Languages: My Arbitrary and Subjective Experience - Part 3 ENGLISH LANGUAGE CONS: **Pronunciation** Very arbitrary and inconsistent. Not enough rules to explain why some words are pronounced as they are. **Phrasal Verbs** Join a verb with a preposition and hey! you've got a whole new verb! OUCH! You simply have to memorize them. PROS: Very easy verb endings. Very easy plural formation. Very easy possessive adjectives. Auxilliary verbs make complex tenses easier. Simply remember the 3 words would, should and could and you can apply them to thousands of verbs without learning ANY ending changes. If you can remember a verb's past participle when you learn a new verb (most of which are formed by the same rules every time) you can then simply add "have" and "had" to thousands of more verbs and you have just learned most of the tenses in English!!! There you go! I can teach you English in a weekend! :D))))))) You review my text here and think, hey, he's using so many big words!!! What about your 3-letter rule, Gary!?!? Well, yes, when writing, that rule is hard to stick to. But conversationally, we definitely try to use very small words and as few as possible. Why should we say 'yes' when a simple grunt or nod of the head will do? I write this because this has been my experience during my language exchange. I, and I think many Americans, are people who really like to stick to "short and sweet". This is simply my subjective opinion. Learning any new language will be difficult. So how am I at speaking Russian? Not very good! I just use the nominative case and let them figure out what I'm trying to say! Okay, so I sound like an infant. Who cares?!? My friend understands me!! :D))))))))))))