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What is the difference between ‘learn’ and ‘study’?

What is the difference between ‘learn’ and ‘study’?

May 13, 2013 By Nestor 10 Comments

Is the girl in the picture studying or learning? If you are confused about the verbs learn and study, this is probably because you have similar words in your native language but you use them in different contexts.

So, let’s look at how we use these verbs in English.

learn

In English, learn means to gain knowledge or skill. For example, if you can speak English now, but five years ago you couldn’t speak English, then you can say:

I learnt English in 5 years.

study

In English, study refers to the process of gaining knowledge or skill, especially if you are a student preparing for an exam or test. For example, you can say:

In order to learn English, I had to study really hard.

speaking in public However, when we speak about the process of gaining a practical skill, for example riding a bike, speaking in public or playing football, we use learn, not study. For example:

I had to learn  how to speak in public.
I‘m learning how to drive.

 

So, is the girl studying or learning?

Well, if we want to say that she is improving her skill or knowledge, we say ‘learning’. However, the picture represents the process of gaining knowledge or skill. So, it it more natural to say:
The girl is studying.
 

Filed Under: Confusing words in English

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Gurmeet says

    January 6, 2014 at 5:14 pm

    thanks

    Reply
  2. Mark says

    August 24, 2014 at 4:27 pm

    Thank a lot for your tip!!

    Reply
  3. babu says

    October 2, 2014 at 2:34 am

    great and simple.

    Reply
  4. Rotimi says

    October 22, 2014 at 7:35 pm

    Thanks a million times

    Reply
  5. Samuel says

    November 12, 2014 at 10:21 am

    Thanks for your wonderful explanations.

    Reply
  6. manminmon says

    December 24, 2014 at 2:30 am

    now i understand. tqvm

    Reply
  7. Ruth Effah says

    January 27, 2015 at 7:19 am

    Thanx alot am convience

    Reply
  8. Lanston Wu says

    July 7, 2015 at 2:34 am

    Thank you for sharing

    Reply
  9. emefa says

    October 1, 2015 at 10:12 am

    thanks soo much simple

    Reply
  10. edmund biritwum(GHANA) says

    December 18, 2015 at 4:19 pm

    thank u for helping my maind understanding .in Ghana here.

    Reply

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