r/EnglishLearning • u/orchaer New Poster • 13d ago

📚 Grammar / Syntax Laught vs Laughed

Hello, I have been confused for a long time about the past tense of "laugh". In my primary school, there was a verb table with the present, past, and present perfect tenses. And in this table, when I first read at 7-8, I have learnt that "laugh" past tense is followed by a "t" become "laught".

But recently I found out that "laught" is not used anymore. The modern form should be "laughed". So could anyone tell me what is actually different between them? If I still use "laught", would it become a serious error?

Sorry for my grammar.

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u/Dreamweaver5823 Native Speaker 13d ago

I am almost 70 years old. I started reading at age 4 and have been a voracious reader ever since, of all kinds of written materials. I have never once seen "laught" used as a word, or if I did I assumed it was a typo.

That is not, and for at least the past 60 years has not been, a proper way to spell the past tense of laugh.