To anyone who paid attention in English...

[Fontes]

Flossy Wrote:Fontes, No English is by far the hardest...even if its your first language.

Just so you notice... the "to be" verb, on common present, both in english, and portuguese...

English:

Quote:I am
You are
He/She/It is
We are
You are
They are

Portuguese:

Quote:Eu sou
Tu ?s
Ele/Ela ?
N?s somos
V?s sois
Eles s?o

Quote:Eu estou
Tu est?s
Ele/Ela est?
N?s estamos
V?s estais
Eles est?o

And yes... pretty much like spanish, not only we got a diferent word, for each person, but we got TWO verbs, wuile english only uses one (and French, as well, for example). And not only that, we got more verbal times than you... At least, I think so. XD

For example, most spanish people say it's easier to learn english, than to learn portuguese... No, I don't know WHY, but if they say so... I learned english in a flash, honestly... XD

[GM-Pandora]

English is usually considered to be a straightfoward language, not amongst the hardest.

Check any product that have descriptions in multiple language, English one is usually the shortest.

[azurerogue]

Actually, after Chinese, English is generally considered one of the hardest languages to become fluent in. This is not because English has more conjugations or more tenses than most other languages (I agree, we have less than many). It is because English is not a language of rules - it is a language of exceptions to the rules it has.

English has more exceptions that require direct memorization of rules and their exceptions than any other language. That is why it is generally very easy to know who speaks English as their native language once you talk to them for a while - most non-native speakers do not know the minor exceptions (which is fine, and still totally comprehensible - but not considered completely fluent).

Chinese, on the other hand, is just MASSIVE.

[Général_Argos]

azurerogue Wrote:It is because English is not a language of rules - it is a language of exceptions to the rules it has.

Exceptions in english verbs can be list on one page.

In french, they make books to list them.

[Flossy]

Ok if you dont speak any english at ALL and you start learning english it has to be one of the most confusing languages to master.

[Fontes]

Flossy Wrote:Ok if you dont speak any english at ALL and you start learning english it has to be one of the most confusing languages to master.

Not really... I had more trouble with french, which I pretty much ended up forgetting, eventually.

I didn't had much trouble learning english... I used to be an average student, on that subject... After I started playing RPGs more often, my english skill went sky-high... Sometimes, on 11th grade, my teacher used to ask ME things, instead of me asking her... I'm not saying with this that I speak english as good as a native, since I still give a couple of kicks on my grammar, every once in a while. But Ididn't had that much problem with english.

Now, I'm kinda interested on learning italian... Let's see how it turns out... *Starts by reading the italian section of his videogame manuals*

... XD

[azurerogue]

But it still is hard to master. Your post is riddled with improper grammar (which is not me trying to insult you - you write in English far better than I can write in any other language - I'm just pointing out that English IS hard to *master*).

[Général_Argos]

From what are you saying english is harder?

azurerogue Wrote:Actually, after Chinese, English is generally considered one of the hardest languages to become fluent in.

By who? English teachers from the usa? Have you ever get outside of usa?

I don't want to offend, but geez...

Anyway this topic is getting ridiculous, and Marivel's topic was about something else.

[azurerogue]

Here's just one reason why English is so difficult:

Quote:The alphabet was created for languages with five vowels, while English has sixteen. The history of English is complicated, is because it incorporates spelling patterns from several different languages.

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. The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12. There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13. They were too close to the door to close it.
14. The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15. A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16. To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17. The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18. After a number of injections my jaw got number.
19. Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
20. I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
21. How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

English is one of the least phonetic languages because vowels change pronunciation based on surrounding letters - which is not the case in many languages. There are more reasons, but I can post those later. I never said it was the absolute hardest language. I just said that generally many people consider it to be among the hardest to master. I'll find the surveys I found that in later as well. WoE now.

[Wired]

Try Learning all french verbs. Each verbs has about 10+ different verb time... while you got what ... 3 way to write a verb In english