English is a crazy language

Let's face it - English is a crazy language. There is no egg in = eggplant
nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat.


We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig. And why is it that writers writebut fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend. If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it? If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught?

If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell? How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?
You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all.
That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.

PS. - Why doesn't "Buick" rhyme with "quick"

Verb Patterns

Verb patterns are the different ways ( or patterns) that verbs are going to be, when placed together. This happens when a verb follows the other, so the form of the second verb, will depend on the first one.

From http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/ , I extracted some patterns, but here, we will focus on verb + ing, and verb + infinitive.

Accordingly to BBC's site, we have, among others, the following patterns:

Verb + to + verb:

"(...) you don't understand/
How it feels to love a girl someday (...)".

If I were a boy, Beyoncé.

Verb + verb + ing:

"(...)We must stop pretending(...)" Tina Tuner, I don't WannaFight

Verb + preposition + verb +ing

"When Should I Think About Doing a PIA?" http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pgol-pged/piatp-pfefvp/course1/mod4/mod4-2-eng.asp

Verb + object + verb:

"Something has to make you run."

Norah Jones, Don't know why.

Some verbs change their meaning, if they change their patterns. We listed here some examples:

Eg.: like, hate, regret. I like to do = I think it is a good idea to do this I like doing = I enjoy the activity. It gives me pleasure I hate to do= I am sorry to do I hate doing = I do not like this I regret to do- I am sorry to do I regret doing- I did, in the past, and I am sorry that I did that. Remember to do = obligation Remember doing = past event Try to do= something attempted,which might fail or succeed Try doing= making an experiment or new experience. To be continued ...

Stop to do = intention.

"Michigan State makes key stop to hold off Iowa"

Espn

Stop doing = the ending of an activity.
E.g: "She spoke until one day she couldn't be heard
And she just stopped singing"

Amy Winehouse, October's Song

Eg.2: This year, I'm gonna stop yellin' at my children.

Everybody hates Chris

Go on to do = refers to the continuing action, a persistent action.

Eg.: he will go on to win multiple Grand Slams.

Foxsports

Go on doing= refers to the continuation of an action, a sequel.

(...)"Why does the sun go on shining? (...)Why do the birds go on singing?(...)"

Skeeter Davis

Mean to do = intend, implies

Eg.:" the best of what’s going on in the mind of an artist who’s a resolutely honest chronicler of what it means to be a young woman in contemporary Britain."

Craig McLean-
interview with Amy Winehouse: Life and Soul

Mean doing= refers to what is involved.
Eg: "In part this meant going to New York, to work with Mark Ronson."

Craig McLean, Idem


Eg.2: Higher Taxes Mean Making "Compromises" - Including on Jobs, Cisco CFO Says

Yahoo Finance

Regret to do =The speaker regrets what is going to be said or done.

Eg.: I regret to say that your Oct. 12 wedding falls square in the middle of the Prisoner marathon on the Sci-Fi Channel.

Larry Groznic

Regret doing = The speaker regrets about the past.

Eg. 1:"10 Things Jimmy Kimmel May Regret Saying At ABC's Upfronts"

Eg.2: 'I regret saying some things I shouldn't have said'

George W. Bush

Other verbs:

Hear, see, watch (infinitive to= action is complete, but, + verb -ing= action still in progress).

VERBS NORMALLY FOLLOWED BY INFINITE WITH TO
AGREE TO	EXPECT TO	NEGLECT TO	SEEM TO
APPEAR TO	FAIL TO	OFFER TO	STRUGGLE TO
ARRANGE TO	GROW TO	PAY TO	SWEAR TO
ATTEMP TO	HASTEN TO	PLAN TO	THREATEN TO
ASK TO	HAPPEN TO	PLEGDE TO	VOW TO
CHOOSE TO	HOPE TO	PRETEND TO	WANT TO
DARE TO	HURRY TO	PROMISE TO	WISH TO
DECIDE TO	LEARN TO	REFUSE TO
DEMAND TO	LONG TO	RESOLVE TO
DESERVE TO	MANAGE TO	SEEK TO

VERBS NORMALLY FOLLOWED BY INFINITE WITH – ING			PUT OFF
APPRECIATE	EXCUSE	RESENT	CAN'T STAND
AVOID	FACE	RISK	SPEND
CONTEMPLATE	FANCY	SUGGEST	WASTE TIME
DELAY	FINISH	IT'S NO GOOD
DENY	INVOLVE	IT'S NO USE
DETEST	MENTION	FEEL LIKE
DISLIKE	MIND	GIVE UP
ENDURE	MISS	KEEP ON
ENJOY	POSTPONE	LEAVE OFF
ESCAPE	PRACTISE	LOOK FORWARD