English English And Why It's Hard To Learn Many People Have Seen This Document ;-)

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Caramelicious Tuesday 09th of August 2005 09:20:20 PM
English and Why it's hard to learn - Why The English Language Is So Hard To Learn?

Reasons Why The English Language Is Hard To Learn:

1. The bandage was wound around the wound.
2. The farm was used to produce produce.
3. The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4. We must polish the Polish furniture.
5. He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6. The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7. Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8. A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9. When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10. I did not object to the object.
11. The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12. There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13. They were too close to the door to close it.
14. The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15. A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16. To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17. The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18. After a number of injections my jaw got number.
19. Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
20. I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
21. How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

We'll begin with box, and the plural is boxes,
But the plural of ox should be oxen, not oxes.
Then one fowl is goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a whole lot of mice,

But the plural of house is houses, not hice.
If the plural of man is always called men,
Why shouldn't the plural of pan be pen?

The cow in the plural may be cows or kine,
But the plural of vow is vows, not vine.
And I speak of a foot, and you show me your feet,
But I give a boot...would a pair be beet?

If one is a tooth, and a whole set is teeth,
Why shouldn't the plural of booth be beeth?
If the singular is this, and the plural is these,
Why shouldn't the plural of kiss be kese?

Then one may be that, and three be those,
Yet the plural of hat would never be hose.
We speak of a brother, and also of brethren,

But though we say mother, we never say methren.
The masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
But imagine the feminine she, shis, and shim.
So our English, I think you will agree,
Is the trickiest language you ever did see.

I take it you already know
Of tough and bough and cough and dough?
Others may stumble, but not you
On hiccough, thorough, slough, and through?

Well done! And now you wish, perhaps
To learn of less familiar traps?
Beware of heard, a dreadful word
That looks like beard and sounds like bird.

And dead; it's said like bed, not bead;
For goodness sake, don't call it deed!
Watch out for meat and great and threat,
(they rhyme with suite and straight and debt)

A moth is not a moth in mother.
Nor both in bother, broth in brother.
And here is not a match for there.
And dear and fear for bear and pear.

And then there's dose and rose and lose--
Just look them up--and goose and choose.
And cork and work and card and ward,
And font and front and word and sword.

And do and go, then thwart and cart.
Come, come, I've hardly made a start.

A dreadful language? Man alive,
I'd learned to speak it when I was five,

And yet to write it, the more I sigh,
I'll not learn how 'til the day I die.

caeireann Friday 23rd of December 2005 05:13:28 PM
- Wow, c'est super ça!! :-)

Moi j'aime bien:
"Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present."

Tiger Monday 12th of February 2007 09:21:01 AM
- LOL That\'s hilarious... And accurate. :D

Elamelka1981 Monday 12th of February 2007 04:43:00 PM
- [b]light:[/b]

Three witches watch three Swatch watches.
Which witch watches which Swatch watch?

[b]hard:[/b]

Three switched witches watch three Swatch watch switches.
Which switched witch watches which Swatch watch switch?

=)

Sharmor Tuesday 13th of February 2007 03:35:58 PM
- Wow, I am from England and i thought the english language was one of the easiest languages to learn but reading that made me laugh and think hang on a minute its not as easy as you think, specially for someone who doesn\'t speak the language. It must get very confusing for them. Well i suppose everyone thinks their own language is easy, I am trying to learn Swedish and thats quite hard. Well good luck to all those learning our language. :) And thanks for that, it was great.

zell Monday 19th of February 2007 03:39:40 AM
- excellent examples.makes a person stop and think about their own language.

reMeks Friday 09th of March 2007 01:41:57 AM
- Wow, I\'m glad English is my first language haha. It makes Korean seem not so hard.

narnigrin Wednesday 21st of March 2007 02:44:26 AM
- I\'ve said it before and I\'ll say it again; English is a truly dreadful language. I mean, just look at the number of irregular verbs you guys have. they\'re well over a hundred. And then compare that to Scottish Gaelic, which has TEN. And then, have a look at English pronounciation:
[quote]If gh is pronounced as in \"laugh\" ...
If o is pronounced as in \"women\" ...
If ti is pronounced as in \"nation\" ...

Then it is possible to spell \"fish\" as GHOTI.[/quote]( from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghoti )

... and I haven\'t even got started yet.
Gosh I\'m lucky I learnt English when I was a child and not later!!!

@Sharmor: Swedish isn\'t exactly the easiest language to learn, either. I\'ve done some reading on Swedish grammar (and not archaic, over-advanced stuff mind you, but Swedish such as it is spoken and written today) and oh dear, it makes me happy I\'m a native. Got any problems with the en/ett distinction yet? ;)

Danial Wednesday 21st of March 2007 08:34:05 PM
- Hehe... well, what\'s worse the pronunciation for those non-natives if they don\'t listen to English all the time ;) It\'s absolutely irregular!

Phrasebase Archive
	Caramelicious	Tuesday 09th of August 2005 09:20:20 PM
	English and Why it's hard to learn - Why The English Language Is So Hard To Learn? Reasons Why The English Language Is Hard To Learn: 1. The bandage was wound around the wound. 2. The farm was used to produce produce. 3. The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse. 4. We must polish the Polish furniture. 5. He could lead if he would get the lead out. 6. The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert. 7. Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present. 8. A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum. 9. When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes. 10. I did not object to the object. 11. The insurance was invalid for the invalid. 12. There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row. 13. They were too close to the door to close it. 14. The buck does funny things when the does are present. 15. A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line. 16. To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow. 17. The wind was too strong to wind the sail. 18. After a number of injections my jaw got number. 19. Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear. 20. I had to subject the subject to a series of tests. 21. How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend? We'll begin with box, and the plural is boxes, But the plural of ox should be oxen, not oxes. Then one fowl is goose, but two are called geese, Yet the plural of moose should never be meese. You may find a lone mouse or a whole lot of mice, But the plural of house is houses, not hice. If the plural of man is always called men, Why shouldn't the plural of pan be pen? The cow in the plural may be cows or kine, But the plural of vow is vows, not vine. And I speak of a foot, and you show me your feet, But I give a boot...would a pair be beet? If one is a tooth, and a whole set is teeth, Why shouldn't the plural of booth be beeth? If the singular is this, and the plural is these, Why shouldn't the plural of kiss be kese? Then one may be that, and three be those, Yet the plural of hat would never be hose. We speak of a brother, and also of brethren, But though we say mother, we never say methren. The masculine pronouns are he, his and him, But imagine the feminine she, shis, and shim. So our English, I think you will agree, Is the trickiest language you ever did see. I take it you already know Of tough and bough and cough and dough? Others may stumble, but not you On hiccough, thorough, slough, and through? Well done! And now you wish, perhaps To learn of less familiar traps? Beware of heard, a dreadful word That looks like beard and sounds like bird. And dead; it's said like bed, not bead; For goodness sake, don't call it deed! Watch out for meat and great and threat, (they rhyme with suite and straight and debt) A moth is not a moth in mother. Nor both in bother, broth in brother. And here is not a match for there. And dear and fear for bear and pear. And then there's dose and rose and lose-- Just look them up--and goose and choose. And cork and work and card and ward, And font and front and word and sword. And do and go, then thwart and cart. Come, come, I've hardly made a start. A dreadful language? Man alive, I'd learned to speak it when I was five, And yet to write it, the more I sigh, I'll not learn how 'til the day I die.
	caeireann	Friday 23rd of December 2005 05:13:28 PM
	- Wow, c'est super ça!! :-) Moi j'aime bien: "Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present."
	Tiger	Monday 12th of February 2007 09:21:01 AM
	- LOL That\'s hilarious... And accurate. :D
	Elamelka1981	Monday 12th of February 2007 04:43:00 PM
	- [b]light:[/b] Three witches watch three Swatch watches. Which witch watches which Swatch watch? [b]hard:[/b] Three switched witches watch three Swatch watch switches. Which switched witch watches which Swatch watch switch? =)
	Sharmor	Tuesday 13th of February 2007 03:35:58 PM
	- Wow, I am from England and i thought the english language was one of the easiest languages to learn but reading that made me laugh and think hang on a minute its not as easy as you think, specially for someone who doesn\'t speak the language. It must get very confusing for them. Well i suppose everyone thinks their own language is easy, I am trying to learn Swedish and thats quite hard. Well good luck to all those learning our language. :) And thanks for that, it was great.
	zell	Monday 19th of February 2007 03:39:40 AM
	- excellent examples.makes a person stop and think about their own language.
	reMeks	Friday 09th of March 2007 01:41:57 AM
	- Wow, I\'m glad English is my first language haha. It makes Korean seem not so hard.
	narnigrin	Wednesday 21st of March 2007 02:44:26 AM
	- I\'ve said it before and I\'ll say it again; English is a truly dreadful language. I mean, just look at the number of irregular verbs you guys have. they\'re well over a hundred. And then compare that to Scottish Gaelic, which has TEN. And then, have a look at English pronounciation: [quote]If gh is pronounced as in \"laugh\" ... If o is pronounced as in \"women\" ... If ti is pronounced as in \"nation\" ... Then it is possible to spell \"fish\" as GHOTI.[/quote]( from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghoti ) ... and I haven\'t even got started yet. Gosh I\'m lucky I learnt English when I was a child and not later!!! @Sharmor: Swedish isn\'t exactly the easiest language to learn, either. I\'ve done some reading on Swedish grammar (and not archaic, over-advanced stuff mind you, but Swedish such as it is spoken and written today) and oh dear, it makes me happy I\'m a native. Got any problems with the en/ett distinction yet? ;)
	Danial	Wednesday 21st of March 2007 08:34:05 PM
	- Hehe... well, what\'s worse the pronunciation for those non-natives if they don\'t listen to English all the time ;) It\'s absolutely irregular!