What’s the past tense of “learn”?
The short answer is that technically both learnt and learned are correct past tenses of the verb learn. Which is the correct choice on the individual level is a separate question, which we’ll address right now. Let’s learn more about it!
Most people learn to read as children.
I’ve forgotten most of what I learnt at school.
By the time the course ended, I learnt everything.
He learned how to fix cars, and ever since then, learned more every day.
| tense | examples: tenses of “learn” in sentences |
|---|---|
| present tense | The book is about how children learn. |
| past tense | I learnt the poem by heart. |
| past participle | I had learned a lot from my father growing up. |
Learn, which means “to get knowledge or skill in a new subject or activity: they learn Russian at school“, has two accepted forms as its past tense and past participle: learnt and learned. Learnt is irregular because it ends in -t, not -ed; whereas learned clearly adheres to the regular rule of verb conjugation to the past tense by adding an -ed to the end. Here are other verbs in English that share two accepted past tense and past participle forms, just like learn. See the chart:
British English or American English: learnt vs learned
Which past tense form of learn to use depends on where you live. American English, thanks to Noah Webster (of Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary), popularized learned as the standard past tense. By contrast, UK English, which is the original form, prefers learnt. The same is true for other verbs that share the same pattern (i.e., spell, leap, lean, smell, and so on).
Practice using the verb in different tenses with example sentences to memorize the correct forms.
Examples of learn (present tense) in sentences
| Example |
|---|
| He had the opportunity to learn English in Australia. |
| The book is about how children learn. |
| He’s learning to play the trumpet. (present participle) |
| Everyone in the class had the opportunity to learn from each other. |
| Most people learn to read as children. |
Examples of learned/learnt (past simple)
| Example |
|---|
| We only learnt who the new teacher was a few days ago. |
| Today we learnt how to use the new software. |
| I first learnt of his death many years later. |
| She received no training but quickly learnt on the job. |
| I learnt the poem by heart. |
Examples of learned/learnt as a past participle
| Example |
|---|
| I had learned a lot from my father. |
| She learned from watching others. |
| He learned to ride when he was about three years old. |
| I’ve forgotten most of what I learned at school. |
| How did they react when they learned the news? |
Origin of the word learn
| Old English leornian “to get knowledge, be cultivated; study, read, think about,” from Proto-Germanic *lisnojanan“. |
Worksheet: irregular verbs
According to the post, what is the primary difference between the forms “burned” and “burnt”?
Which incorrect verb form of “burn” is specifically highlighted in the post’s examples of mistakes?
In which major variety of English, as stated in the post, is “burned” primarily used as the simple past tense verb form?
According to the post, which form(s) are common when “burn” is used as an adjective in US English?
In British English, according to the post, which form(s) are acceptable for both the simple past tense verb and the adjective?
The old letters were all in the fireplace.
She accidentally her hand on the hot stove.
He had all the documents before the police got there.
The toast was slightly .
His skin was red from being by the sun.
FAQs
Is “learnt” or “learned” correct?
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What’s the past participle of “learn”?
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Is “learn” a regular or irregular verb?
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How does US English use “learn”?
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How does UK English use “learn”?
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Yash, D. "Learned or Learnt? What’s the Past Tense of Learn?." Grammarflex, Jun 25, 2025, https://www.grammarflex.com/whats-the-past-tense-of-learn-learned-or-learnt/.
Sources
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Etymonline, learn.
