Irregular verb#49 most commonA — B — B

learn

Base form

learn

/lɜːn//lɜːrn/

Past simple

learned / learntlearned

/lɜːnd/ /lɜːnt//lɜːrnd/

Past participle

learned / learntlearned

/lɜːnd/ /lɜːnt//lɜːrnd/

MeaningA1

to get knowledge or a new skill

to learn something by heart

In use

Question · Form 1Did you learn to swim when you were little?
After a modal verb · Form 1I’d like to learn Italian before our trip to Rome.
Past simple · Form 2Leo learnt to drive last summer in his dad’s old car.Leo learned to drive last summer in his dad’s old car.
Past simple · Form 2Yesterday we learnt that our flight had been cancelled.Yesterday we learned that our flight had been cancelled.
Present perfect · Form 3Priya has learnt a lot of new words since she moved to Madrid.Priya has learned a lot of new words since she moved to Madrid.
Past perfect · Form 3By the age of six, Ben had learnt to read.By the age of six, Ben had learned to read.

Watch out

~~learndedlearnted~~

Learnt and learned are both right in British English; Americans say learned. Only the adjective learned /ˈlɜːnɪd/ (= very educated) has two syllables.