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Spelled / Spelt

Posted by TheFallen on October 17, 2002

In Reply to: Spelled / Spelt posted by R. Berg on October 17, 2002

: : : : : Is usa(d)ge a British spelling? In our unabridged dictionary, I found no alternate spelling for "usage."

: : : : : I know that we Yanks have our own spelling for some words, stemming from our desire to separate ourselve from the mother country. Perhaps this is one of them.

: : : : : ES

: : : : I think it was a play on a typo in the subject of your original post where you accidentally spellled usage u-s-a-d-g-e.

: : : I checked a few sources and found no such word as "usadge".
: : : Also I found no such word as "spellled".
: : : The irony of it all!

: : Although Ms. Camel seems to need help in how to stop spelling "spelling", there is, I believe, a transatlantic difference with the past tense and/or past participle of the verb "to spell". For some reason, my tendency is to opt for "spelt" - "I spelt it out for him". Similarly, I'd opt for "learnt" rather than "learned". Am I right in thinking that this is not the way you'd do it over the pond?

: Yes, you are. The -t forms are understood here--another one is "dreamt"--but they look archaic. We do write "unkempt," though.

How about "leant"?

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