{"id":6081,"date":"2022-07-04T06:00:22","date_gmt":"2022-07-04T11:00:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/?p=6081"},"modified":"2022-07-05T18:40:13","modified_gmt":"2022-07-05T23:40:13","slug":"spelt-or-spelled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/spelling\/spelt-or-spelled\/","title":{"rendered":"Is it <em>Spelt<\/em> or <em>Spelled<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you want to say how you ordered letters to form a word, would you express that you <em>spelt<\/em> the word or <em>spelled<\/em> it? For many of us, both versions might feel as if they are the same, so how can you choose the right one? We&#8217;ll address that for you here.<\/p>\n<h2>Should You Write <em>Spelt<\/em> or <em>Spelled<\/em>?<\/h2>\n<p>Let&#8217;s start with the quick answer. While both <em>spelled<\/em> and <em>spelt<\/em> can technically be correct, your answer will often depend on where you live.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>In the United States, we tend to use <em>spelled<\/em>.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>In the U.K. and Commonwealth countries, <em>spelt<\/em> is more common.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Both versions of the word refer to <em>spell<\/em> in the past tense. However, certain spellings and pronunciations within our shared language have diverged over time. This is why you may often hear and see <em>spelt <\/em>in U.K. English and <em>spelled <\/em>in U.S. English.<\/p>\n<p>Note too that while either version could be correct depending on the dictionary you&#8217;re referring to, some stateside teachers and editors may identify <em>spelt<\/em> as a mistake. For this reason, you will typically be fine if you always use the conventional American spelling of <em>spelled<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>There is another use for the word <em>spelt<\/em> as well. In certain contexts, it can pertain to a kind of grain grown in Europe. It is unlikely, however, that you would encounter this usage in daily formal writing or speech unless you are employed in the agricultural industry.<\/p>\n<h2>Why Do We Have Different Words for the Past Tense of <em>Spell<\/em>?<\/h2>\n<p>Verb usage that differs from other English-speaking countries can appear throughout the U.S. There are really two factors at play. The first is that North America is separated from other parts of the world by geography and generations. The people who arrived speaking languages such as English and French\u2014themselves combinations of older languages such as Latin and Greek\u2014developed their own speech habits. They also gained words from native populations and other cultures.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, irregular verbs are common in English. That&#8217;s why, as yet another example, you might find yourself wondering whether <a href=\"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/definitions\/ill-be-hanged-or-have-i-just-gone-missing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>hanged<\/em> or <em>hung<\/em><\/a> is correct for the past tense and past participle of <em>hang<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>When you run into these questions of American spelling, the best way through them is to become increasingly familiar with the language&#8217;s irregular verbs. You can accomplish this by reading and writing American English and referring to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/verbs\/staying-regular-with-irregular-verbs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">resources<\/a> for irregular verbs when you think you&#8217;ve encountered one.<\/p>\n<h2>Your Next Grammar Lesson Awaits<\/h2>\n<p>With the difference between <em>spelt<\/em> and <em>spelled<\/em> now established, you can continue your quest for precision in American English in other ways of interest to you. Review some of our recent posts and browse our expansive archive of topics. You can also ask a question or leave a suggestion in the comments below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you want to say how you ordered letters to form a word, would you express that you spelt the word or spelled it? For many of us, both versions might feel as if they are the same, so how can you choose the right one? We&#8217;ll address that for you here. Should You Write [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spelling"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6081"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6081"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6081\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6098,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6081\/revisions\/6098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}