Youtube Exercise » English Grammar Homework

B1-B2

30 Funny Facts about the English Language that You Didn’t Know

English Practice

4,594 views 4 years ago

Warm-up Questions

From the title, what kind of information do you expect: serious facts, funny facts, or both?
Which part of English do you think has the most “funny facts”: spelling, pronunciation, or vocabulary? Why?
How often do you learn new “facts” about English that surprise you?

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Start With: Word Definition

Order: Alphabetical Random

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30 Funny Facts about the English Language that You Didn’t Know

Funny facts 1–11: origins, common words, and surprising statistics (00:00 – 01:10)

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1. Where does English originally come from, according to the video?

Northwest Germany and the Netherlands
Scotland and Ireland
Italy and Greece
Southern France and Spain

2. Why is the phrase “long time no see” considered unusual?

It is believed to be a literal translation and is not grammatically correct
It is only used in American English
It is very old English from the Middle Ages
It is only used in formal writing

3. What does the video say is the shortest grammatically correct sentence in English?

No
A go
I am
Go

30 Funny Facts about the English Language that You Didn’t Know

Funny facts 12–23: definitions, rhymes, crutch words, countries, and Shakespeare (01:10 – 02:21)

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1. Which word is said to have the highest number of definitions?

set
town
time
good

2. What are words like “like” or “basically” called when they fill time while speaking?

loan words
dialect words
crutch words
root words

3. What does the video say about Shakespeare?

He made English the official language of 67 countries
He created 24 dialects of English in the U.S.
He created the first English dictionary
He invented many words such as “birthplace” and “undress”

30 Funny Facts about the English Language that You Didn’t Know

Funny facts 24–30: goodbye, spelling, changing meanings, dictionaries, and language control (02:21 – 03:30)

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1. What is the original meaning behind the word “goodbye,” according to the video?

God be with you
Go and be happy
Good day to you
Good luck to you

2. What is one example of a word that changed meaning over time?

awful used to mean inspiring wonder
town used to mean city
time used to mean clock
orange used to mean silver

3. What does the video say about English compared to languages like French or Spanish?

English is the only major language without an organization guiding it
English has more official rules than German
English has an organization guiding it like the French Academy
English is controlled by the Oxford English Dictionary

30 Funny Facts about the English Language that You Didn’t Know

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1. What is the main purpose of the video?

To compare American and British spelling in detail
To give a full history of English literature
To share interesting and unusual facts about the English language
To teach advanced English grammar rules

2. Which topic appears several times in the video?

English spelling and word meanings
English cooking vocabulary
Business email writing
Movie reviews in English

3. What is one general idea the video supports?

English is spoken only in Europe
English is the easiest language for everyone
English never changes
English has many unusual features and continues to evolve

Discussion Questions

Discuss the ideas from this video

30 Funny Facts about the English Language that You Didn’t Know

Which fact from the video surprised you the most? Explain why.
The video says “crutch words” should best be avoided. Do you agree? Which crutch words do you use?
Some words (like “awful” and “nice”) changed meaning over time. Can you think of words in your language that changed meaning?
Do you think English should have an organization guiding it (like the French Academy)? Why or why not?