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Question

Which wording is considered correct in the following sentence:  "As an elementary school student, I often dreamed or I often dreamt of growing up and becoming a superhero."

Avangi · Accepted Answer

Both are correct.

"Dreamt" is more British, but is used commonly in AmE.

Sam1947 · Answer

Only in very literary (and usually only older American literary works) would one see "dreamt" used in the U.S. It is virtually never used in spoken English in the U.S., and very rarely used outside of the context described in my first sentence in written English.

Famously, the Maidenform Bra commercials in the U.S. in the 60s and 70s featured the slogan, "I dreamed I was (insert multiple desirable things) in my Maidenform Bra.

Even in that era and context, one would not have seen "dreamt" used in the U.S.

I'll leave it to the Brits to describe how often and in what context it is still used there.

Avangi · Answer

I find that many people choose "dreamt" in casual conversation because "dreamed I" is harder to pronounce.

"I dreamt I was" is easy.

Unrestricted Google:

"I dreamed I was" 510,000
"I dreamt I was" 310,000

Sam1947 · Answer

Hmmm...I don't find, "I dreamed I" at all hard to pronounce. I presume you are speaking of in Britain, because if someone said that in America, they would probably be laughed at if engaging in casual conversation with friends, unless they were purposefully acting very pseudo dramatic. I wouldn't advise anyone who wants to appear to be speaking naturally in the U.S. to use dreamt in any context other than the pseudo dramatic or when reading poetry from a bygone era. It comes across as being very stilted and antiquated, as if one suddenly began using "thee and thou" instead of you.

I would suspect the google numbers refer more to literary references than to modern usage.

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