English Spelling Differences, Explained Simply

Is it “spelt” or “spelled”? Both are correct. The main difference is regional usage: “spelled” is the usual past tense

Both burnt and burned are correct forms of the verb burn. The main difference is regional and stylistic preference. Burned

Both dreamt and dreamed are correct. They are accepted past-tense and past-participle forms of the verb dream. The main difference

Learnt and learned are both correct forms of the verb learn. The main difference is regional usage. If you’re wondering

Both “judgment” and “judgement” are correct spellings. The preferred form depends mainly on the variety of English you are using

Is it “ageing” or “aging”? The good news is that you don’t have to choose between a correct and an

Is it “aluminium” or “aluminum”—and does that extra “i” actually matter? Both spellings are correct, and they refer to exactly

**Is it “defence” or “defense”? If you’ve seen both spellings and wondered whether one is a mistake, the answer is

Is it “theatre” or “theater”? If you’ve seen both spellings and wondered whether one is wrong, here’s the simple answer:

Is it “realise” or “realize”? If you’ve seen both spellings and wondered whether one of them is wrong, the answer