What’s the past tense of “spell”?
Spelt and spelled are both correct to reference the past tense of spell (the verb). To spell describes the act of writing or saying the letters of a word out loud, in the correct order.
Is it spelled or spelt?
Broadly speaking, whether to use spelt or spelled depends on if you’re conforming to UK or US English spelling rules and conventions:
- US English prefers spelled; i.e., the regular verb form ending in –ed.
- UK English uses spelled and spelt as a past tense and/or past participle form interchangeably.
Definition of the word “spell”
The word spell has another meaning, which makes it a homophone; (words that sound the same but have different meanings). As a noun, a spell is a “a spoken word or form of words held to have magic power”.
Anyone familiar with the Harry Potter series knows that wizards and witches are taught to cast spells—this is the sense in which the noun spell is meant. Spelt, in the past tense, is also a noun, and refers to the ancient and hulled wheat, spelt.
Forms of the verb spell
| present | past | future | |
| simple | I spell | I spelt/spelled | I will spell |
| continuous | I am spelling | I was spelling | I will be spelling |
| perfect | I have spelt/spelled | I had spelt/spelled | I will have spelt/spelled |
| perfect continuous | I have been spelling | I had been spelling | I will have been spelling |
1. To spell is the present tense: I can spell my name correctly.
2. Spells is third-person present singular: He spells difficult words without any mistakes.
3. Spelling is the present participle: I am spelling out the letters of the word for her to understand.
4. Will spell is the future tense: Tomorrow, I will spell check my essay before submitting it.
5. Spelled is the simple past: Yesterday, I spelled a long word properly.
6. Spelled/spelt is the past participle: I have spelled/spelt my name wrong on official documents before.
Spell belongs to the class of irregular verbs that have two verb conjugations altogether. Here’s a chart of other verbs like spell, that also have two verb forms in sum:
| base verb | past tense | past participle |
| lean | leant/leaned | leant/leaned |
| leap | leapt/leaped | leapt/leaped |
| learn | learnt/learned | learnt/learned |
| spell | spelt/spelled | spelt/spelled |
| spill | spilt/spilled | spilt/spilled |
| deal | dealt | dealt |
Examples of the word “spell” used in sentences
1. I have no have no idea how to spell that word.
2. I love how you spell your name!
3. How do you spell your surname?
4. C—A—T spells ‘cat’.
5. I’ve never been able to spell.
Sentences with “spelt”
1. The other remarkable aspect of Cotter’s life was his friendship with an aboriginal leader named Onyong, spelt in various ways. —The Sydney Morning Herald
2. The child spelt the word for the teacher.
3. I thought her name was Catherine, but it’s Kathryn spelt with a ‘K’.
4. The crop failure spelt disaster for many farmers.
5. You’ve spelt my name wrong.
Examples with “spelled” in sentences
1. ‘Nevaeh’ is ‘heaven’ spelled backwards/backward.
2. Should ‘internet’ be spelled with a capital or lower case i?
3. Is ‘necessary’ spelled with one ‘s’, or two?
4. The article spelled ‘survey’ as ‘servay’.
5. The title of Frank Ocean’s excellent and bizarre new release is spelled different ways in different official locations. —The Atlantic
Phrases with the word spell
| expression | meaning |
| to be under someone’s spell | to be magnetized or especially drawn to someone |
| death by spell check | when you submit something to spell check and it reports tons of errors |
| you can’t spell (something) without (something else | said of phrases or words that relate in meaning and share the same letters |
| I spell trouble | indicating that there’s impending trouble or doom |
| a dry spell | an extended period of time without rain |
| spell disaster Fig | to indicate sign of impending trouble or disaster |
| do I have to spell it out for you? | to have to explain something in the simplest of terms |
| a cold spell | to describe a period of extremely cold weather |
| to cast a spell | literally to induce the effects of a magic spell on someone |
| come in and sit a spell | a way of inviting someone to come in and relax a while |
Origin of the word spell
From etymology online on spell (v.):
Early 14c., “read letter by letter, write or say the letters of;” c. 1400, “form words by means of letters,” apparently a French word that merged with or displaced a native Old English one; both are from the same Germanic root, but the French word had evolved a different sense. The native word is Old English spellian “to tell, speak, discourse, talk,” from Proto-Germanic *spellam‘.
Learn more about verbs
| Kinds of verbs | What’s the past tense of …? |
| forms of ‘to be’ | … seek? |
| auxiliary verbs | … teach? |
| present tense | … catch? |
| future tense | … buy? |
| past tense | … read? |
| perfect tense | … ring? |
| transitive vs. intransitive | … drive? |
| participles | … throw? |
| irregular verbs | … lead? |
| modals | … win? |
Sources
- Oxford Learner’s, spell.
- Origin of the verb, spell.
- Wikipedia, spelt.
- Wikipedia, homophones.
- “Spell.” Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. 2015. Farlex, Inc 3 Nov. 2023 https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/spell
