For a while, I've leaned on my credentials as a former college instructor of writing, to address matters of style and grammar and usage. But I'm getting to the point where I can't justify the rules I lay on you folks; that is, I can't give you reasons, any more, for why one usage is no good, and another usage is better. A good teacher should be able to do that, even if the student isn't terribly interested.
Think about the word "spilt", for instance. A common instance is "There's no use crying over spilt milk." You could use spilled instead, and that would not be wrong at all. When using the word as a verb, spilled is the only word that seems correct to me. When using it to describe a noun, such as milk, either of spilled or spilt will work. I wish I could tell you why! But I can't think of a reason, though I'm sure that I could have, at one time.
I'm reading a story about the attraction between two women, one of whom is dealing with an elderly mother, who's bewildered by the onset of Alzheimer's Disease*. Spilt has nothing to do with the condition, in case you were wondering. The story is The Christmas Elf.
Kay
* Google this condition; there seem to be interesting new insights.
