “to light” should I use here?
I know that there are two ways to form the past tense of to light (i.e. lit/lighted). Which one is appropriate for the sentence below?
His thoughts lighted our way.
or
His thoughts lit our ...
2
votes
1answer
820 views
What's the past tense of “dive”? Of “spell”? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
UK English: Is "dived" a valid word?
Spelt and Spelled
“Dreamed” vs. “dreamt”, “leaped” vs. “leapt”, “lighted” vs. “lit”
Evolution of irregular verbs over the last ...
9
votes
2answers
429 views
Evolution of irregular verbs over the last century
I learned at school that irregular verbs are slowly disappearing from the language: "spelled" is more used than "spelt", "learned" than "learnt", etc. But recently, someone told me that some new ...
5
votes
5answers
3k views
What's the difference between “well-lighted” and “well-lit”?
This question has been on my mind since I first read Hemingway's story, "A clean well-lighted place". I have never heard "well-lighted" in my life other than in this story. I have heard that a room ...
6
votes
3answers
3k views
When would one use “burnt” and when would “burned” be more appropriate?
More out of curiosity than anything, when would one use "burnt" and when would "burned" be appropriate? For example,
This coffee tastes burnt.
This coffee tastes burned.
or
They burnt ...
10
votes
3answers
2k views
“Spelt” vs. “spelled”
In the following sentence, should I say spelled or spelt:
You spelt/spelled "Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis" wrong.
18
votes
2answers
1k views
When do you use “learnt” and when “learned”?
Is learnt UK English and learned US? Is it that simple?
I’m used to using learnt, but my US spellchecker says it is wrong.
5
votes
2answers
7k views
Is “earnt” a real word?
Is the past tense for the word "earn" "earned" or "earnt", and does the word "earnt" even exist?
33
votes
3answers
3k views
Why do some words have two past tense forms (e.g. “dreamed” vs. “dreamt”)?
While perusing ShreevatsaR's answer to this question, it occurred to me that my own verbal usage is out of step with what I see in current American literature. When speaking in the past tense, I ...
