Having -et vs -ed

The ending of some words differs between British English and American English. In British English, these words typically end in "-t", while in American English, they end in "-ed". The following table and list illustrate these differences:

British American
Learnt Learned
Spelt Spelled

Additional examples of this variation include:
burnt/burned,
spoilt/spoiled,
misspelt/misspelled,
smelt/smelled,
spilt/spilled,
dwelt/dwelled,
dreamt/dreamed,
knelt/kneeled.

See also:
ize vs ise endings
BrE vs AmE Spelling differences

2026-07-13
13:06