Ian Wheeler
New member
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2011
- Member Type
- Interested in Language
- Native Language
- English
- Home Country
- Great Britain
- Current Location
- Great Britain
I was dismayed to read a (closed) thread in which a number of members agreed that the words "learnt" and "learned" were interchangeable, having identical meaning. This is simply not so.
To avoid any possibility of confusion, we are discussing the verb "to learn".
"Learnt" is the past participle. It is used in the Perfect tense e.g. 'John has learnt something new today" or the Pluperfect tense, e.g. 'John had learnt something new today'.
"Learned" is in the Imperfect tense, e.g. 'John learned something new today'. Its use as the past participle is incorrect.
The meanings are all subtly different.
I'd like readers to take this posting as a wail of protest at the neglect currently suffered by the genuine past participles of many verbs. God knows that English is riddled with irregularities and rules that are frequently broken; I pity anyone learning it as a second language but English as I was taught it is an immensely capable language for expressing precise moods, concepts, emotions and so forth and neglecting the rules of that language merely casts doubt on the writer's intended meaning.
Please, let's restore the past participle to its rightful glory and, Ulli and Pauline, "Learnt" and "Learned" are most definitely not the same word spelt differently!
To avoid any possibility of confusion, we are discussing the verb "to learn".
"Learnt" is the past participle. It is used in the Perfect tense e.g. 'John has learnt something new today" or the Pluperfect tense, e.g. 'John had learnt something new today'.
"Learned" is in the Imperfect tense, e.g. 'John learned something new today'. Its use as the past participle is incorrect.
The meanings are all subtly different.
I'd like readers to take this posting as a wail of protest at the neglect currently suffered by the genuine past participles of many verbs. God knows that English is riddled with irregularities and rules that are frequently broken; I pity anyone learning it as a second language but English as I was taught it is an immensely capable language for expressing precise moods, concepts, emotions and so forth and neglecting the rules of that language merely casts doubt on the writer's intended meaning.
Please, let's restore the past participle to its rightful glory and, Ulli and Pauline, "Learnt" and "Learned" are most definitely not the same word spelt differently!