Alright, grammar police....when should learnt be used...

[Haole Girl]

...instead of learned?

This is all I found, and it didn't tell me enough:

http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutspelling/learnt

I must know this before I die. ;-)

Thank you!

[nosillies]

1. When you're British n/t

[Haole Girl]

3. ha-ha

:D

[supernova]

2. Grammatically speaking they're the same word

the past tense of to learn.

The only difference is in the US people have chosen to say learn-ed, the British say learnt.

Learnt can also be heard in the South too. We have kept many British expressions and idioms that the rest of the US finds strange.

[Haole Girl]

5. Alright

I didn't even think it was a word until recently.

Thank you!

[supernova]

10. Other words that are "t'd"

burnt
dreamt
knelt,
leant
leapt
spelt (as in ABC, not the grain)
spilt
spoilt
bent

Also notice that sometimes we Americans will use these as the adjective form. "Don't cry over spilt milk," for instance.

[Haole Girl]

12. I didn't even know spoilt was a word!

And, it's not in DU spell check either!

:rofl:

[supernova]

15. DU's speller is

useful for more the most common vocabulary. But for those of us with a wider vocabulary, the spelling checker is limited. ;-)

Having said that, I'm glad we have even that!

[Sanity Claws]

4. When in Britain

I'm answering this just from watching usage. Americans use "learned" but the British and Irish use "learnt." Billyskank might be able to verify that.
I don't know which one Canadians favor. Maybe a Canadian will jump in and tell us.

[Haole Girl]

6. Thanks. I'd be interested to know what Canadians use

:hi:

[ironflange]

9. I use mostly the British spellings

Unless I'm communicating with mostly Americans, like here. I don't always remember when I'm visiting, my old license plate had a "Z" in it, and I sure got funny looks at gas stations when I said "zed."

[Haole Girl]

13. Thanks....

OMG...I better get going....

This would be a silly reason to be late for work!!

Thank you again!!

:hi:

[ironflange]

7. "Learnt" should be used for a British audience

I've always thought of it as just a different spelling, like colour, labour, neighbour, etc.

[Haole Girl]

8. I hope I don't offend anyone by saying this..

...I always used to think it was slang...like the word "ain't."

[nosillies]

11. I think that's because, as mentioned in another post, Southerners often still say it

People often assume that just because southerners say something it is therefore incorrect or "slang."

My husband's British and I'm southern -- when he says it, it sounds natural. When I say it, I sound dumb.

[supernova]

14. I sorta know what you mean

When I talk to people from the UK, they understand me and turns of phrase or certain grammatical patterns don't cause them to bat an eye.

From other Americans though, I get funny looks. :-(

Most annoying.

[ironflange]

16. Maybe you're thinkin' of "larnt"

As in: "Hey there, Billy Joe Bob Junior, what did y'all larnt in skool today?"

[Xipe Totec]

17. learned is an adjective, learnt is the past tense of the verb to learn

As in: My learned colleague has learnt all there is to learn here.

[Inchworm]

18. we use learnt around here quite often

I learnt that yesterdee.

Dang boy aint you learnt no better than that?

I think it's a derivitive of learnin.

Paw gave me all the learnin I'll need.

:silly: