Thumbnail Image

Crazy English

Brian R.

Hey everyone. Happy Friday! I hope everyone has had a great week :).

Everyone knows that English can be crazy sometimes. English has rules that make you want to scream with frustration, spelling with pronunciation that does not make sense and syllable stress that changes depending on the context.

I was online yesterday and I came across this article that illustrates crazy English rules, spelling and intonation in sentences. I thought I would share it today with all of you.

Let's see if you can read these sentences correctly.

Should be fun. Check it out, and good luck!

Crazy English


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. I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

12. The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

13. How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

14. There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.

15. They were too close to the door to close it.

16. The buck does funny things when the does are present.

17. A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

18. To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

19. The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

20. After a number of injections my jaw got number.

21. Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

Let's face it - English is a crazy language. 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. 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? 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, isn't a race at all). That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.

Added to Saved

This column was published by the author in their personal capacity.
The opinions expressed in this column are the author's own and do not reflect the view of Cafetalk.

Comments (2)

Login to Comment Log in »
  • Brian R.

    Haha, yeah I think so lol

  • Meg K.

    Haha.. I looked up "Meese" out of curiosity last month.. but apparently it's only "used humorously" lol

Premium ribbon

from:

in:

Lesson Categories

Language Fluency

English   Native
Thai   Fluent
Spanish   Just a few words

Brian R.'s Most Popular Columns

  • English

    Thai Wedding Experience

    Hey everyone! I just returned home from attending the wedding of two really good friends of mine. T...

    Brian R.

    Brian R.

    0
    11231
    May 1, 2018
  • English

    Happy Teachers Day from Thailand!

    Today is Teachers day in Thailand or "wan wai kru" in Thai. When we think of teachers we often thin...

    Brian R.

    Brian R.

    0
    9277
    Jan 16, 2017
  • English

    18 Common Writing Mistakes on Social Media

    Hey everybody! I hope all of you are having a fantastic day. I came across this infographic today o...

    Brian R.

    Brian R.

    0
    7408
    Mar 23, 2017
  • English

    10 Phrasal Verbs

    Hey everybody, happy "hump day." This is what we say for wednesday for everyone who doesn't know. T...

    Brian R.

    Brian R.

    0
    7097
    Feb 8, 2017
« Back to List of Tutor's Column
Got a question? Click to Chat