The document discusses some of the confusing and illogical aspects of the English language. It begins by explaining the differences between "it's" and "its", then discusses the differences between "has gone to" and "has been to". The rest of the document lists many examples of words that don't follow logical patterns, such as words that don't mean what they literally suggest, inconsistent plural forms, and phrases that don't seem to make literal sense. The purpose is to show that while English is widely used, it contains many paradoxes and inconsistencies that a non-native speaker might find puzzling or funny.

1. April 5, 2008 www.dilipbarad.com
What makes EnglishWhat makes English
Difficult ?Difficult ?
Funny aspects of English LanguageFunny aspects of English Language
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2. April 5, 2008 www.dilipbarad.com
What makes English
difficult?
• It's vs. Its
• It's is the contracted form of It is. This form is
used in sentences using "they" as the subject of
the sentence with the verb "to be" used as either
the helping verb (e.g. It's going ..., It's raining ...)
or the principal verb of the sentence.
• Examples:
• It's difficult to find work these days.
It's going to rain soon.
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3. April 5, 2008 www.dilipbarad.com
• Its is the possessive pronoun form. This
form is used to express that "it" has a
specific quality, or that something belongs
to "it".
• Examples:
• I found its taste to be superb!
Its color is deep red, almost Burgundy
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4. April 5, 2008 www.dilipbarad.com
Has gone to vs. Has been to
• Has gone to vs. Has been to
• ... has/have gone to ... refers to
someone who has gone to a place but has
not yet returned.
• Examples:
• He's gone to the bank. He should be back
soon.
• Where has Tom gone?
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5. April 5, 2008 www.dilipbarad.com
Funny aspect of Eglish…
• There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in
hamburger; neither apple nor pine in
pineapple... English muffins were not
invented in England or French fries in
France. Sweetmeats are candies,
while sweetbreads, which aren't
sweet, are meat.
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6. April 5, 2008 www.dilipbarad.com
• 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.
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7. April 5, 2008 www.dilipbarad.com
• 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, two indices?
Is cheese the
plural of choose?
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• If teachers taught, why didn't
preachers praught? If a vegetarian
eats vegetables, what does a
humanitarian eat?
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• In what language do people
Ship by truck, and send cargo by ship?
Have noses that run and feet that smell?
Park on driveways and drive on parkways?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be
the same, while a wise man and a wise guy
are opposites? How can the weather be
hot as hell one day and cold as hell
another?
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10. April 5, 2008 www.dilipbarad.com
• When the stars are out, they are
visible, but when the lights are out,
they are invisible. And why, when I
wind up my watch, I start it, but
when I wind up this essay, I end it?
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11. April 5, 2008 www.dilipbarad.com
Some more…
• The soldier decided to desert his
dessert in the desert.
• The bandage was wound around the
wound.
• A box in the plural becomes is boxes.
But an Ox in the plural never
becomes oxes. (It becomes Oxen).
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Thank You ! ! !
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