Cambridge Grammar of English Hardback with cd-rom a comprehensive Guide

Fit

532e

In AmE, the past tense of fit is most often fit, while standard BrE prefers fitted:

Jennifer says she never really 

fit in, and that made it easy for the other teachers

to be suspicious of her. 

(AmE)

(preferred BrE form: fitted in)

I found a pair of boots that 

fitted me and they weren’t too bad-looking either. 

(BrE)

Learn, burn, dream, etc.

532f

Verbs such as burn, dream, lean, learn, smell, spell, spill often allow a past tense

and -ed participle ending of either -ed (learned, spilled) or -t (learnt, spilt). AmE

overwhelmingly prefers the -ed ending:

One night I had a bad dream. I 

dreamt that someone was trying to attack me. 

(BrE)

[discussing changing British dietary habits]

Well, in my grandma’s day and age they would never have 

dreamed of eating a

curry, would they? 

(BrE)

When I was a boy, I 

dreamed of playing football.

(AmE)

884 | Appendix: North American English grammar

Cambridge Grammar of English

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