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I know that to learn and to study work differently in non-continuous tenses.

I learnt English doesn't mean I studied English.

But what about the present? I hear people say "I learn English every day". Does it make sense? Or should it be "I study English every day"? Does the sentence with "learn" sound as if I learned all of the English language but forgot it during the night and learned it again the next day?

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2 Answers 2

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According to Merriam-Webster:

to gain knowledge or understanding of, or skill in, by study, instruction, or experience

also:

Memorize

To explore your sample sentence:

I learn English every day

could be a contracted version of

I listen to people talk to each other all day long, and I'm often able to identify new words and language constructs, that I will even remember later. In this manner, I learn [some] English every day.

Now it's established that the person has succesfully retained the knowledge. Therein lies the key difference.

Compare it with:

I study English every day.

I sit over the books for several hours, but I often find that I have to repeat lessons because some of it does not stick.

Studying just gives a testimonial about the effort made. But it does not even try to deal with the part whether the effort was fruitful or not.

Now to your ultimate sample sentence:

I learnt English. It doesn't mean I studied English.

I feel this could be said by someone who is full of themselves, characterized by self-pride. In this scenario this person offers a declaration of their superiority, or at least of exceptional nature.

A different version could be:

A am so talented that I did not need to make significant conscious efforts at studying (sitting over the books for several hours). Thanks to my talents, I picked it all up just by haggling with salespeople at the market.

Just addressing your last question:

Does the sentence with "learn" sound as I learn all English forget it during the night and learn it again the next day?

As you have seen from the above, exactly not. The case is exactly the opposite.

Studying might as well mean an effort that needs repeating.

Learning (implied: successfully) however needs to be achieved only once; as soon as it's achieved, the person is ready to use the retained knowledge for gainful activity :)

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  • I think you speak British English.
    – user1425
    Feb 8, 2021 at 7:46
  • @user1425 I'm not confident about it... Which part reveals that? (Also see my last edit at the bottom.)
    – Levente
    Feb 8, 2021 at 7:48
  • "Learning (successfully) however needs to be achieved only once;" Exactly. You can learn English only ONCE. You can't learn it every day unless you forget it at night. U can learn some English every day but not the whole English. British speakers seem to accept your interpretation, though. That's why I thought you spoke BrE.
    – user1425
    Feb 8, 2021 at 8:03
  • My point is that "learn" is talic while "study" is atalic.
    – user1425
    Feb 8, 2021 at 14:29
  • @user1425 talic / atalic ... I don't know these terms, I couldn't even find them by ducking... Is there a more common substitution for them?
    – Levente
    Feb 8, 2021 at 14:38
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These sentences have almost the same meaning:

"I am learning Russian in Moscow."

"I am studying Russian in Moscow."

But these sentences are quite different:

"I studied English in London." (Perhaps the speaker learned very little.)

"I learned English in London." (--Oh, really? Perhaps I should shut up.)

Does the sentence with "learn" sound as if I learned all of the English language but forgot it during the night and learned it again the next day?

No, not at all.

I learn English every day. (good, you are a learner)

I study English every day. (good, keep studying)

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