Monday, August 02, 2004, 23:52 GMT
What's the whole idealogic behind the suffix "-nt"? I use it all of the time, but there are certainly times where I think it sounds sort of "off-key" and should be replaced with "-ned".
One example is "Burn."
When you say "It's Burn__." Burnt to me usually sounds like the logical suffix.
But when you say "I'm Burnt," it sounds rather strange; almost as if you're referring to yourself as an object. Such as "Sunburn," I've always heard, and am well adapted to, the word "Sunburned," as opposed to "Sunburnt."
Some also seem to be less acceptable than others, such as "Spelt," which would always in English class be "Spelled." Yet, the word "Dreamt" has always been associated with the past-tense form of Dream; versus Dreamed.
This is from an American English point-of-view, from what I've researched the "-nt" suffix is the more accepted form in Britain.
One example is "Burn."
When you say "It's Burn__." Burnt to me usually sounds like the logical suffix.
But when you say "I'm Burnt," it sounds rather strange; almost as if you're referring to yourself as an object. Such as "Sunburn," I've always heard, and am well adapted to, the word "Sunburned," as opposed to "Sunburnt."
Some also seem to be less acceptable than others, such as "Spelt," which would always in English class be "Spelled." Yet, the word "Dreamt" has always been associated with the past-tense form of Dream; versus Dreamed.
This is from an American English point-of-view, from what I've researched the "-nt" suffix is the more accepted form in Britain.