r/MadeMeSmile • u/-JOMY- • 22h ago

Good Vibes ESL classes be like

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u/dogsledonice 21h ago edited 9h ago

I've taught ESL. You don't truly grasp how stupid a language English is until you try to explain parts of it to someone in words they can understand

or why these all sound different: bough, bought, through, thorough, slough, tough, hiccough

(edit: I think two of them do rhyme; not sure which)

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u/MisanthropyIsAVirtue 19h ago

The order of adjectives has to be: opinion-size-age-shape-colour-origin-material-purpose. If you mess with that word order in the slightest you’ll sound like a maniac. It’s an odd thing that every English speaker uses that list, but almost none of us could write it out. And as size comes before colour, green great dragons can’t exist.

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u/vacri 18h ago

And as size comes before colour, green great dragons can’t exist.

This is such a bad example. I can write a story with lesser dragons and great dragons and some of the latter can be green great dragons and it will sound perfectly cromulent.

1

u/dogsledonice 19h ago

But white great grandparents do

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u/MisanthropyIsAVirtue 19h ago

Yeah, but that’s easy to explain since the great is part of the noun and not an adjective.