This is hilarious.
Website: http://www.sheetr.com/21-reasons-why-english-sucks/
Copied and pasted:
1. The bandage was wound around the wound.
2. The farm was used to produce produce.
3. The dump was so full it had to refuse more refuse.
4. We must polish the Polish furniture.
5. He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6. The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7. Since there was no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8. A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9. When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10. I did not object to the object.
11. The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12. There was a row among the oarsmen on how to row.
13. They were too close to the door to close it.
14. The buck does funny things when does are present.
15. A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16. To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17. The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18. After a number of injections my jaw got number.
19. Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
20. I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
21. How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
Re: 21 Reasons why the English language sucks
Wow, that was hard to read...
updated 10.03.12
Yeah, I had to reread a few...then I thought how much we actually use context clues. I've never, ever tried to say "does" (duhz) when I read the word "does" (doughs) except for that sentence up there.
As an English major, I find this stuff entertaining, but it amazes me when non-native English speakers can manage to learn English so well. It's a hard language to speak perfectly. Also, English's formation of participles obviously doesn't make a lot of sense sometimes either, which is why little kids seem to have bad grammar. Technically, there's nothing wrong with saying "I throwed the ball." A child is just using basic grammar principles when he/she says that and it takes time to pick up all the exceptions.
I can't recall any French words that have issues like this. I'm not sure other languages have that problem either. But other languages have their own share of intricacies that are pretty difficult to learn as well.
And as a psychology major (with concentration in childhood/adolescents) you also learn that children are much better at picking up language and speaking it correctly before they are introduced to the grammar/syntax rules of said language. (I guess, that is, if they are exposed to parents/peers/adults who speak--generally--correct English. I mean, the kid isn't going to have good grammar when their parents talk like "Je'et yet? Naw, jew? Naw, ya unto?")