Hello there readers, are you interested in finding out some
fun English language facts? Then you have come to the right place! This article
will give you some fun facts to have to surprise your friends and family. Sit back
and read these facts, we are sure they will make you laugh.
1. Here’s a simple one to get you started. The
shortest complete sentence in English is: "I am." This is a proven
fact that, and surprisingly most people do not know! I asked a few of my
friends what they thought was the shortest complete sentence and most of them
replied ‘I’ which is not a stupid answer, but it is a false one. There you go
fact number one to get you warmed up.
2. The dot over the letter "i" and the
letter "j" is called a "superscript dot". This is a great fact
to test your English teacher or a friend or family member who is taking English
language at university, to see if they know their stuff.
3. Next up. A sentence that contains all 26 letters
of the alphabet is called a "pangram". I bet your thinking where
would I use a sentence which contains all the letters of the alphabet? Well
here is an example: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog”. This
sentence is used to test type writers before starting a job.
4. Have you ever been told about the longest word
in the English dictionary:
pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicouolcanokoniosis.
This
is supposedly the longest word in the English language according to the Oxford
English dictionary. Surprisingly, there is a second work that keeps up with the
longest word in the English dictionary, although it’s plural:
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconioses
Try and pronounce it, it’s very difficult!
5. Here is a fun fact you can test yourself with
right now: No words in the English language rhyme with orange, silver or
purple. Try and think of a word that rhymes with one of them, not one word will
rhyme!
6. Another fact you can test yourself with. The
word "set" has more definitions than any other word in the English
language, 87 in total! Go ahead and write down as many definitions you can,
then Google the definition to see the ones you missed. This is also a good
exercise to practice with other words as it will improve your vocabulary.
7. This English language fact is my personal
favourite.’ There is a seven letter word in the English language that contains
ten words without rearranging any of its letters, “Therein”: the, he, in, rein,
her, there, here, ere, therein, herein. It’s amazing how one word can contain
so many others.
8. This fact really caught my attention, as it is
something which I hadn’t noticed before. Some words exist only in plural form,
for example: glasses (Spectacles) binoculars, scissors, shears, tongs, gallows,
trouser, jeans, pants, pyjamas (But note that clothing words often become
singular when we use them as modifiers, as in "trouser pocket"). Did
you notice this before?
9. Have you ever wondered why the word rhythm looks
so strange? That’s because it is the longest
English word without a true vowel (a, e, i, o or u). Look up and down this page
and you will see a vowel in nearlöy every word, except rhythm.
10. Last but not least. More English words begin
with the letter "s" than with any other letter. I wouldn’t advise you
to try and write down as many words beginning with S as you can though, you
will be there for a very long time (There are 2529 words in total).
There you have it, Twin’s top 10
English language facts! We hope this article has fascinated you and taught you
some fun new facts about English. You might even be able to catch some people out!
Pass on these facts and we are sure people will be impressed.