# learned or learnt?



## YOSHI

Which word is more used?  

learned = learnt 
proved = proven ???
showed = shown ???

<<Mod note,
This thread consists of several on this specific topic, now merged for convenience.
Panj>>


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## lauranazario

Since your question deals with English language usage, I'll transfer your inquiry to the English-Only forum.

Saludos,
LN


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## LeeT911

For me, "learned" and "learnt" are interchangeable when used as the past tense of the verb "to learn".  I have, however, never seen the latter used as an adjective.

As to the other two pairs, "proved" and "showed" are the past tense forms of the verbs "to prove" and "to show" respectively.  "Proven" and "shown" are the past participles of these same verbs.  The past tense and the past participle are distinct forms and cannot be used interchangeably.


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## El Estudiante

"Learnt" is not used in standard English in the United States.


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## YOSHI

Thanks  Wink Wink


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## alahay

It confuses the heck out of me...


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## elroy

Both are correct.  "Learned" is more common in American English, "learnt" in British English.


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## alahay

elroy said:
			
		

> Both are correct.  "Learned" is more common in American English, "learnt" in British English.



I myslef have learnt that learnt is the one until I learnt that almost everyone has learnt to use learned instead...Anyway, that sounds fair! Thanks a lot


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## scotu

There was very recently a thread that contained a fine discussion of the above. Can anyone help me find it?


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## cuchuflete

Hi Scotu,
Use the forum Search function.  It works.  There have been many threads on both this and other word pairs like spelled - spelt, spoiled - spoilt.  Some go back to 2004.


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## scotu

cuchuflete said:
			
		

> Hi Scotu,
> Use the forum Search function. It works. There have been many threads on both this and other word pairs like spelled - spelt, spoiled - spoilt. Some go back to 2004.


 
Thanks, what a great tool I never noticed it!


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## LeMakiyo

Hi, everybody.

Should it be "Using the steps you have *learned* in Topic 3,... " or should it be "Using the steps you have *learnt* in Topic 3,... " ?

Which is the correct past participle of "*learn*" ??

Thanks for your replies.

Regards,
Makiyo


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## Heba

At school, I learnt that ''learn'' was an irregular verb, and that ''learnt '' was the correct past form

I think that I later noticed that native speakers use ''learned'' as well. So, I am not sure which one is correct right now.

Let's wait for the opinion of a native speaker


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## Dimcl

I believe that "learnt" is the correct past participle of "learn" but my dictionaries lump "learned" and "learnt" together in every other way.  I would find it odd to hear someone say "learnt" - it sounds very old-fashioned and everyone I know says "learned".


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## Hockey13

For the verbs that tend to go either way, I've never used the "-nt" ending. I always learned to write it like that. The water is spilled to me, not spilt. Though I don't consider the other way wrong, I just completed prefer the "-ed."


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## LeMakiyo

Is it possible that "learned" is used as an adjective ONLY? 

Example: He is a learned person.


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## Hockey13

LeMakiyo said:


> Is it possible that "learned" is used as an adjective ONLY?
> 
> Example: He is a learned person.


 
No.


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## dwipper

Learned = American English
Learnt = British English (generally speaking)


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## cuchuflete

More on this topic:

http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=10639

http://forum.wordreference.com/showpost.php?p=37732&postcount=8


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## LeMakiyo

Thanks to all who responded.

I learnt "learnt" in school, quite many years ago. I was just wondering whether the word / tense has changed now. Now I know: it hasn't.

So I will stick with "learnt". 

Thanks again to all who participated.


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## .   1

But here, too, are the less known, though no less extraordinary, such as Olaudah Equiano, an African enslaved from childhood, who *learnt* to write, and wrote an unforgetable tale.

When I read the above sentence I bump at learnt.
I will accept that it is probably correct English but it sounds so clumsy when the perfectly acceptable learned is available.
In the context of this sentence is there any difference between learned and learnt.

.,,


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## elroy

No.

"Learnt" is simply British and "learned" is American - but there is no difference.

I take it from your reaction that "learned" is more common in Australia?


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## Pannadol

Yes definately..  We use learned. This also looked really strange to me.. I guess just another annoying americanism


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## Joelline

No, Pannadol, you can't blame this one on the Yanks!  As elroy explained, "Learnt" is simply *British* and "learned" is American."


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## Hockey13

Pannadol said:


> Yes definately.. We use learned. This also looked really strange to me.. I guess just another annoying americanism


 
So should I call inability to deal with variety just another annoying Australianism? Watch what you say lest it be construed as ignorance, and besides, you're wrong.


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## .   1

I didn't mean to start the old BE -v- AE -v- OZE. The quoted sentence is from the fly leaf of the Simon Schama *A History of Britian *I just purchased. It seems to be well accepted British English with an impeccable pedigree.

.,,


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## Giordano Bruno

These "strong" forms are always under pressure to revert to the weak regular forms.  I have no problem with "learnt" or "burnt" as I am quite used to them.  I believe it's just a matter of how often your ear is refreshed.  As an example, I find no difficulty with "When he rode into the arena" or "When he strode into the room"  I am happy with "When he had ridden into the arena", but not so happy with "When he had stridden into the room".  I guess it's right enough, but it hasn't had sufficient reinforcement not to stop me in my tracks.  
As an adjective, we would only ever use "My learned friend"


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## panjandrum

As one who wallows in the luxury of being able to use either learnt or learned at will, I would almost certainly have written ... learned to write ...
I suspect (rationalising) that I use the -ed for for the past tense and the -t form for the participle. I learned, and learned, and learned - until at last it was completely learnt.

Learned, adjective, is always -ed.  But then it is pronounced differently as well.

I've added this thread to the compendium of learned v learnt threads from the past.


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## nwb81

I'm very surprised to hear _two_ Australians claiming that "learned" is the more common! At school I learnt that "learnt" was the _only_ acceptable form, in fact I was completely unaware of the use of "learned" until I was exposed to more American language. I would have said that in Australia "learned" is only ever an adjective (i.e. pronounced learnèd). 

I'd still say that Australian English favours the -t endings for all those verbs that take them. To those Australians who don't favour -t endings, I'd like to ask what you think of the title of Bill Bryson's book, _In a Sunburned Country_. It should sound abominable to Australian ears!


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## .   1

Unsurprisingly _In a Sunburned Counry_ sounds fine.
I have been sunburned a few times and the word is common.

.,,


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## cuchuflete

Reading this rehash of what I've learned about alternate participles, I think of one AE (Easy, boys and girls, not exclusively AE, just AE) term that uses the 'nt form: burnt orange.


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## ophthalmologist

How do you know when to use the words 'learned' or 'learnt' in a sentence?


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## vachecow

These are alternative forms of the past tense and past participle of the verb learn. Learnt is more common in British English, and learned in American English.


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## tuany

Hello,
I think that "learnt" is from the U.K. and "learned" from the U.S.A. 
What do you think?

Bye.


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## EngTeach

I just read that "learnt" is an obsolete past form of learn! is that true? they said it has been replaced by 'learned'


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## Packard

I've never seen "learnt" in the New York Times.  It is always "learned".  

Maybe it is OK in England; I don't think it is acceptable in the USA.


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## EngTeach

thanks so much for the reply!! good to know


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## argentina84

I have learnt/learned that "learnt" is British and "learned" American. My teachers don't accept my using "learned" since we are supposed to speak British English here in Argentina.


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## EngTeach

excellent.. thanks a lot!


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## Blumengarten

Yes, "learnt" is British English, so are "slept" and "dreamt.'  My American mother used to "correct" my sister and me for saying these words, but our Canadian father and would "correct" us back.  The British forms sound better to me so I still use them!   But I like to be different ... if I were in England, I'd probably use "-ed!"


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## liliput

All three of the original examples and, I believe, the others mentioned in this thread are examples of differences between AE and BE.
I think "learned" and "learnt" are now both used in BE (perhaps the AE version (learned) is slowly replacing the BE version(learnt)).
However "show" is still an irregular verb in BE - "showed" in the simple past but "shown" is the past participle.


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## Blumengarten

I think that, in AE, we tend to do what Panjandarum said he does, use the -ed form as the past tense, and -t as the past participle.  In America, would wouldn't never ask, for example, "have you _sleeped_ well?" but "have you _slept_ well?"  (although it would be more common to ask, depending on the circumstances, "did you _sleep_ well?")


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## roxcyn

Both are correct: learnt/learned.  Some people will choose one form over the other it is no big deal.  Sorry, there is so many varieties of English that I don't see how someone can say it's wrong.  You will find if someone can understand they aren't going to say anything.  If they say "well that's wrong."  You can say it the other way and just ignore .  Or you can have a long discussion of how people use the other form.


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## Jack79

Here is another Australian perspective.

Despite the influence of American culture, I was taught that learned was the simple past and learnt the past partciple. The same went for the verbs to burn, to dream, to spell, to spill, to smell (among others).

He burned his finger badly yesterday, but he has been burnt worse.

There was a time when I dreamed of living by the beach, but I have dreamt all my life of living in the mountains.

I spelled the word the wrong way, but in the book it was spelt correctly.

You spilled your drink everywhere but don`t worry, it is no use crying over spilt milk.

He smelled awful yesterday, but he has smelt worse.

Note: The simple past and past participle are two distinct verb forms! In English these are often spelt the same way but not always. They should not be bundled together in the same group and labelled simply as the "past tense".


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## Blumengarten

My father (British, born 1897, raised in Canada) always used "dreamt" as the past tense, not past participle.  I'd always thought this was because of his British-Canadian upbringing, but I just heard a couple days ago that Teddy Roosevelt had tried to force the dictionary publishers to "simplify" our spelling by using the "t" ending instead of "ed" for the past tense -- burnt, dreamt, learnt, etc.  So maybe what my father was saying was not an old-fashioned Britishism but a modernism that never really caught on!


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## mplsray

Blumengarten said:


> My father (British, born 1897, raised in Canada) always used "dreamt" as the past tense, not past participle.  I'd always thought this was because of his British-Canadian upbringing, but I just heard a couple days ago that Teddy Roosevelt had tried to force the dictionary publishers to "simplify" our spelling by using the "t" ending instead of "ed" for the past tense -- burnt, dreamt, learnt, etc.  So maybe what my father was saying was not an old-fashioned Britishism but a modernism that never really caught on!



The list which Roosevelt ordered the US Government Printing Office to use can be seen here. _Dreamt_ is not among the spellings listed, nor are _burnt_ or _learnt_, likely because they were already standard spellings. All are in The Century Dictionary of 1895, although the Century says of _learnt_ that it is "an occasional preterit and past participle of _learn_." (The Century Supplement of 1909 has an entry "lern, lernd, lerning," referring to them as simplified spellings, but they must have appeared in some other list.)

Roosevelt's action was effectively reversed by the US Congress. They passed a law refusing to fund such a change.

Roosevelt's list does include some other spellings where final _ed_ is replaced by _t._


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