Category:Quirk class 1 A

A sub-class of category:Quirk class 1: 1 A is defined by the fact that it contains verbs which can vary both past tense and past participle with the suffix '-t' or '-ed'. Quirk notes:

[a] For Class 1 A verbs, the irregular -t- spelling is generally rare in AmE. In BrE, the -t- spelling is of varying frequency, but the /t/ pronunciation is widely current.

[b] EARN belongs marginally to Class 1 A, since a pronunciation in /t/ has some BrE currency.

[c] There is a tendency to associate -t- forms in Class 1 A more with V-ed₂ [the past participle] than with V-ed₁ [the past tense], and with V-ed₁ when there is least implication of duration.

He spelt/has spelt it like this on only one occasion.

Contrast: It smelled delicious.

[d] The variation between [the pronunciations] /d/ and /t/ in classes 1 and 3 applies to verbal uses but not to adjectival uses, for which /t/ is favoured. Both BrE and AmE have, for example, burnt toast, burnt umber. Even so, /d/ may appear attributively where the meaning emphasizes the process rather than the result of the process: burnt wood means 'wood which looks burnt', but burned wood might mean a quantity of wood which has been burned as fuel.