Reasons Why English is So Hard to Learn

Democrat

Acquaintance
Joined
Apr 2, 2012
Messages
38
Reaction score
0
FP$
6
If you've learned to speak fluent English, you must be a genius!
This little treatise on the lovely language we share is only for the brave. Peruse at your leisure, English lovers.

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?
22] I want it to be on record that I will record my record
There is no 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.
Quicksand works 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? 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? Is it an odd, or an end?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught?

If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?

In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital?

Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? 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.

English was invented by people, not computers, 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. - Why doesn't "Buick" rhyme with "quick"?
 
Thats pretty good observation mate. I agree, if you weren't born into the language or if you didn't pick it up at an earlier age, it can be harder for someone to learn English.
And Buick doesn't rhyme with quick because its pronounced with a "Boo". Just another one of the quirks of the language lol.
 
Except English is one of the easiest languages to learn lol, barring Esperanto.
 
English is really easy.
I could write and speak English at an age of 7.
 
Howabout the difference between British/Australian English and American English?

Colour vs Color
Realise vs Realize
Gaol vs Jail
 
It's hard to believe that English isn't one of the hardest languages to learn when you think about it. Crazy. Glad I was born into it. I am also glad I don't have to learn another language.
 
Arrownonce said:
It's hard to believe that English isn't one of the hardest languages to learn when you think about it. Crazy. Glad I was born into it. I am also glad I don't have to learn another language.
Dude, anyone can pick up English, most of the world is bilingual. It's way better to learn it as a second language so that way you at least know 2 languages lol.
 
english was actually hard for me because it wasn't my first language. It was Russian XD so I do believe you...you just got to remember people come from different back grounds
 
English is regarded as one of the easiest languages of all time.

From http://mylanguages.org/easy_languages.php
English is also considered easy because it has no cases, no gender, no word agreement, and arguably has a simple grammar. The language is everywhere and can be heard, absorbed and used anywhere. It has short words, and verbs change only in the third person. Native speakers are very forgiving of mistakes as so many people speak it as a second language. This makes English one of the easiest foreign language to learn.
 
English is an easy language to learn, but one of the hardest to master.

There's a huge difference.

Awesome thread, by the way.
 
Great job noticing all of those! Wow...

Even though the grammar is simple, there's just so many quirks and idioms, so unless you are a fresh-minded toddler, it can be difficult to grasp and memorise all of it.
 
English is a fairly modern language, up until the 18th century the royal house hold spoke German !

Olde English was spoken well before English became common.

During WW1 recruitment was done regionally because a person from London, could understand a person from Newcastle because of dialect.

And you think you 2nd language English have it difficult.
 
Back
Top Bottom