English Language

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Reasons why the English language is so 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? > > > > Let's face it - English is a crazy language. There is neither egg in > > eggplant nor ham in hamburger, neither apple nor pine in pineapple. > > English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France. > > Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. > > > > We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find > > that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig. And why is it that writers write > > but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? > > > > If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth beeth? > > One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? > > > > Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it? > > > > If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats > > vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? > > > > Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an > > asylum for the verbally insane. In what other language do people recite > > at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? > > Park in a driveway, and drive on a parkway? Have noses that run and feet that smell? > > > > How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? > > > > You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your > > house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by > > filling it out, and in which an alarm goes off by going on. > > > > People, not computers, invented English and it reflects the creativity > > of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible. > > > > P.S. So why doesn't "Buick" rhyme with "quick"? (It caused me > > embarrassment as an 8-year old child, when I pronounced it thus, not > > being familiar with brand names of cars.)

[Guest guest]

The words especial and special can be used almost interchangeably. They both mean something which was “out of the ordinary†or even “exceptionalâ€.The two words are synonyms, and often either is appropriate.BUT THANKS A LOT FOR YOUR COMMENT :)From: Ana carolina Soares dunlop <anadunlop@...>To:

Sent: Sat, 19 March, 2011 5:17:24Subject: Re: English language

Hi Marcela, I completely agree with you...may I just be really cheeky and tell you it's "especially" rather than "specially"?

Anyway, thanks for being brave enough to send this email to everybody,

Good luck with your exam (are you doing part 1 or 2?)

Carol

From: Marcela <marcesanchezf@...>Subject: English language Date: Friday, 18 March, 2011, 3:38

Is well known that many of us foreigners have better english (specially written) than some native British people.

I would like to encourage all of us to try everyday to improve our grammar (specially spellings).

For some people it might not be important but as well educated people aiming to work as health care professionals in the UK I believe it is part of our duties to be able to communicate correctly.

Imagine writing a referring letter with terrible grammatical errors. It would not look professional, would it?

I don't mean to criticize anybody (my english is far from perfect) and I know sometimes those misspellings are result of being in a hurry, but also I have seen some errors that I feel none of us should be making at this stage.

Please take it as positive criticism.

We can improve every day.

Thanks a lot

Marcela