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While I was reading "The Adventures of Tom sawyer",I came across this phrase.

Huck said ,"I will learn you."

Is it right to say like that?Or we should say "I will learn from you"?

Naren
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  • I will teach you is the correct wording – mplungjan Jun 24 '13 at 14:46
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    It's nonstandard, and means, "I will teach you". – Kaiser Octavius Jun 24 '13 at 14:47
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    "It ain't no use to try to learn you nothing, Huck. Run along and smouch the knivesthree of them." So I done it. is supposed to sound uneducated/dialect (oops, my example is from Huckleberry Finn) – mplungjan Jun 24 '13 at 14:50
  • Thanks @mplungjan! Is it grammatically correct to use "I will learn you" or it's just a local usage? – Naren Jun 24 '13 at 14:51
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    Completely incorrect. I will teach you is correct – mplungjan Jun 24 '13 at 14:51
  • Learn and teach have opposing meanings: one person teaches - the second person learns. Just like: one person speaks - the second person listens. – TrevorD Jun 24 '13 at 14:57
  • @TrevorD Did you mean that phrase has a different meaning? – Naren Jun 24 '13 at 15:08
  • There's a related answer at http://english.stackexchange.com/a/113923/18696 – Andrew Leach Jun 24 '13 at 15:13
  • Thanks @AndrewLeach ! I have read that...So it's considered vulgar and outdated to use this phrase in conversation.Right? – Naren Jun 24 '13 at 15:21
  • 'Vulgar' means offensive nowadays. But you are correct, it is outdated, very informal , and sounds like 'backwoods' speech. You will sound uneducated, or, as a non-native speaker, like you missed that class. – Mitch Jun 24 '13 at 15:29
  • Thanks @Mitch..As a non-native speaker,it's difficult to understand many phrases in the classics..And I don't know whether we can use those phrases in conversation..Again thanks for clarification... – Naren Jun 24 '13 at 15:44
  • In response to "Did you mean that phrase has a different meaning?", I assume you mean the phrase "I will learn you". No, I meant the phrase is nonsense: The teacher will say "I will teach you."; the student will say "I will learn from you." There are some Northern UK dialects that do use "learn you" to mean "teach you" - but (unless you are from that area) it should be avoided. – TrevorD Jun 24 '13 at 18:34
  • "Thanks !! I am clarified.": Say, "Thanks! I have it clarified." It is the issue that is clarified, not you. – Kris Jun 25 '13 at 06:52
  • I wonder, doctor, Thou ask'st me such a question. Have I not been Thy pupil long? Hast thou not learn'd me how To make perfumes? distil? preserve? yea, so That our great king himself doth woo me oft For my confections? —Shakespeare, Cymbeline, Act I, Scene 5 – MetaEd Jun 26 '13 at 04:35

3 Answers3

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The main characters in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer speak in a rustic, uneducated vernacular, and while the book and its writing style are very entertaining, they should not be taken as a model for proper English usage.

Huck uses "I will learn you" to mean "I will teach you," a usage that was once a fairly common regionalism, but has since all but disappeared from the language (in fact, most people will probably never encounter it outside of the works of Twain). You should not use it yourself.

phenry
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'Don't say "learn 'em," Toad,' said the Rat, greatly shocked. 'It's not good English.'

'What are you always nagging at Toad for?' inquired the Badger, rather peevishly. 'What's the matter with his English? It's the same what I use myself, and if it's good enough for me, it ought to be good enough for you!'

'I'm very sorry,' said the Rat humbly. 'Only I THINK it ought to be "teach 'em," not "learn 'em."'

'But we don't WANT to teach 'em,' replied the Badger. 'We want to LEARN 'em—learn 'em, learn 'em! And what's more, we're going to DO it, too!'

Wind in the Willows, chap.11.
If it's good enough for Badger (in the right circumstances), it certainly is good enough for me.

Tim Lymington
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  • It's not good enough for *me!* When it comes to English, I prefer it to be "the same as* I use myself"*. – FumbleFingers Jun 25 '13 at 00:32
  • @FumbleFingers: strictly, 'as that which I use myself', as Grahame well knew. I am sorry you were greatly shocked. – Tim Lymington Jun 25 '13 at 17:09
  • @ Tim: The problem is 'as that which' is a bit of a mouthful - it's never going to sound quite right in casual speech. I honestly don't know if Grahame's 'what' reflects his age, class, or Scottish origins, but relatively speaking it's definitely a "minority" usage. There are hundreds of the same what I use myself** in Google Books and only a few dozen for my *as* version. But almost all the *what's are quoting this actual instance. Change I/myself* to we/ourselves (or just discard myself), and it's obvious *as* is far more common overall. – FumbleFingers Jun 25 '13 at 18:19
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It is not incorrect but vulgar. It has a transitive sense like He learned me how to write.

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