:up:English is strange.Now I am more puzzled. But thank all of you.
English is an unusual language for many reasons. Three of them are:
1.Unlike most other languages, it cannot trace its ancestry back in a relatively unbroken line. Whilst it is clearly a Germanic language, several branches of this family had their input, and it has been heavily influenced by Romance languages.
2. Unlike some other major European languages, it has never had an academy to dictate what is correct and what is not.
3. For a number of reasons, English speakers settled in many different parts of the world, and established their language there. As time passed, each area developed its own version(s) of the language. Perhaps because of the spread of radio, film, television and, now, the internet, these versions have remained mutually intelligible, and each has had some degree of influence on the others.
So, there are very often different, but usually acceptable, ways of saying things in situations in which there may be only one way in other languages. This freedom of choice can sometimes be daunting for learners, many of whom would be far happier if there were no choice. In time, many learners come to find it liberating..
