Sparky: I just got my tickets to Hawaii!

Mr.Maru: You are going to Hawaii?

Sparky: Yeah, I'm flying out in a couple of weeks. But, they spelt my name wrongly.

Mr.Maru: How did they spell it?

Sparky: They spelt it S-P-A-R-K-L-Y. I'm definitely not sparkly.

Mr.Maru: I agree. You aren't. You are quite dull actually.

Sparky: That's not what I mean.

(NOTE: Sparky is using CORRECT English for this conversation.)

What do you use for the past tense of spell? Spelled or spelt? How about wrong and wrongly? Which adverb is correct? Are they both correct? Let's talk about some rules and examples.

The use of the word 'spell'

We can spell the past tense of spell, spelled or spelt. The main difference is that 'spelled' is used mostly in American English and 'spelt' is used mostly in British English. For example,

He spelled my name J-O-N. (AE)
He spelt my name J-O-N. (BE)

Although the word 'spelt' is more commonly used in British English, it is used sometimes in American English. The ratio of 'spelt' to 'spelled' in AE is about 1:20. The ratio of 'spelt' to 'spelled' in BE is about 2:1. Overall, 'spelled' is the most common spelling. You should probably use 'spelled' in most of your writing.

The use of the adverb wrong or wrongly

We can use the adverb 'wrong' or 'wrongly'. The adverb 'wrong' is used more often. It is always used after the verb. For example,

The test went wrong. (NOT The test wrong went.)
Jenny sang the song wrong. (NOT Jenny wrong sang the song.)

However, with the adverb 'wrongly', we can use it most commonly before the verb or less often after the verb. The adverb 'wrongly' is also considered more proper or formal. For example,

He wrongly did it. (OR He did it wrongly.)
Jenny wrongly sang the song. (OR Jenny sang the song wrongly.)

The adverb 'wrongly' is most often used with the verbs 'to believe', 'to accuse', 'to convict', and 'to decide'. It is not often used with other verbs.

Do you think you understand? Let's take a short quiz.

1) Excuse me, did I ______ your name right?

A) spell

B) spelt

C) spelled

2) You are doing it _______.

A) wrong

B) wrongly

C) correct

3) He _______ believed that she was the killer.

A) wrong

B) wrongly

C) correct

Answers

1) – A) – This is a trick question, we do not use the past tense in a question with 'did'.

2) – A) and B) – A) is the most natural and most often used though.

3) – B) – Before the verb, we must use 'wrongly'.

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