Have you ever heard someone say, “Why doesn’t she just learn to speak English!”? Every time I hear or read that, I’m tempted to ask that person how easy they think it would be to learn another language if they hadn’t grown up with it . . .
I would also love to ask them to do one “simple” thing — correctly form the plurals of these simple, everyday English words: hoof, roof, goose, moose, tooth, booth, mouse, house, foot, root, shrimp, sheep, trout.
And this is not about putting anyone down; it’s about helping each of us see the world from someone else’s reality. Some things we take for granted are tough for others . . . and even us.
Ready? Try it yourself before you see the answers below. You might be surprised.
one hoof — many hooves (some dictionaries do support hoofs)
one roof — many roofs
one goose — many geese
one moose — many moose
one tooth — many teeth
one booth — many booths
one mouse — many mice
one house — many houses
one foot — many feet
one root — many roots
One shrimp / sheep / trout — many shrimp / sheep / trout.
Still think learning English is so easy?