Which is Correct "Learned" or "Learnt" ?

As is often the case, this is one of the differences between American English and British English. They are, of course, both forms of the past tense and past participle of the verb 'learn', which is an irregular verb.

Americans tend to say learned and the British tend learnt. Although both can be considered correct.

Other verbs that have this characteristic are: burn, dream, kneel, lean, leap, spell, spill, spoil.

All of these are also irregular verbs.

The 25 Most Used Verbs.....

Below are the 25 most used verbs in the English Language, According to the best source on the subject, which is the English Oxford Dictionary.

The reasons why a word has made it into this list vary, but in general, they are words that have many meanings as well as words that form part of many common phrases.

Learning these verbs well will be a great help in your study of English.

1 be

2 have

3 do

4 say

5 get

6 make

7 go

8 know

9 take

10 see

11 come

12 think
13 look

14 want

15 give

16 use

17 find

18 tell

19 ask

20 work

21 seem

22 feel

23 try

24 leave

25 call

How many words are there in the English Language?

As the Oxford English Dictionary says, there is no sensible, single answer to this question. The problem lies in deciding exactly what a word is! Let me give you an example. The word 'dog'. Should it count as one or two words? A dog is an animal, that's to say a noun. But it is also a verb meaning to follow persistently. And what about 'dog-tired'? Is that another word or just two words joined together? What about French words used in cooking or Latin words used in law.

What about dialects, scientific terms, slang?

The Second Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary contains full entries for 171,476 words in current use, and 47,156 obsolete words. To this may be added around 9,500 derivative words included as subentries. Over half of these words are nouns, about a quarter adjectives, and about a seventh verbs; the rest is made up of interjections, conjunctions, prepositions, suffixes, etc. These figures take no account of entries with senses for different parts of speech (such as noun and adjective).

This suggests that there are at least a quarter of a million distinct English words, of which about 20 percent are no longer in current use.If distinct senses were counted, the total would probably approach three quarters of a million.

"My friend and I" or "My friend and me" Which is Correct?

This is something that confuses many people,

including English natives, but the solution is really

very simple. If you are not sure, the trick is to

take the other person out of the sentence and see

if it still makes sense (changing to the singular

when necessary).

For example:

Jack invited Mary and me to the party. - Jack invited me to the party. (Correct)

Jack invited Mary and I to the party. - Jack invited I to the party. (Wrong)

My friend and me went to the party. - Me went to a party.

My friend and I went to the party. - I went to the party.

My friend and I are both Capricorn. - I am Capricorn.

My friend and me are both Capricorn. - Me am Capricorn.

Now that you know the rule, if you listen to native English speakers you will see that, often, they also get it wrong. Don't worry. Just follow the rule and you will always get it right.

VOCABULARY 101 - 200

• Posterity – Future generations


• Pragmatism – Dealing things in a practical way


• Predecessor – A person who did your job so far you joined


• Precarious – Dangerous


• Anonymous – Unknown


• Quorum – Minimum number required


• Redundant – No longer needed


• Relinquish – Abandon


• Reprimand – Scold


• Replica – Model


• Reminiscence – Memory


• Reprieve – Pardon


• Rhetoric – Oratory


• Rigmarole – Procedure


• Righteous – Just


• Utopian – Idealistic


• Ventriloquist – Entertainer (by imitating voices)


• Reconnaissance – Investigation


• Ransom - Money paid to release a captive


• Pseudonym – Penname of a writer


• Postmortem – Medical examination of a dead body to know the cause of death


• Mortuary – A place where dead bodies are kept


• Prudent – Sensible, careful


• Proscribe – Prohibit


• Teetotaler – One who does not take toxic drinks


• Agro phobia – Fear of open spaces or going outside your home


• Ailment – Disease, affliction


• Agrarian – Agricultural


• Agnostic – Unbeliever


• Aggrandizement – Done to get power, wealth and gain importance


• Aggrieved – Resentful


• Affidavit – A written statement which you swear is true


• Aegis – Under the auspices of


• Adversary – Opponent


• Adolescent – Teenager


• Adjourn – Stop


• Adieu – Good bye


• Adhoc – Temporary


• Access – Entry


• Accessible – Approachable


• Academic – Intellectual


• Acronym – A word composed of the initial letters of a name


• Adulation – Acclaim


• Aesthetic – To appreciate beauty


• Albeit – Although


• Alibi – Something that proves that the accused was not there when the crime was committed


• Alien – Foreign


• Allegory – A poem with a hidden meaning


• parable – Story with a moral


• Allegiance – Loyalty


• Alleviate – Reduce * Aggravate


• Almamater – Institution


• Alumni – Old students


• Almanac – Year book


• Altruist – Unselfish*egoist


• Ambivalent – Uncertain


• Amity – Friendship


• Anarchy – Lawlessness


• Anachronism – Out dated


• Analogy – Similarity


• Analgesic – Lawlessness
• Creche – Place where babies are looked after while the parents are away at work
• sobriquet – Nick name
• Atheist – A person who does not believe in God
• Asylum – Mental hospital, protection given by a government to prisoners who leave their own country for political reasons
• Audacity – Courage
• Austerity – Great simplicity in one’s way of life
• Autobiography – Ones own life story
• Authenticity – Genuineness
• Auxiliary – Assistant
• Avaricious – Greedy
• Axiom – Saying, Proverb
• Bankruptcy – Insolvency
• Beleaguered – Harassed
• Bereavement – Death
• Benevolent – Liberal
• Bigot – Who has strong and unreasonable attitude and believer that any one who has a different opinion must be wrong
• Bigwig – A very important person
• Biographer – A person who writes the life story of a person
• Blockbuster – Best seller, sensational
• Blue Chip – A investment or company profitable and safe to invest
• Blue blooded – belonging to a royal family
• Blue eyed boy – Favorite
• Blue collar – Manual workers
• White color – Office workers
• Bonafide – Genuine or real * Bogus
• Bootlegger – Who transports alcohol illegally
• Boon – Blessing
• Bourgeois – Rich middle class behavior
• Brain child – Idea, invention created by a person
• Brain drain – Emigration of genius
• Briefing – Instructions given at a meting
• Incredulous – Unbelievable
• Integrity – Honesty
• Ratification – Approval
• Alumni – Old student
• Alma meter – Institution where one studied
• Albeit – Although
• Surrogate – Substitute
• Verdict – Judgment

VOCABULARY 1 - 100

1. Numismatics – Science of studying coins
2. Hydrophobia – Fear of Water
3. Democracy – Government by the people
4. Aquarium – Place where fish are kept
5. Stable – Place where horses are kept
6. Kennel – Place where dogs are kept
7. Avarium – Place where birds are kept
8. Anthropology – Study of human beings
9. Psychology – Study of human behaviors or soul
10. Psychiatry – Treatment of mental diseases
11. Pisciculture – Growing of fish
12. Apiculture – Growing of honeybees
13. Sericulture – Growing of silk worms
14. Aquaculture – Growing of water animals
15. Sacrosanct – Holy, inviolable
16. Amiss – Wrong
17. Impasse – No progress
18. Unkempt – Dirty
19. Blather – Nonsense
20. Salubrious – Healthy, benign
21. Unavailing – Useless
22. Untenable – Incapable of being maintained
23. Ornithologist – Who scientifically studies birds
24. Amnesia – Forgetfulness
25. Somnambulist – One who walks in sleep
26. Misogynist – One who hates women
27. Celibate – One who remains unmarried
28. Polyglot – One who speaks many languages
29. Archaeology – Study of ancient things
30. Veterinary – Science of animals
31. Philatelist – One who collects postal stamps
32. Afford – To have enough money to be able to buy
33. Launch – Begin
34. Chronic – Long continued or constant
35. Indelible – Permanent, which can not be erased
36. Laudable – Praiseworthy
37. Augur – Prophesy
38. Bane – Ruin
39. Harbinger – Precursor, herald, presunner, predecessor
40. Précis – Summary
41. Precedent – Example, model, anaction that can be referred to justify
42. Precarious – Dangerous
43. Precocious – Clever beyond their age
44. Preclude – Prohibit
45. Preposterous – Absurd, outrageous
46. Prejudice – Bias
47. Prerogative – Right
48. Presage – Portend
49. Churlish – Discourteous
50. Equivocal – Ambiguous
51. Dour – Sorrowful
52. Disparate – Not identical
53. Reprehend – Criticist
54. Posthumous – After death
55. Stalemate – Deadlock
56. Redtapism – Official delay
57. Succour – Help
58. Swindler – Cheat
59. Staple diet – Standard food
60. Spasmodic – Occasional
61. Salutary – Beneficial
62. Solicitous – Showing concern
63. Snob – Admires upper class and looks down upon ordinary people
64. Sorocerer – Magician
65. Secular – No connection with religion
66. Sceptic – Doubter
67. Samaritan – One who helps in trouble
68. Sacrilege – Irrevarence
69. Simpleton – Idiot
70. Sovereign – Supreme
71. Surveillance – Observation
72. Accomplice – Partner in a crime
73. Third degree – Torture
74. Tempermental – Volatile, changeable
75. Tranquilizer – Sedative
76. Tour-de-force – Master piece
77. Swan song – Last famous work
78. Trauma – Emotional shock, unpleasant upsetting experience
79. Transcendental – Spiritual
80. Theology – Study of the nature of God
81. Purgative – Laxative
82. Sycophant - Flatterer
83. Subsidize – Finance
84. Statutory – Legal
85. Spoilsport – Behaviour which ruins other happiness
86. Shrewd – Clever
87. Synonymous - Equivalent
88. Syndrome – Phenomenon
89. Totalitarianism – Authoritarianism
90. Summon – Send for
91. Scapegoat – Blamed for no fault of his
92. Sleuth – Detective
93. Reverie – Day dream
94. Sabotage – To spoil deliberately
95. Reprieve – Pardon
96. Recalcitrant – Quarrelsome
97. Rapport – Exchange
98. Probation – On training
99. Precocious – Intelligent beyond one’s age
100. Postscript – Message written at the end of a letter