Contents

English In general

English and life

The world’s languege

Grammar 

literature

Pics

End

English in general

English is a West Germanic language that was first spoken in early medieval England and is now a global lingual franca.[4][5] It is unofficial language of almost 60 sovereign states, the most commonly spoken language in the United Kingdom, the United States,Canada, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand, and a widely spoken language in countries in the Caribbean, Africa, and South Asia.[6]It is the third most common native language in the world, after Mandarin and Spanish.[7] It is the most widely learned second language and is an official language of the United Nations, of the European Union, and of many other world and regional international organisations.

English has developed over the course of more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian dialects brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the fifth century, are called Old English. Middle English began in the late 11th century with the Norman conquest of England.[8] Early Modern English began in the late 15th century with the introduction of the printing press to London and the King James Bible as well as the Great Vowel Shift.[9] Through the worldwide influence of the British Empire, modern English spread around the world from the 17th to mid-20th centuries. Through all types of printed and electronic media, as well as the emergence of the United States as a global superpower, English has become the leading language of international discourse and the lingual franca in many regions and in professional contexts such as science, navigation, and law.

Modern English has little inflection compared with many other languages, and relies on auxiliary verbs and word order for the expression of complex tenses, aspect and mood, as well as passive constructions, interrogatives and some negation. Despite noticeable variation among the accents and dialects of English used in different countries and regions – in terms of phonetics andphonology, and sometimes also vocabulary, grammar and spelling – English speakers from around the world are able to communicate with one another effectively.

The World’s Language

Five hundred years ago, between five and seven million people spoke English, almost all of them living in the British Isles. Now, anywhere up to 1.8 billion people around the world speak English.

How did this happen?

The growth of English has nothing to do with the structure of the language, or any inherent qualities, and everything to do with politics.

A world language is a language that is spoken internationally and is learned and spoken by a large number of people as a second language. A world language is characterized not only by the total number of speakers (native and second language speakers), but also by its geographical distribution, as well as use in international organizations and diplomatic relations.

By far the most widely spoken and fastest spreading world language today is English, which has over 840 million primary and secondary users worldwide. It is also estimated to have as many as 700 million “foreign” learners of the language, including anywhere between 200 and 350 million learners/users in China alone, at varying levels of study and proficiency, though this number is difficult to accurately assess. English is also increasing becoming the dominant language of scientific research and papers worldwide, having even outpaced national languages in Western European countries, including in France where a recent study showed that English has massively displaced French as the language of scientific research in “hard” as well as in applied sciences.

Grammar

Grammar. Just say the word and shivers of aversion travel down the spines of all within hearing distance. Nouns and verbs? Adjectives and adverbs? Is it really necessary to be aware of all these things in order to write a paragraph? Will the reader not be able to work around the tiniest little typo? No. Or, rather, they shouldn’t have to. The reader’s job is to absorb the information: it’s the writer’s job to do the rest of the work.

Prepositions

Prepositions – Time

Prepositions – Place (Position and Direction)

Reported Speech (Indirect Speech)

If we report what another person has said, we usually do not use the speaker’s exact words (direct speech), but reported (indirect) speech. Therefore, you need to learn how to transform direct speech into reported speech. The structure is a little different depending on whether you want to transform a statement, question or request.

Statements

When transforming statements, check whether you have to change:

• pronouns
• present tense verbs (3rd person singular)
• place and time expressions
• tenses (backshift)

literature

Literature consists of written productions, often restricted to those deemed to have artistic or intellectual value. Its Latin rootliteratura/litteratura (derived itself from littera, letter or handwriting) was used to refer to all written accounts, but intertwined with the roman concept of cultura: learning or cultivation. Literature often uses language differently than ordinary language (see literariness). Literature can be classified according to whether it is fiction or non-fiction and whether it is poetry or prose; it can be further distinguished according to major forms such as the novel, short story or drama; and works are often categorised according to historical periods or their adherence to certain aesthetic features or expectations (genre).

Pictures With Quotes