Logic vs. grammar

[mount_oregano]

I teach English to Spanish adolescents at an after-school academy. Today is the last day of class, and here are some grammar points that bear repeating:

The past tense of want is not went.

The past tense of leave is not love.

The past tense of give is not gift.

The past tense of think is not thank.

The past tense of behave is not behad.

Still, those were reasonable guesses, kids. See you in September.

— Sue Burke

Comments

[wordweaverlynn.livejournal.com]

To anyone who grew up with the delightful regularity of Spanish, English must seem like a scrambled mess. Which is why I adore it.

[mount-oregano.livejournal.com]

Quick! Explain the difference between "some" and "any," including all their derivatives like "somewhere" and "anything."

[mount-oregano.livejournal.com]

Well, they're 13-year-olds in Madrid learning English as a foreign language, so they'll make mistakes. But after my class, they'll make fewer.