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Is it acceptable to say "her eyes lighted up" or is it only acceptable to say "her eyes lit up"?

Hellion
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Laurie Adams
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  • You can use either. Most people where I'm from would use lit but lighted is certainly acceptable. – Robusto May 24 '15 at 15:07

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This ngram suggests that eyes lighted up lost ground to eyes lit up in the early 1900s

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Also worth noting that Oxford no longer lists lighted as the past simple form of light. It just lists lit

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I would say that lighted up sounds a bit archaic today and you should go with lit up.

Tushar Raj
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  • NGrams prove nothing. A lot of the "lit up" you'll find there has nothing to do with eyes lighting up. In fact, "lit up" is gaining currency as meaning "fired upon" as in a battle. – Robusto May 24 '15 at 15:15
  • @Robusto: Disagree. See edit. – Tushar Raj May 24 '15 at 15:18
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    So what is your point, then? That a writer should only prefer phrases that are more frequently encountered? What a boring language we would have if that were true. – Robusto May 25 '15 at 11:58
  • No, my point is that I edited the ngram from "lighted up vs lit up" to "eyes lighted up vs eyes lit up". "lit up" still wins. I'm quoting facts, not commenting on the best writing practices because this isn't the place for that. – Tushar Raj May 25 '15 at 12:01
  • I'm talking about the answer as a whole. Your edit is included in my assessment. And this is the place for talking about practices, because that is what the OP is asking about. "Is it acceptable to say 'her eyes lighted up?'" Your answer seems calculated to answer that question in the negative. – Robusto May 25 '15 at 12:03
  • @Robusto: As an avid reader, I couldn't agree with you more. However, the OP clearly states if it's acceptable to "say it" (I'm assuming in everyday speech). So, I was trying to point out that saying it might be considered archaic. – Tushar Raj May 25 '15 at 12:11
  • What to you sounds archaic may to another sound merely more formal, more reserved, or more evocative of something you cannot comprehend out of context. Your graph and the single dictionary citation (I can find other dictionaries that do list "lighted" as alternative past tenses—some even as the primary citation—seem like an over-zealous attempt to prove something that is ultimately not true. In any case, what does it matter? This question was closed as a duplicate anyway. – Robusto May 25 '15 at 12:20
  • Note that the down vote was not mine. Just wanted to get that on the record. – Robusto May 25 '15 at 14:06