the easyness of english
che che : « hey how come in frech you have to used pas in negative sentences? what happens if you dont use it? »
Parce que ça remonte à des temps très ancien ou <pas> était en concurrence avec <mie>, <goutte>, <point> & <grain> pour renforcer la négation <ne> qui, à l'époque, se suffisait à elle-même.
Mais au XXIe siècle, c'est plutôt <pas> que <ne> qui exprime la négation : le rôle de <pas> n'est plus de renforcer, mais de signifier.
(1) <je ne mange pas> —> correct
(2) <je mange pas> —> correct
(3) <je ne mange> —> incorrect
(4) <je ne mange *que* (le soir) (des légumes) (au restaurant)(etc)> —> correct
I won't debate whether English is "easier" or not compared to other languages.
I will tell you that the reason so many people speak English is not because it is thought to be "easy".
La Liga and Guest
'why do you think lots of people have learn to speak english cause of the easyness'
'i have also meet people that have learned english quick less than one year
what english has is the lost of vocabulary, but in reality not all it is used'
If you would like to rewrite your sentences in better English, rather than these jumbled up versions, then you can claim that English is very easy! I don't mean to be rude, but you've both got quite a nerve.
>> why do you think lots of people have learn to speak english cause of the easyness <<
People don't learn English because it easy but because it is most spoken internationally. Also you grammar and spelling contradict your these that " English is easy".
However, I do agree that English is easy to learn to a level which facilitates basic communication, and as such serves well as the 'international language'. Whether this has actually had any bearing on its achieving this status, I wouldn't like to say.
But I have also heard statements like 'English is the easiest language to speak badly, and the hardest to master'. I seriously doubt whether it could really be the hardest to master, but I certainly don't think it is easy. As a native English speaker, I rarely hear a non-native speaker who doesn't give himself away in the way he says certain things. And I am not talking about accent or pronunciation, but the sentence structure, choice of words etc. I'm sure this is also the case with other languages, but as long as it is also the case with English, I don't agree that in the long run English can be said to be particularly easy.
I'm the son of immigrants. My parents had the hardest time adjusting to the English language. They came to this country right after World War II. Even to this day, 55 years later, they still haven't mastered English. How can a language that is a hybrid of Latin and Germanic (with other additions), and phonetically aberrant be easy to learn for anybody?
>> How can a language that is a hybrid of Latin and Germanic (with other additions), and phonetically aberrant be easy to learn for anybody?<<
a.p.a.m., English is not a hybrid.
Aldvs,
In Latinamerica "ustedes" is the used form, because of the original conqueror-conquered social structure, which demanded the use of polite forms when adressing to the "masters", so that it prevailed as the used form, eve after the colonial time. In Andalucia, the form vosostros was also used, being "ustedes" (which is only a contraction of "vuestras mercedes") used only as the polite version, as in the rest of Spain.
Salut Greg,
Et comment peut-on savoir quand est-ce qu'on dois choisir parmi "ne...... pas", et seulement "....pas"?
I hear ALL THE TIME that "English is the hardest language", and other such similar bullpoo.
I just roll my eyes to the stupidity of it.
Presley
'I hear ALL THE TIME that "English is the hardest language", and other such similar bullpoo'.
As I said, it is clear that English is not at all hard to learn to a REASONABLE level.
But to speak English very well is surely not easy.That is evident from all the non-native speakers, who even after years of learning English, still come out with sentence structures that jar somehow, and words, that in the context they use them, don't sound quite right.
Of course English lacks much of the formal grammar that other languages possess, gender, cases, endings etc. But I think this gives learners of English a false sense of security. Whereas a learner of a language like German assumes that they might be making grammatical errors at every turn, it seems that learners of English think they are not likely to be saying much that is wrong. But there are many pitfalls in English, they just don't revolve so much around formal grammar like verb forms, cases and endings.
And also it seems that learners of English think that the mistakes they make, such as 'I am learning English since 5 years' instead of 'I have been learning English for 5 years', and 'I enjoy to learn English' instead of 'I enjoy learning English' are not really serious. OK, both of these examples would probably not result in any misunderstanding, but they are not correct, yet I have heard them more times than I can remember from non-native speakers. And this is really not even advanced English, there are far more subtle mistakes that I have heard.
I have to agree. English is much easier compared to other languages due to its relatively simplified grammar. I think that has helped to spread it around the world as well. At least, as a native Spanish speaker, I perceive it that way.
<<I will tell you that the reason so many people speak English is not because it is thought to be "easy". >>
Unfortunately I don't know if I could speak it since I've never had a real conversation but what I know is enough to read and write. It's not perfect but keep in mind that I had classes of English at high school more than 20 years ago (sincerely I hated it) but I retook it a bit by myself when I could have access to the internet. Bought some books, I hear some of music and visit forums like this one for practicing but all for the pleasure of do it.