1. The complications of English a short etymology & possible predicaments

2. Foreign language influence in English

3. French influence Examples: apartment (appartement) beauty (beauté) curfew (couvre-feu )

4. German influence Examples: zeitgeist (Zeitgeist = spirit of the age) kindergarden (Kindergarten) angst (Angst)

5. … and we thought it was English bicycle Bi (Latin): two kyclos: (Greek): wheel

6. Latin expressions & phrases etc. (et cetera) i.e. (id est) e. g. (exampli gratia) N.B. (nota bene)

7. other languages robot (Czech: robota) mother (Sanskrit: मातृ ) alcohol: (Arabic: لغول - الكحول ) congee: (Tamil: kanji) silk (Chinese: 絲 ) manga (Japanese: まんが ; ) ski (Norse: skíð)

9. It’s a Germanic language

10. Aggravations of grammar Tenses – Alex eats pizza. (of course, he likes it) – Alex is eating pizza. (unfortunately not) – Alex has eaten pizza. (he knows what it tastes like) – Alex ate pizza yesterday. (no leftovers!) – Alex had eaten pizza. (before he ate spaghetti) – Alex is eating pizza tonight. (he has a date) – Alex is going to eat pizza. (no matter what) – Alex will eat pizza. (perhaps he won’t)

11. Aggravations of grammar Cases – I eat my pizza with you. – You eat his pizza with him. – We eat their pizza with her. – She eats your pizza with them.

12. Aggravations of grammar Subject – verb agreement – The price of these jeans (is/are) ok. – The books borrowed from the library (is/are) on my desk. – The quality of the candies (is/are) good. – The famous singer and composer (has/have) arrived. – Neither his father nor his mother (play/plays) tennis.

13. The farm was used to produce produce. The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert. interpretations When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes. They were too close to the door to close it.

14. … it can get really silly. Boxing rings are usually square. A vegetarian eats vegetables; but what does a humanitarian eat? We ship by truck and train but we send cargo by ship. Houses burn up when they burn down and trees are fallen by cutting them up. It’s a bright night when the stars are out but it really gets dark when the lights are out.

15. The committee were unable to decide (BrE) The committee was unable to decide (AmE) She learnt French in Paris. (BrE) She learned French in Paris (AmE) truck / lorry -- hood / bonnet – trunk /boot Which English?

16. remember…. Don’t give up. Ask, ask, ask, ask, ask, ask, ask, and ask once more Native speakers also make mistakes. Main objective: to get your point across.