Spelled vs. Spelt
I am sure you have heard people use both spelled and spelt as past tense forms of the verb "spell." But, which of these is correct? How can you be sure that you have spelled (or spelt) the word correctly? Hopefully the following explanation will ease your mind.
Spelled and spelt are both past tense forms of the verb spell, which means to put the letters of a word in order to form the word. Spelled is the form that is preferred in American English. Spelt is used elsewhere in the world, but other countries really use spelled and spelt interchangeably.
1. Are you sure you spelled/spelt all of the vocabulary words correctly on the quiz yesterday?
2. The girl who won the spelling bee spelled/spelt all of the words correctly until she got to modem, and she used an "a" instead of an "e."
3. When my dad proposed to my mom, he hired a plane that spelled/spelt her name in the air with hearts behind it.
One caveat, there is a type of grain that is called spelt-it is a type of wheat. So, you may occasionally see the word spelt used in a completely different context as a noun.
1. The farmer who lives down the road from us is experimenting with growing spelt.
2. Have you ever eaten any bread that had spelt in it?
In summary, if you are using the past tense of spell, spelled and spelt are both correct; however in the United States, we typically use spelled.
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