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Learning English

 
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This may be the reason why American English has been rated the most difficult language to learn, even more than Chinese:

The bandage was wound around the wound.

The farm was used to produce produce.

The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

He could lead if he would get the lead out.

The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

Since there is no time like the present, he decided it was time to present the present.

A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

I did not object to the object.

The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

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

They were too close to the door to close it.

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

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

The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

After a number of injections, my jaw got number.

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

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

Yes, English can be bewildering. 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.

In what language do people recite at a play, and play at a recital?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, yet a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?

Yes, in American English, your house can burn up as it burns down, you fill out a form by filling it in, and an alarm goes off by going on.

That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible; when the lights are out, they are invisible.

And, when I wind up my watch, I start it, but when I wind up this essay, I end it.
 
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