Leant › Learnt, spelt, dreamt and burnt: the British -t words
Learnt, spelt, dreamt and burnt: the British -t words
Several English verbs have two past forms, one ending in -t and one in -ed. In Britain you can often use either, but they are not all treated the same way.
The pairs
| Verb | -t form (UK) | -ed form | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| learn | learnt | learned | Both fine in the UK; learnt is not used in the US |
| lean | leant | leaned | Both fine in the UK; see leant or leaned |
| spell | spelt | spelled | Both fine in the UK |
| dream | dreamt | dreamed | Both fine in the UK |
| burn | burnt | burned | Both fine in the UK |
| smell | smelt | smelled | Both fine in the UK |
| spill | spilt | spilled | Both fine in the UK |
| spoil | spoilt | spoiled | Both fine in the UK |
Learnt or learned
Learnt and learned are two spellings of the same past tense. Learnt is accepted in British English but not in American English, where learned is the norm. Even in Britain, learned appears more often in print than learnt. Learned also works as an adjective meaning knowledgeable or highly educated, as in "a learned professor", pronounced "lur-nid". Learnt has no adjective use. So if you are unsure, learned is the safe choice.
Spelt: two meanings
Spelt is the past of spell, but it is also a type of wheat grain. "The baker uses spelt flour" is not about spelling at all. If this could confuse your reader, use spelled for the verb, or reword the sentence.
Burnt and burned
British writers often use burnt as an adjective ("burnt toast", "burnt orange") and burned for the verb ("the toast burned"). This is a habit rather than a rule, and you will see both. Burnt also works as the past participle: "The cake has burnt."
Dreamt and dreamed
Both are common. Dreamt is pronounced "dremt", with a short vowel, and dreamed "dreemd". "I dreamt of a white Christmas" feels a touch more literary, while "I dreamed of a white Christmas" feels more everyday.
A pattern with short vowels
The -t forms often come with a shorter vowel sound than the -ed forms: leaned sounds like "leend" but leant like "lent"; dreamed "dreemd" but dreamt "dremt". If you say the short vowel, the -t spelling usually fits naturally.
Which should you pick?
- For a British audience, either is fine; just be consistent.
- For an international audience, pick the -ed forms. They work everywhere.
- For fixed phrases, follow convention: "burnt offerings", "spilt milk" ("no use crying over spilt milk") and "spoilt for choice" keep their -t forms.
Check your document language
A UK-English spellchecker will normally accept both forms, so it will not flag leant or leaned. That is correct, not a gap. It is up to you to pick one and use it throughout.
Words that only take -t
Some irregular verbs have only a -t form: build (built), send (sent), bend (bent), lend (lent), spend (spent). Do not confuse lent with leant. Lent is the past of lend. Leant is the past of lean. The sound is the same, which is where the muddle comes from. For other British spelling choices, see -ise or -ize and the UK vs US table.