English Grammar & Spelling: VERBS with 2 PAST TENSES

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I'm Gill at engVid, and today we have a lesson on a few verbs which have two different spellings

for their past tenses-okay-and with the spelling also comes a different pronunciation.

You'll be glad to know there are not many of these, and they're both correct.

But it's just that often the one ending "ed", the past tenses ending "ed" are used more

in America; and the ones ending in "t", which may seem a little bit unusual to you, are

used more in the UK, and also I think they're interchangeable; they... they're used in Canada,

So, I think in all places, the UK as well, and Canada, "ed" and "t" - the two different

options are both used a bit of a mixture, but both of them are right.

So, you may find it confusing at first and you may be thinking: "Oh, that word doesn't

Is it the wrong spelling?" or "That word didn't sound right.

I've not heard it said like that before", but it could just be that someone is using

the other option.

So, let's have a look at what verbs are affected by this.

So, we have some examples here.

There are not many, really; these are the main ones: "Burn", "dream", "kneel", "lean",

"leap", "learn", "smell", "spell", "spill", and "spoil".

Some of those verbs may not be familiar to you, but I will explain the meaning as we

go on, and we also have some example sentences using the word, so in the context it will

be easier for you to understand the meaning.

So, let's start with "burn".

If you get some fire or if you...

If you cook something for too long in the oven, you burn it; it goes black and it might

be smoking, there may even be some flames, a fire coming up.

So, we've got here: "I have burned the dinner!" or "I have burnt the dinner!"

People in the UK would say: "burnt" usually, but they might write it down, if they had

to write it down, they might spell it with the "ed" ending, but when they say it they

usually say "burnt"; not "burned", but both are correct.

So, it can either be "burned" with a "d" sound at the end or "burnt" with a "t" sound, but

both are right.

So: "I have burned the dinner!"

I think I would say: "I have burnt the dinner", "burnt the dinner" with the "t".

But that's how they're spelt, and both are correct.

Okay, so if you spoil your dinner by cooking it too long or you turn the heat up too much,

and then you can't eat it because it's just horrible, black, and dried up, and it would

make you ill to eat it.

So, that's "burn".

And then "dream".

So, "dreaming" is something you do when you're asleep.

If you're sleeping, you experience things, imaginary things, but they seem real at the

time, but then when you wake up, you think: "Oh, all of that didn't really happen; I was

That was a dream.

It seemed so real, but it was just a dream."

So, "to dream" is what you do when you're asleep, and you have funny stories going on

So, the example here is: "I dreamed of a castle on a hill" or "I dreamt of a castle on a hill."

So, a castle - a big building, like an old, medieval, from hundreds of years old kind

of building up on a hill.

So, if you dream of that sort of thing, I don't know what it means.

People try to interpret dreams and say: "Oh, I know what that means.

If you dream of a castle on a hill, that means you're going to be rich", or something like

People try to say dreams have a meaning, but I don't know if that's true, really.

So: "I dreamed of a castle on a hill" or "I dreamt of a castle on a hill."

Both are correct, and those are the two spellings, there.

Next one: "kneel".

So, this is one of those words beginning with a "k", but you don't pronounce the "k", so

it's a silent "k".

So you begin with the "n" sound: "kneel", "kneel".

And "kneeling" is what you do with your knees; you kneel down on the floor.

So, this example: "He kneeled down on the floor to speak to the child."

So, to get down to the child's level, he kneeled on the floor.

Or: "He knelt-knelt-on the floor.

He knelt down to speak to the child."

Next one: "lean", "to lean".

If you lean, you're sort of going like that; you're bending forward or maybe sideways.

You can lead sideways.

I could lean against the board.

If it didn't have ink on it, I could lean against it.

It's sort of moving at an angle.

So: "She leaned across the table."

Someone is sitting at a table, and then you lean across maybe to get something from the

other side of the table - a pen or something; to lean across.

So: "She leaned across the table" or "She leant", "leant".

So, the vowel sound changes, here.

"Burned", "burnt", same vowel sound.

"Dreamed", "dreamt", "e", "eh".

So, this one, the vowel sound changes: "e", "eh".

"Dreamed", "dreamt".

So remember there's a vowel sound change sometimes, as well as the "d" or "t" at the end.

"Kneeled", "knelt", so "e", "eh"; "e", "eh".

"Kneeled", "knelt".

And then: "leaned", "leant"; "e", "eh", so the vowel sound changes here as well, as well

as the "d" or "t" at the end.

"She leaned across" or "She leant across".

Right, next one: "leap".

"To leap" is to jump, and usually to jump in quite a dramatic way; maybe a long way

or high up into the air.

So: "The horse leaped over the fence."

So, if it's racing, the horse race, there may be a jockey riding the horse; a rider

on the horse, and they're in a race.

They have to jump sometimes over a fence or a hedge that's growing.

So: "The horse leaped" or "The horse leapt", so "e", "eh".

"Leaped", "leapt".

And, also, although this ends in a "d", it sounds like a "t" because some verbs, if they

end in a "p"...

If you've seen a very good lesson by Adam where he shows the three ways that verbs end

in "ed" are pronounced - look out for that one; it's really useful.

So, a verb ending "p", even when it's written "ed", is pronounced "leapt" with a "t" sound.

"Leaped", "leapt", but the vowel sound changes, there.

Next one: "learn".

I'm sure you know this verb because it's part of the name of this channel: "Learn English

with Gill", so you're learning English all the time; I'm sure it's a very familiar verb

for you: "learning", "studying".

So: "What have you learned today?" or "What have you learnt today?"

So, this time the vowel sound stays the same, and it's just the "d" or the "t" at the end

that changes; as well as the spelling, of course.

"What have you learned?", "What have you learnt today?"

So, next one: "smell".

So, "smell" is when you-[sniffs]-or you smell something.

"Oo, what does that smell of?"

Or: "What does...?

Oo, what does the pen smell of?

Ah, no."

So that's smell, your sense of smell, if you get a smell in your nose and you recognize

it and you think: "Oo.

That's a nice smell", or then a horrible chemical smell; different smells.

So, what have we got here, then?

"The gloves"...

"Gloves" are what you put on your hands; especially in the winter if it's cold, you put gloves

"The gloves smelled of perfume", perfume - so nice smell, hopefully.

Or: "The gloves smelt of perfume."

So, here the vowel sound stays the same; it's just the "d" and the "t" that are different,

as well as the spelling, because we have double "l" here, but one "l", there.

So: "The glove smelled of perfume" or "The glove smelt of perfume."

So, next one: "spell", which should be another familiar word for you because I'm sure you're

always learning how to spell English words, as well as words in your own language.

It's important to be able to spell accurately; correctly.

So: "Have we spelled that word correctly?" or "Have we spelt that word correctly?"

So, it's very similar to "smell"; "spelled", "spelt".

Same vowel sound.

Two l's; one "l"; "d", "t".

"Spelled", "spelt".

Next one: "spill".

You may not know this word.

If you spill something, usually it sort of falls on the floor, anything like that; it

could be liquid, it could be something solid.

So, in this case it's rice; little grains of rice.

So: "He spilled the rice on the floor."

This was probably an accident because it's not a good idea to spill rice on the floor;

you probably don't want to cook it and eat it after that.

Or maybe it's already been cooked, and then you really don't want to eat it after it's

been on the floor.

So: "He spilled" or "He spilt the rice on the floor."

So, "spilled", "spilt" - similar to "smelled", "smelt"; "spelled", "spelt"; "spilled", "spilt".

Same vowel sound.

Double "l", one "l", then the "d" and the "t".

"Spilled", "spilt".

And then finally: "spoil".

You may not know this word.

If you have something really nice, like something that you like to wear, a nice suit or a dress,

or something, and you like to keep it perfect, but then if you...

If you have to send something to the cleaners, to the drycleaners sometimes because it's

special and you can't put it in the washing machine, you have to have it dry-cleaned,

so drycleaners: "The cleaners have spoiled my suit" or "The cleaners have spoilt my suit."

So, you took your lovely suit-it was perfect-to the dry cleaners, they did their cleaning

on it with their... whatever chemicals they use, and something went wrong.

Maybe they used... the temperature was wrong or they used the wrong mixture of chemicals,

and they have what you call "ruined"... you could say just... if, this is even more extreme:

"They've spoiled my suit" - "They've ruined, they've ruined it."

That's even worse than "spoiled".

So, they have done some damage to your suit; maybe it's changed colour or something, or

it's now in several different colours; it looks terrible.

So: "The cleaners have spoiled my suit", "The cleaners have spoilt my suit."

So, no change of the vowel, there; just one "l" for both, but the "d" and the "t" are

what change, so...

Okay, so I hope that's been useful and helped to reassure you that if you hear different

versions of these verbs, don't worry; both are correct.

And I hope also maybe you've learnt some new vocabulary from this lesson as well.

So, if you'd like to test yourself on this lesson, please go to the website: www.engvid.com

and do the quiz there.

And thanks for watching, and see you again soon.