 #1 (permalink) Mon Oct 31, 2011 9:23 am Sea of English |
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If it weren't for all those prepositions, up, down, through, across and what have you. If it weren't for those subjunctives masquerading and trying to look like indicatives. If it weren't for those wretched phrasal verbs sometimes taking on or taking off or taking in or for goodness' sake taking up. If it weren't for that clutch of modals, will and would or should or may or must oh dear! If it weren't for all those articles sometimes 'a' then 'an' and then 'the' or with a long 'e' and then when you think you've got it, they've vanished. If it weren't for those tenses going on forever and at the same time teasing you that they might be just simple.
If it weren't for several words meaning the same thing or are they? If it weren't for all these things, English would be dead easy, wouldn't? A piece of cake? No, not really. It's a pot pourri, a hotchpotch a mixed bag but a mixed bag of goodies, a treasure trove. It's a bit like the sea, deep in places, shallow in others. Sometimes treacherous, sometimes calm but always fascinating. Why not take the plunge and go for a swim there. Let your hair down, enjoy yourself. You may occasionally see a piranha or rub shoulders with a whale. Never mind, the english-test lifeboat is always there to help. And when it all gets too much, flop out on the beach and have a good read.
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English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Present Simple |
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Alan
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Joined: 27 Sep 2003
Posts: 14477
Location: UK
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Yuri Yurinov
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