to discreetly mention that 'discreet' has a discrete meaning from 'discrete'?

[IHeartKingThistle]

The one you want for breastfeeding is 'discreet.'

'Discrete' means 'separate from'.

As you were. Except for, you know, the discrete thing.

No wish to offend!

Yes, this annoys me. Every time I read about someone not being 'discrete' I always think of some poor soul living life forever joined as part of a continuum.

My papers were still = My stationery was stationary

Hence Discriminate / Discrimination as opposed to discretate and discremation and icecream, etc.

learned not learnt

Actually learnt is the traditional way of spelling it in "British" English.

Now both spellings seem to be acceptable.

See, when you are a forriner, you learn all these things the hard way.

Like:

Me (arriving late to a lecture) "I am sorry I am late, I was held by Professor Pink"
Dr Blue: "Oh, that must have been very nice" "But I think you will find you were held up by Professor Pink"

or

Me (arriving late to a lecture having seen my gp): "I am sorry I am late, I have been to see my doctor about my nasal constipation"

Professor Red: "Oh poor you, that sounds dreadful, you do mean congestion, dont you?"

Isnt learned a noun rather than past tense of a verb?

As in, my learned friend?

Surely that would be an adjective?

That would be an adjective.

StationEry comes from. stationEr. ConfectionEry comes from a confectionEr.

This ellipsis thing... I still don't geddit. Was the example I just gave correct?

Learned and learnt both now acceptable British usage. Just make sure you're consistent. Don't get burned. Or burnt.

Nope Georgian but honestly, no-one gets it right in day to day usage. I had to brush up on it for a recent project. The key strokes are as I gave above - space after the word, space between each full stop, space before the next character.

So like this . . . Do you see?

Of course, Apostrophy! Another example for me to bag!

Question: How many of you have read "Eats, Shoots and Leaves"?

Next Question: How may of you a) understood all of it b) retained the information you learned....

I also get very confused with passed and past. Sometimes I think I've cracked it and then it all goes blank again!

I HATED Eats, Shoots and Leaves.

Full of errors, and actually I hate grammar prescriptivism.

Staunch support is needed when one has to stanch a wound.

Well done OP. YANBU.

Re the learned vs learnt debate, in English (as in Queen's English)

"learned": a present participle that performs the role of an adjective by qualifying a following noun.
"learnt": a past participle that performs the role of a adjective by qualifying a noun.

These words will be participles only if used along with a helping verb, also called an auxiliary verb like "to be" or "to have". If used without an auxiliary verb, there is a possibility that the word "learnt" is actually a verb and not a participle. This depends entirely upon the sentence structure.

Both these words are derived from the infinitive of the verb "to learn". While "learned" refers to a current state of acquired knowledge of the accusative noun, in this case the the noun following the word "learned"; the word "learnt" refers to a past incident that caused the accusative noun to become aware of something or gain some knowledge.

Examples:
"Stephen Hawkins is a learned man." [present participle: "learned"; auxiliary verb: "is" (to be)]
"I have learnt a lot of thing by attending this class." [past participle: "learnt"; auxiliary verb: "have" (to have)]
"I learnt about it last night." [verb: "learnt"; auxiliary verb: none, not required, because "learnt" is a verb in it's own right]

If the sentence "I learnt about it last night." sounds confusing as to why "learnt" is a verb, try rephrasing it as "I did learn about it last night.". Although there is a subtle difference between the two sentences, they convey the same meaning.

You all have far too much time on your hands!

Although... I have to say, if you commit a crime, you arent hung. You are hanged!

.....

OK where is the MNetter who wanted to know what she could do apart from teach English?

Oi, over here, we need you

Has anyone mentioned having a sneak peek at the Peak District?