Editor's Corner

Donna was kind enough to discuss adverbs and adjectives with you last week. After the other day’s article on card-related terms, I feel like I owe you something more substantial, so let’s go back to verbs for a few minutes.

Recently, I sent something out with a verb (past tense) ending in “t.” A couple of you asked why I misspelled the word. My first response was, “I didn’t write that, it is a quote.” My second response was, “And that is not a misspelling.” While the past tense of most regular verbs in English are formed with an –ed at the end, some actually do end with a –t.

bend/bent
feel/felt
keep/kept
leave/left
lend/lent
lose/lost
mean/meant
send/sent
sleep/slept
spend/spent
weep/wept

Then there are verbs that may be spelled with either -ed or -t. (The -t ending for these verbs is more common in British spelling.)

burned, burnt
dreamed, dreamt
kneeled, knelt
leaped, leapt
leaned, leant
learned, learnt
smelled, smelt
spelled, spelt
spilled, spilt
spoiled, spoilt

The lists above are courtesy of Daily Writing Tips.

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773

Symitar Documentation Services

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