We can determine if an action takes place now, in the past, or the future by looking at the verb tense. This article will discuss “learn” in all three of its tenses and their forms.
The verb “learn” means to acquire or gain knowledge, to study, to become aware and informed, to find out, to understand, and to get to know. The verb “learn” can represent three tenses: past, present, and future. These tenses follow inflections that signify the simple, perfect, continuous and perfect continuous forms.
This article contains thorough explanations of the when, how, and why the verb “learn” is used to indicate the period when an action occurred, is occurring, or will occur.
“Learn” in present tense
The present tense implies a regular or presently continuing activity or state of being. All the present tense forms of the verb “learn” will be dealt with here.
The verb “learn” can be used in a variety of forms in the present tense, including “learn,” ‘learns,’ “has/have learnt/learned,’ ‘is/are/am learning,’ and ‘has/have been learning,” in the simple present, present perfect, present continuous, and present perfect continuous tenses respectively.
When is “learn” used in the present tense?
The verb “learn” in the present tense is utilized to denote or represent the actions of acquiring or gaining knowledge, studying, becoming aware and informed, finding out, understanding and getting to know that happen on a regular basis or continue to happen in the present moment now.
Examples of “learn” in the present tense
| Examples | Explanations |
| a. I/ We always learn new things at any opportunity available to me/us. b. You always learn new things at any opportunity available to you. c. Sanjana always learns new things at any opportunity available to her. d. These girls always learn new things at any opportunity available to them. | The verb “learn” and its inflected form, ‘learns’ (which is created by the addition of an ‘s’ to the base verb), are utilized in these sentences in the simple present tense. The forms “learn” and ‘learns’ here denote that the subject regularly or repeatedly gains knowledge about new things at any opportunity available to him/them/her. |
| a. I am learning French as I have to shift to France by the end of this month. b. We are learning French as we have to shift to France by the end of this month. c. You are learning French as you have to shift to France by the end of this month. d. Pratik is learning French as he has to shift to France by the end of this month. e. They are learning French as they have to shift to France by the end of this month. | In these illustrative examples, the verb “learn” is in the present continuous tense as ‘am/is/are learning.’ The root verb “learn” receives the suffix ‘-ing’ to generate the present continuous form (learning), indicating that the subject is currently studying (happening at this moment) French as he/she/they have to shift to France by the end of this month. |
| a. Though it was not a very pleasant experience, I/we have learnt/learned many life lessons from it. b. Though it was not a very pleasant experience, you have learnt/learned many life lessons from it. c. Though it was not a very pleasant experience, Vikram has learnt/learned many life lessons from it. d. Though it was not a very pleasant experience, they have learnt/learned many life lessons from it. | The past participle of the verb “learn” can be both ‘learned’ and ‘learnt’. ‘Has/have learnt’ or ‘has/have learned’ in these example sentences represent that the subject has acquired or got to know many life lessons, though it was not a very pleasant experience. The use of the present perfect tense shows that the action of learning many life lessons began in the past, but it has its impact till date. |
| a. Since last month, I/we have been learning to bake cakes and cookies. b. Since last month, you have been learning to bake cakes and cookies. c. Since last month, Sreeja has been learning to bake cakes and cookies. d. Since last month, they have been learning to bake cakes and cookies. | These example sentences utilize the action word “learn” in the present perfect continuous form, ‘has/have been learning.’ The present perfect continuous form is used here to show that the subject has started to acquire the skill of baking cakes and cookies since last month. The action of learning to bake cookies and cakes began last month (past- the previous month) and is still happening now. |
“Learn” in past tense
If an event, action, or act took place anytime before now, it is denoted or represented using the past tense forms. Here, we shall learn the various past tense forms of “learn.”
The verb “learn” in the past tense, after some inflections, is expressed as ‘learned/learnt,’ ‘had learned/learnt,’ ‘was/were learning,’ and ‘had been learning’ in the simple past, past perfect, past continuous, and past perfect continuous forms respectively.
When is “learn” used in the past tense?
The verb “learn” in the past tense is utilized to denote or indicate the actions of gaining or acquiring knowledge, becoming aware and informed, studying, understanding and getting to know, or finding out, that had begun and ended before the current time now (anytime in the past).
Examples of “learn” in the past tense
| Examples | Explanations |
| a. I/We learned/learnt the truth about the incident in the office only a few days back. b. You learned/learnt the truth about the incident in the office only a few days back. c. They learned/learnt the truth about the incident in the office only a few days back. | By adding the ‘-ed’ or ‘-t’ suffix, in these examples, the verb “learn” is used as ‘learned’ or ‘learnt’. The action verb “learn” can be employed in the simple past tense as either ‘learnt’ or ‘learned’. The usage of the simple past tense here shows that the subject’s acts of getting to know or becoming aware of the truth about the incident in the office happened a few days back, which means the action is already over. |
| a. I was learning for my mathematics test when Sundar called me to play hide and seek. b. We were learning for our mathematics test when Sundar called us to play hide and seek. c. You were learning for your mathematics test when Sundar called you to play hide and seek. d. Lokesh was learning for his mathematics test when Sundar called him to play hide and seek. e. The children were learning for their mathematics test when Sundar called them to play hide and seek. | The suffix ‘-ing’ is used to inflect the action word “learn” in these sentences. In the past continuous tense, the verb “learn” changes to ‘was/were learning.’ The subject was studying (was continuing to study in the past) when Sundar called him/they/her to play hide and seek (which also happened in the past) and this is highlighted by the use of the past continuous tense here. |
| a. I/We/You/She/ They had learned/learnt the true nature of many people in the office in the past few months. | It is necessary to combine the verb ‘had’ with the past participle ‘learned’ or ‘learnt’ of the root verb “learn” to create the past perfect tense, ‘had learned’ or ‘had learnt.’ The past perfect tense used here— ‘had learned/learnt’—indicates that the subject had found out or got to know the true nature of many people in the office in the past few months (a few months prior to the present month). |
| a. I/We/You/She/They had been learning this topic in detail when Mr.Sinha visited me/us/you/her/them at varsity last week. | The verb form ‘had been learning’ in this statement is in the past perfect continuous tense. The usage of the past continuous form marks that the subject had been studying (the action was happening in the past) when Mr.Sinha visited her, him, or them at the varsity last week (which also happened in the past –the previous week). |
“Learn” in future tense
If an event or activity will take place anytime after now, it is indicated using the future tense forms. We will study the verb “learn” in all its future tense forms here.
The verb “learn” in the future tense, after inflections, is indicated as ‘will learn,’ ‘will have learned/learnt,’ ‘will be learning,’ and ‘will have been learning’ in the simple future, future perfect, future continuous, and future perfect continuous forms respectively.
When is “learn” used in the future tense?
The verb “learn” in the future tense forms is used to show the actions or activities of finding out, getting to know, gaining or acquiring knowledge, understanding, studying, becoming aware and informed, which have not yet happened but will in the days to come (future).
Examples of “learn” in the future tense
| Examples | Explanations |
| a. I/We/You/She/They will learn about this topic in detail in the next chapter. | In this statement, the root verb “learn” is employed as ‘will learn.’ The subject studying this topic in detail has not occurred till this moment, but will happen when they study the next chapter in the future. This is understood by the verb “learn” being used in the simple future tense as ‘will learn.’ |
| a. I/we/you/he/they will be learning ways to slowly handle the pressure at work in the upcoming days. | The subject will be understanding or coming to know the ways to slowly handle the pressure at work in the upcoming days (days to come –future), as shown here by the action word (verb) “learn,” which is employed in the future continuous tense form ‘will be learning’ (which is yet to take place or occur). |
| a. I/We/You//he/They will have learned/learnt all about Suraj’s wrongdoings by this day next week. | The action verb “learn” changes to ‘will have learned/learnt’ in the future perfect tense. Its use in this example denotes either that the subject will not be aware or will not get to know about Suraj’s wrongdoings until this day next week or that the subject will have got to know by this day (today – present) next week (the coming week— future). |
| a. I/We/You/He/They will have been learning the actual truth only when i/we/you/he/they get to hear what Kavitha is trying to say to me/us/you/him/them. | The future perfect continuous form of the action word “learn” – ‘will have been learning,’ tells to us that the subject will have been getting to know or finding out the actual truth when (a certain time in the future) the subject gets to hear what Kavitha is trying to say to them. |
Conclusion
This article examines how to depict the action word (verb) “learn” in all variants of the three tenses – present, past, and future — in order to express distinct meanings in a variety of contexts.
Hi… I am Sowndharya Jagadeeswaran, a university rank holder in M.A. English Literature. I have also done my master’s in Business Administration. Inquisitive as I am, my interest in action-oriented research helped me publish research papers in reputed journals. Now, as a career, I am an instructor where I teach young and adorable students the intricate technicalities of Public Speaking and Creative Writing. I also enjoy writing articles on topics I specialize and research in.
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