Oh pray tell, what is the difference and what's the proper way to use them.
----------
Juliet
"The unexamined life is not worth living." - Socrates
| JompyShy | Smelled and Smelt. |
    13,467 / 50,000 Joined: Oct 19, 2007
Location: Connecticut, USA Posts: 7
Posted on:
Nov 11, 2007 - 23 24 |
Oh pray tell, what is the difference and what's the proper way to use them. |
5,749 / 50,000
Nov 11, 2007 - 23 32
I actually can't recall ever having been taught the proper usage of those two words, but here are a few examples that sound right... don't quote me on them, though.
* He smelt a rat. -- for some reason this one seems more past tense-ish... a kind of one-off, it's over sort of deal.
* She smelled bad. -- and this one seems to be more of a current continuing tense (like: "She smelled bad, and continued to smell bad until someone threw her into the pool")... I don't know if that's quite the right way to describe it, though. -_-
Might have something to do with American vs. British/Australian English, as well.
Also consider that the word 'smelt' is not just a tense/variation/whatever of the word 'smell', but also refers to metalworking...
Complicated! Good luck. :p
----------wordcount widgets
461 / 50,000
Nov 12, 2007 - 05 30
smelt is also an anchovie like fish that lives in Lake Superior
----------"To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it." - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (1922-2007)
2006 - Famine: A Novel - failed
2007 - A Midsummer Night's Dream...IN SPACE! - on hold
50,360 / 50,000
Nov 12, 2007 - 12 03
According to my dictionary, they are just alternate forms that can be used interchangeably.
In practice, though, I believe "smelt" is only used in discussions concerning the resolution of questions relating to the identification of the source of flatulence.
50,183 / 50,000
Nov 12, 2007 - 14 47
They are the same exact word: the past tense of the verb 'to smell.' Smellt is British spelling, smelled is American english.
Smelt is the fish, I believer (one "L")
---------------------------------------
M. Lori Motley
NaNo 07 -- Stranger Beneath
----------www.MLoriMotley.com
Currently editing NaNo '07: Brother Crow
5,749 / 50,000
Nov 12, 2007 - 22 46
Smelt is the fish, I believer (one "L")
Er,need to point out here that 'smellt' with two L's is not a word, period. British or otherwise.
----------wordcount widgets
60,054 / 50,000
Nov 12, 2007 - 18 32
I've never seen smelt used in any way other than when discussing metalworking. :)
----------Heather
Forums Moderator
28,606 / 50,000
Nov 15, 2007 - 10 43
British English takes either 'smelt' or 'smelled' (not both - choose one and stick to it). American English takes 'smelled'. This is true of loads of irregular verbs that have become regularized, where the regular ending is more usual in AE, e.g.
Spelt - spelled; leapt - leaped; spilt - spilled; spoilt - spoiled; learnt - learned; burnt - burned, etc.
75,201 / 50,000
Nov 29, 2007 - 03 55
I was taught that "smelt" was slang English and should be avoided, unless used as such:
She stopped to smell the roses. They smelled nice. They smelt like candy.
I was taught that if you though it could end with either "t" or "d", that most likly the -d was correct and to use the -d ending, because the -t ending was consided to *quote* "be slang, lazy speech, used only by uneducated peoples." *unquote*.
-------------
----------Copper Cockeral
Publishing Your NaNo Novel?
Want to Give Me a Reward for Reaching 50k?
50,064 / 50,000
Nov 29, 2007 - 14 27
I thought "smelt" had something to do with metal.
I usually hate when people use the word "smelt" instead of "smelled". It's not the proper use of the word!
It's almost as bad as when people say "lightening" when they mean "lightning". They mean two comletely different things!
60,054 / 50,000
Nov 29, 2007 - 15 46
I'm glad I'm not the only one that bugs. That one drives me absolutely NUTS.
----------Heather
Forums Moderator
75,178 / 50,000
Nov 29, 2007 - 19 44
Spelt - spelled; leapt - leaped; spilt - spilled; spoilt - spoiled; learnt - learned; burnt - burned, etc.
Just wanted to sign this. It's what they taught me at university as well. :)
----------Characters killed: Adriana 90%, Mylanh 50% and Salín 20%
Quite pathetic heroes: 1
Stories writing themselves: 1
Best daily word count: 7062
Cups of tea consumed in the process: lost count
Total words since Nov 1: about 190k
58,086 / 50,000
Jun 27, 2008 - 11 54
He who smelt it dealt it.
Sorry, I had to say it.
----------2007 - Faint Pulse, Winner!
Coming Soon in 2008 - The Reclaimers
51,949 / 50,000
Jun 30, 2008 - 08 24
From what I looked up, when it ends with the "t" (like burnt), that's the past participle form, while the "ed" ending is the simple past tense form. "Burnt offerings" versus "she burned the toast". I hope that helps...
----------___
NaNo 2006: Steel Bars - 59,233 words
Screnzy 2007: The Enchanted Forest - won
NaNo 2007: Turning Beetles into Buttons - 51,949 words
Screnzy 2008: Simple Gifts - 43 pages total & Butterfly - 9 episodes