7 INSANE Grammar Rules from the DARK SIDE of the ENGLISH Language

In this video we look at some of the more unusual rules of English grammar that you will (almost) certainly not know. Why do some fish have a plural ending in S and some don't. What's the difference between the hyphen the en-dash and the em-dash? What's the collective nouns for tigers? When do we use the Latin Genitive in English?
All will be revealed and more in this journey to the dark side of English. if you are (like me) something of a geek then I'm sure you'll enjoy this video. If you are looking for more traditional videos on English grammar then you can find many elsewhere on this channel
Intermediate and advanced English lessons with subtitles on our youtube channel. Brought to you by LetThemTalk language school in Paris (and sometimes London).
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[@Geers7Omoorstay]

I can not refrain myself from expressing that your videos are superb and for those of us who feel the English language as second nature, your concepts come like mana from Heaven. In my eyes this video has been the best achieved of your remarkable capacity of histrionics to gather the attention of your audience. A real teacher. Chapeau!

[@LetThemTalkTV]

I'm humbled by your comment. Many thanks

[@sameash3153]

The plurals of animals is one of those holdovers from Old English, where (a certain class of) neuter nouns had the same plural forms as their singular forms. Deer is an example, neuter in Old English (and originally meaning "any animal"), with an identical plural form. Most nouns lost this pattern. For example, the plural of house should have been house, but it regularized into houses. Old English differentiated the plural by the article: þæt hus (the house), þa hus (the houses). For whatever reason, the pattern seemed to remain exclusively to animals. Perhaps as the breakdown of grammatical gender happened, the collective memory of why some nouns have identical singular-plural patterns had forgotten this nonsense about the neuter gender and maybe thought it was just the animals that conformed to that pattern. Interestingly, "fish" was not neuter historically and never conformed to that pattern. Old English se fisc, þa fiscas. Fish and fishes. Again, the collective memory theory, people had forgotten that the fish was masculine and simply assumed that animals followed that pattern of identical forms in the plural. Thus fish and fish.

[@barttemolder3405]

"Animal" is "dier" and 'Tier' in Dutch and German (with "ie" prononced as "ee") so it is clearly connected to "deer". Plural in Dutch is almost always an addition of "en" at the end, and so strongly felt that words that did have a different plural form got it stacked on top. So the plural of "kind" (kid) was "kinder" (as it still is in German) but became "kinderen". "Ei" (egg) has "eireren". "Schoe" (shoe) even got it twice, via "schoen" to "schoenen" and "schoen" became the singular form!

[@uffa00001]

@@barttemolder3405 In another video, Gideon explained that "venison" means, in your dish, "deer". I did not understand why the discrepancy, as "venaison" (the term which gives "venison" in English, for sure) means "hunted meat", "wild game" in French, whereas "deer" means a certain mammal. I now see that "deer" anciently simply meant German "Tier", i.e. "wild animal", hence the link between "venison" and deer-wild game.

[@barttemolder3405]

@@uffa00001 Venison is the meat of deer (or elk) and just like "deer" it was more widely used in the past - albeit just for the meat of a variety of "deer"... Even "venaison" nowadays is mostly used for deer meat but can still extend to wild boar etc.

[@lohphat]

The plural of fish is usually fish, but fishes has a few uses. In biology, for instance, fishes is used to refer to multiple species of fish. For example, if you say you saw four fish when scuba diving, that means you saw four individual fish, but if you say you saw four fishes, we might infer that you saw an undetermined number of fish of four different species.

[@ravenlord4]

Same principle with money. It is singular and plural, unless you are talking about multiple types of different currency. Then it can be monies.

[@silviafaggian2740]

I confirm that in Italian spaghetto, graffito and paparazzo are perfectly legitimate singular nouns.

[@IanKemp1960]

But please don't try to use them when communicating with an english speaker. One piece of spaghetti, a bit of graffiti, one of the paparazzi, these forms are perfect :-D

[@silviafaggian2740]

@@IanKemp1960 (Why not? If you are a foreigner, Italian in particular, and you do it knowingly, it adds originality to the communication style!) We have a similar rule in Italian: foreign words are always in singular form, and you understand from the context whether they are used as a plural or not. And also, if you use them in their plural form, that is considered less educated. Although things are changing very fast...

[@mcicogni]

Although of course a "graffito" (pl. graffiti) is not at all something you do on walls with spray paint, unless you are living a few millennia BC (and spray paint was done a lot different then) 😂 I sometimes wonder how in the world a word that in Italian only refers to prehistoric artworks could have entered English to mean something invented just a few decades ago. Oh and yes, that's "millennia" and definitely not "millenniums" 😉

[@user-kc8xh9qs6d]

"An unkindness of ravens" will be my new nickname, it's enormously fantastic! Collective nouns are actually nice, there is a story behind each and it is an interesting part of linguistics. Considering fish, for example, in ukranian, which is my native language, it is singular by itself but in a phrase it could be treated like plural as well, without changes, although it has plural form. And to say, for example, "one fish" you have to add a suffix and an ending, to say 2 and up to 4 fishes you have to change an ending, to say 5 and up to 20 fishes you drop the ending. And now the climax - when you say 21 fishes it is singular again with suffix and ending as for one, 22-24 like 2-4 and 25-30 drops an ending, 31 is singular, ta-da-a-a!!!! and so forth. We have two forms of plural for many nouns indeed. Speaking of borrowed words like paparazzi, flamingo and many others - they don't have number. Oh, by the way, there is one fish called "ivasi" (herring's cousin by the way) which also does not have number but already sounds like plural. About possesives: every noun has possesive form and genetive form and you use them depending on whether the possessed object goes after or before subject. And a lot of other quirks and features could be found in my language. Great video, as always!

[@LetThemTalkTV]

A very interesting insight into the Ukranian language. Thanks and enjoy your Ivasi.

[@kaewakoyangi8071]

@@LetThemTalkTV Other Slavic languages follow the same rules.

[@IanKemp1960]

Thanks! I'd like to tip in my 2c about English - my native language for 60+ years, on this point that confuses the hell out of my foreign-born wife. I have an aquarium full of tropical fish. (Fish, plural). But sometimes when I go to feed them I say "good night fishies". My told me off for saying "fishes" because we already agreed that this word implies multiple species of fish..... "I have some guppies, some neons, and a few other fishes". But actually I was saying 'fishies' which is cute diminutive form a bit like calling a dog a doggy. Your new word for the week 🙂 As homework you can work with a partner to sort out the difference between 'fruit' and 'fruits' *yikes*. [ps on second thoughts be careful using the work 'fruits' in polite society :-D ]

[@GrantCareerCoaching]

If some of these are a bit confusing don't feel bad. I'm a native English speaker and I didn't know most of these rules hah. Thanks Gideon! 👍👍👍

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Thanks...and there is a lot more that I still don't know.

[@GrantCareerCoaching]

@@LetThemTalkTV Hah well with the accent and faded bookshelf background you certainly seem like you know everything. 😎

[@LetThemTalkTV]

It seems like that but I still have a lot to learn

[@rezza2507]

@@LetThemTalkTV You are a really humble person. Awesome! We really appreciate all of your hard work and effort.

[@rezza2507]

I'm a non-native English speaker. That's why I'm here to learn the Seven *Insane Grammar Rules* from the *Dark Side* of the English Language. I'm Indonesian. 🇮🇩 I speak Indonesian also known as Bahasa Indonesia. 🇮🇩 Notwithstanding the different language of my native language, Indonesian, I learnt English inasmuch as I would like to comprehend the English grammar rules. The difficulties of those seven insane English grammar rules notwithstanding, I'm still learning one of the most widely-spoken languages in the world. Greetings from Indonesia. 🇮🇩

[@larisaalexandrova7021]

THANKS A LOT .from Moscow Russia. YOU ARE THE BEST TEACHER!!!!!

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Thanks for your vote of confidence. Much appreciated.

[@domingosmccorreia]

Brilliant as usual, your lessons are créme de la créme!

[@6ETDOFC7]

This channel is amazing ! I wish I had had a teacher like this in school !

[@dTristras]

Absolutely terrific content - I'm astounded for this fantastic compilation. Thank you very much

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Terrific comment. You are fantastic.

[@e.yu.7358]

Gideon, you are brilliant! Thank you for your noble work!

[@AlessandroBottoni]

The true strength of the English Language is English Teachers. Great video, Gideon. Kudos! Thanks for your valuable job.

[@Nonamehere1305]

Most interesting video! Majority of things I was unaware. Thanks!

[@rojaachar]

I learnt so much from this video, this is so informative. You know what/how to teach. You're the best! Stay blessed, sir!

[@maurocastagnera8949]

Dear Gideon, I'm probably repeating the same thing for a while, but I have to say once again that you are the best! Keep it up!

[@damarisparsekian1182]

Yes you are!

[@mr.perfect2852]

Worry not about it, my friend. You say it as many times as possible.

[@winstonhuxley5064]

you prolly dont care at all but does someone know of a tool to get back into an Instagram account..? I was stupid forgot the login password. I love any assistance you can offer me!

[@henkbours5284]

Great video, just love it!! Keep up the good work. Thanks a lot !!!!

[@lulubaniqued6883]

I've learned so much from your videos! Thank you very much and please don't stop making videos.

[@giuseppecapilli4914]

Another beauty: The Statue of Liberty, not the Liberty's Statue )and is not a star)... Singular of Spaghetti is Spaghetto, but who is going to eat a single spaghetto?

[@LetThemTalkTV]

If you're on an extreme diet you could eat a spaghetto.

[@JC-uf8ym]

My dog does. He's crazy about 'spaghettos'.

[@draganajevtovic8002]

"The Statue of Liberty" is a Norman Genitive.

[@benedettobruno1669]

25 November 2019, Palermo, Sicily. Well, you may eat a single spaghetto when your pasta is cooking in the pan and you get 1 spaghetto out to check if your spaghetti are ready to eat or still uncooked.

[@charlessanchez5089]

That's a remarkable comment

[@hughjazz4936]

"Don't sound too french" is a good advice for any part of England I guess xD Anyway, -horrific- -horrible- -terrible- terrific video. Summs up my love/hatred for that language so well!

[@korchicherkaoui827]

Honestly your way of learning the lessons is more than wonderful that I love your channel which I benefited from so much thanks for your great efforts

[@LetThemTalkTV]

I love your comment. Thanks

[@chrysgnt4369]

The plural ending -a originally comes from Greek. For example, the Greek word criterion, plural: criteria. In addition, the ending -is which becomes -es in the plural is also from Greek, such as analysis - analyses, crisis - crises. We do have a plethora of endings in our grammar! An interesting case of a plural in English that I would like to point out is appendix - appendices, a word derived from Latin. Once more, you've done an excellent video! Greetings from Greece.

[@irshikha]

Thanks for coming back! Had been missing you. Both your lessons and accent are 😍.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Miss you too

[@CGO374]

I love your way of teaching and your examples.Thanks a bunch.

[@tommkappa]

Honorable mention: a crash of rhinos. I love how these collective names somehow describe the temperament of the animals. Cheers!

[@bogos5162]

a tower of giraffes! a gaggle of geese! a congregation of alliagators !

[@ermanovnemachan3086]

The genitive case in German was on the way to die out some hundred years ago, but it was preserved in the written standard language. But is a "defective case" in German. In other languages with a real genitive case, one can easily set a single noun into the genitive case, e.g. in Latin: Centaurus > Centauri. In German, this is impossible: a noun in the genitive case must always be "supported" by an article, pronoun or adjective. Example: the verb ''entbehren'' (to be without something) requires an object in the genitive case. One can say now: - wir entbehren einer guten Regel (we lack a good rule) - wir entbehren guter Regeln (we lack good rules) with "einer guten Regel" and "guter Regeln" standing in the genitive case. In these examples, "Regeln" is supported by other words (einer, guten, guter). But one cannot say: - xxxxxxxx (we lack rules) There are no 3 possibilities: 1) one breaks the rules and says, incorrectly: ''*wir entbehren Regeln'' 2) one chooses another verb: - wir haben keine Regeln (we don't have rules) - uns fehlen Regeln (rules are missing to us) 3) one adds a supporting word, e.g.: - wir entbehren jeglicher Regeln (we lack ANY rules)

[@finzenberger]

ich entbehre gute regeln (akkusativ). er entbehrte jeglichen anstand (acc), er war bar jeglichen anstands (gen). hmmm. austrian-german native speaker. 🤔

[@sarco64]

I was taught in high school many years ago that since "data" is a Latin word which is the plural of "datum," "data" should be considered a plural word in English, and the English singular form should be the same as in Latin -- "datum." Thus we should say, "the data are", not "the data is." However, it seems that "the data is" has become the most common usage in the US.

[@joecostner1246]

Of course data is plural

[@edgarrodriguez8973]

In Spanish they are using data (la data) , specially amidst the poshy. Disgusting.

[@dapietre1]

Great video. I enjoyed from beginning to end thank you Mr Gideon

[@rusgon]

"An unkindness of Ravens" I thought it is a 1st April joke. :-)

[@Shanask487]

i thought you say "a murder of ravens"

[@soumitra2004]

I’ve heard of “A murder of crows”. I never knew about unkindness though .

[@debbie46001]

It’s probably unkind to murder

[@streetfelineblue]

Let's not forget the parliament of rooks Neil Gaiman wrote about.

[@GuilhermeTeacher2008]

Once again I must thank you for sharing your educational videos.

[@sakura3liza6]

I need to watch this video many times. Its really insane. Thank you for this lesson:)

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Thanks for the comment.

[@monicas.701]

For the rest of my life , I'll be extremely thankful for having a BRILLIANT TEACHER LIKE YOU. The lessons you 're teaching , the knowledge and skills that you have taught will be remembered forever while your inspiration will always give me the strenght to succeed sweetheart !!! If only everyone could have a teacher as wonderful as you , THE WORLD WOULD BE A MUCH BETTER PLACE !!!!!!!!!!

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Many thanks for your wonderful comment that motivates me to continue. However there are many brilliant teachers all over the world spreading knowledge and inspiring people every day.

[@OceanChild75]

In French, qualifying adjectives related to colours only take an "s" when describing plural nouns if they are not derivated from a noun (for example we’d write "les chemises orange et les cravates turquoise" but we’d write "les chemises rouges et les cravates jaunes"). But - as you probably know, French grammar is full of exceptions and in this case, the qualifying adjectives "pourpre", "violet", "rose" and "mauve" are exempt from this rule. That being said, most French people do not know about this rule if the truth be known!

[@silviopalumbo9878]

An outstanding video with golden information! I'll never find these notions on books, thank you very much 😎

[@MegaBerzelius]

So so interesting lesson. I didn't know most of it. Thank you very much.

[@wilfriedmathias2236]

That´s really outstanding! Thank´s a lot Gideon!

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Many thank. You are outstanding.

[@karopainting]

Thank you so much for this video: I love being shown how much there is still to discover in English. I was more or less familiar with the plurals and Saxon Genitive (although I fear there still are many examples that would be a surprise for me), but I wasn't aware of the Latin Genitive, it's fantastic! Now I only have to take up astronomy...

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Thanks. Yes, the Latin genitive is pretty obscure. I don't think I can explain it.

[@gustavogarcia3515]

@@LetThemTalkTV Amazing video, as always. I think that astronomical objects have Latin names because the early astronomers spoke Latin. Centaurus is the Latin name of a certain constallation. Alpha is a star belonging to that constallation. So to speak, it's not a star of its own (of course it is indeed), or a star of which we could speak alone, at the same time being astronomically clear and assertive, that is, making it very cleat exactly which star we are talking about. So we say "Alpha, but not any Alpha. That only Alpha that belongs to Centaurus constallation". Now that is the Latin name of that star: Alpha Centauri. I think we don't use Saxon possesive because it's a proper name, such as a person's.

[@IanKemp1960]

@@LetThemTalkTV I am a professional astronomer, and I can tell you, that although I never learned latin and I don't know why 'alpha centauri' is correct, that naming style has leaked into a lot of other areas in Astronomy. Younger people try to make us say "Centaurus A" but the latin genetive has a lot of life left in it yet. Now I know about its origin I'll dogmatically use it wherever I can :-)

[@adeyinkaa.a2096]

This platform makes a lot of sense 😍😍.

[@zulkiflijamil4033]

Dear respected Gideon. I listen to this video again and again. Clear and excellent explanations. My example sentence; when Joan visited his office mate in Marseille , they both went to an excursion in the countryside North of France. They sent photos of oases there. Amazing.

[@owlfethurz8377]

This was so informative! I have never heard of an "unkindness of ravens", although I've heard of a "murder of crows". I guess that is the difference between those two birds - ravens are just a little more civilized that crows. (?) Also, that last point about quoting French phrases for someone like me who's first language is English: Actually, at the risk of sounding lazy, the info you quoted sort of made sense to me in a strange way. I don't really use those phrases very often, and do try for correct pronunciation, however I like the idea that it's kind of a tip of the hat to the the French language and okay if we can't always get it perfect. Anyway it was amusing and got me thinking.

[@uffa00001]

Regarding "cannon", this has a counterpart in military expressions like "foot" and "horse". If I need to say that a certain unit has 200 men (infantry) and 50 knights, the English expression is that the unit has "200 foot and 50 horse". One can also say "the battle was won by the foot", for what I gather, meaning "the infantry".

[@mohdekbal2510]

Excellent knowledge and still better way of explanation Simply mind blowing

[@waleedmorsi5521]

You are my favorite and best teacher ever.

[@amrsalaheldinabdallahhammo663]

Brilliant as usual my favourite teacher

[@gcewing]

"Phenomena" is another word that many people use as both singular and plural even though the singular is really "phenomenon".

[@fancyfeast1193]

I love the contents of your channel, thank you for taking the time to help us with our diction. I do however believe that, if you are going to use a foreign word within the English language. It should therefore have the correct pronunciation from said region.

[@chrisraabis]

I just love you’re videos man!!!

[@Wannie61]

Thank you for teaching. I'm a beginner. Love to learn English.

[@jaroslavcech225]

Absolutely love you videos! I teach English at a language school in the Czech republic and I must say I use your stuff during my classes and students find it really interesting! Keep up the great work mate. One little detail, when speaking about MOSES' STICK at 11:05 you actually say 'S no apostrophe' when in fact I guess you wanted to say 'S apostrophe no second S' and also when mentioning Achilles' heel, you say you know there's 'S apostrophe and there's no second apostrophe' but I guess you meant to say there's no second S. Just thought it might might make it a bit easier for students who are not as proficient at the moment to avoid this kind of confusion. ;)

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Thank you for your kind comments. Sometimes I have to rush to finish the video so there are some mistakes I hope they didn't spoil your enjoyment.

[@jaroslavcech225]

@@LetThemTalkTV not at all, it was more of a friendly note. I have made a list of cockney slang and am absolutely loving it! Cheers again ;) Stay safe in these crazy times!

[@amirrotem]

Wonderful lesson!

[@malgretout563]

This channel deserve more much followers!

[@djalalboutti]

Thank you so much Mister,, really I enjoy when I listen to your lessons.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

I really enjoy your comments. Thanks

[@RaduB.]

8:27 That was hilarious. Brilliant video!

[@AxiokersaSamothraki]

Mr. Gideon, hello! Congratulations! Your videos are exceptional! I always look forward to your next one! Today's video has too much information. Once again, I had to keep notes. But, please allow me to tell you that the word stadium (στάδιον) is also Greek. Stadia (στάδια) is the plural in Greek - ancient and modern. In ancient Greece, it used to be a unit of measurement as well. Graffiti comes from the ancient Greek verb graphein (infinitives: γράφειν - γράφω) which means I write. I am not that smart, I am Greek, that is how I know all these details. Thank you again for the knowledge that you offer us so generously.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Thanks, it seems that so many English words originate from Greek. It's eye-opening.

[@olindamagalhaes3991]

I learn so much with your videos! Thank you!

[@karinakarina768]

English is easy only at the beginning but the further the more difficult, I think to myself... Thank you for this video. As usually the perfect English lesson performance!

[@StuffMadeOnDreams]

I´d like to expand on your comment. I think with you that English grammar is not that, that difficult to begin with... for somebody coming from Europe with a Indo-European mother-tongue. I suppose that it is an altogether different story for Asian speakers. All languages have easy, logical, simple rules and difficult, abstruse rules as well, because they are the result of many influences and centuries of use. In any case, all languages are very difficult to master, even as a mother-tongue. To master any language is extremely difficult and takes years and years of training and perseverance. The most difficult languages are those from tribes that have been isolated for a long time in the past, as one of the laws of linguistics states that the more in isolation a group lives, the more complicated rules the language develops: Old Greek, Sanskrit, Icelandic, Arapahoe, Japanese, Bushmen of the Kalahari, Quechua, Inuit, Hungarian, Estonian, Finnish, Polish... but being difficult does not mean to be better or more brilliant. In fact, extreme difficulty hinders the spread of the language. Simplicity is a virtue. Then, take the the old Greeks with Sappho, Socrates, Arete of Cyrene, Plato, Aristotle, Eratosthenes, Pythagoras, Theano, Archimedes, Hypatia, Pandrosion, and many other geniuses...only spoke one single language, Greek, and considered the rest of the world as barbar. Although Cleopatra was an exception as a brilliant polyglot who could speak Greek, Latin, Egyptian and other languages. This ability, however, did not help her as a general in the battle of Actium. That means to me, that only one language is needed to become a brilliant, compassionate person and to discover important things. On the other side, the more languages one knows up to a reasonable high level, the more information one can absorb and learn and there is a chance there to become a little bit wiser in the process, only a chance, not a guarantee. 🤔

[@janetennyson131]

I remembered "Parliament " from Chaucer's "Parliament of Fowls ". These expressions are so picturesque.

[@streetfelineblue]

I didn't know about Chaucer. So basically - a parliament can be used for fowls, owls or even rooks, BUT for ravens the correct term would be "unkindness", and for crows it would be "murder"?... i'll go out on a limb here and guess English is just messing with everyone XD

[@janetennyson131]

What a treat! Thank you.

[@LetThemTalkTV]

The pleasure is mine thanks.

[@shagufta5677]

I love thís channel. Thank you. Please make a video on punctuations.

[@MohamedAli-dx2dv]

Thank you so much for your videos, u r one of my great teachers while I am an english teacher in Egypt. I wanna ask you about suggestions for a complete grammar book . I will be waiting for your reply

[@sarah.Krivanek.]

The last part about not sounding to French is the best part!!!

[@alicewanguhu7267]

Awesome lesson. I like your humor as well.

[@EdDiEpArSoNs456]

Thanks Gideon! As an English tescher, I really love your great videos. Panini or Panino is another...

[@evelynakoublova5610]

Thank you for your video!!!

[@nadyazaychenko5730]

Hi, Gideon!!! Thank you so much!! Really useful video! 👍👍👍🎉

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Thanks for your great comment

[@Oliffin]

I love your videos, cheers from Monaco

[@ibrahimabah2628]

Thank you so much Teacher.

[@petelobl]

Great video - - thank you! You are rather mischievous, if I substandardly say so myself.

[@gauravsinghchauhan8588]

I love you man,you are great teacher.thx for your videos

[@Sauvageonne]

Thanks. I'd always wondered about St Thomas' Hospital.

[@walterrivas9509]

Gideon! you are my favourite English teacher in the world, "English with Lucy" is my top 2, she is a wonderful teacher as well. You have a unique energy, you are the man of the hour, it seems like you have gone through many adventures ups and downs, and you know, that for certain polishes the best version of ourselves. I teach English for free like they say pro bono hehehe, to make more and more people learn basic English, so they can find jobs in call centers / outsourcing centers in LATAM and more. Un GRAN SALUDO Y UN ABRAZO DESDE EL SALVADOR, AMERICA CENTRAL TIO!

[@sangeet2266]

Someone please help me from NOT falling in love with him :)))))) Although I am proud to say I mostly know what he is talking about, I feel I keep learning and won't ever stop! What a discovery as I enter the world of teaching English worldwide. His videos are God sent! Plus he cracks me up and makes me laugh. Bless his heart. Great guy. Stay classy !!

[@annamiller9153]

I love you ... Amazing lesson, I guess I'm a bit of a geek too 😊

[@lexvegers242]

I was wondering if the astronomical name for the star Pollux would be Beta Geminorum; turns out it is. On the plurals for fish species: I have a hunch that the plurals of fish native to the waters in and around the British Isles don't take an -'s and the more exotic do. Thanks for your entertaining as well educational videos, Gideon.

[@Vasianah]

Hyphen - en-dash - em-dash - also: minus sign − (yes, It is different) I think it's true for every european language. In Russia we also have cool «quotes» that I've never seen in English (and likewise em-dash they are also missing on our keyboards, which is sad)

[@LetThemTalkTV]

We should adopt the cool quotes. Sounds......cool. Thanks

[@beachturkey7643]

hello ruski ))

[@piezocuttlefish]

The same «quotation marks» are used in French as well. Napoléon may have brought them to you.

[@uffa00001]

I don't see anybody paying this kind of attention to the various "dashes" in Italian writing conventions, there are only two of them: - is used as "minus sign", as a hyphen in the rare cases that need a hyphen. When writing with a normal keyboard, the same symbol - is used for incidental phrases. A printed book might use a different and slightly longer dash, but I think there are only two in total in Italian typographic conventions. Also, an incidental - such as this one - is also terminated by a dash in Italian typographic conventions. Having a keyboard that must allow inserting easily ò,à,ù,è,é,ì,^, and in fact also ç which is standard in Italian keyboard layouts, we cannot afford the luxury to have four different dashes in our keyboard layout - and neither feel such a need!

[@latestGreen]

I love these bizarre collective nouns. A murder of crows... an unkindness of ravens... Marvelous!!!

[@latestGreen]

@@dixonpinfold2582 fixed, cheers!

[@roubenkhosrovian]

Mind-blowing.

[@annafrancesfoz]

I have enjoyed this video very much indeed. You made me laugh, Gideon. Really fun!!

[@ytilil7937]

i dont know the exact meaning of "geek " , but you gideon you seem as an amazing , open minded guy ! an open minded , very well efucated person

[@morrigambist]

A wonderful book about "collective nouns" (also called "terms of venery", as in hunting) is An Exaltation of Larks. It has beautiful illustrations as well as a fascinating and amusing text.

[@NothingMaster]

I’m primarily here for the brilliant and blistering comic relief embellishments. 👏🏻

[@jahnocli]

You can have fun inventing your own collective nouns. My favourite is one for a meeting of head teachers -- a scratching of heads.

[@kimberlyperrotis8962]

I love your videos. In the Internet generation of the last 20 years I’ve noticed people really struggling with subject-verb agreement and the near-disappearance of adverbs. I watch a lot of fashion YT, and this is what I constantly hear: “The next category I want to talk about ARE shoes” (or other plurals like bags, trousers, skirts, etc.). They look a bit confused, as if unsure, but stick with this weird form anyway. This is not an error that English speakers of my generation (born 1960) make, ever, really. We learned SVA from early childhood by the everyday speech of our parents, we didn’t have to wait to receive instruction in written English or grammar. I can’t think of an adverb example at the moment, but the adjective form is continuing to replace it in Internet speech. Most of our English grammar is simple, one only has to study a highly-declined language like Latin or Greek to know that. I think the grammar is fairly easy to learn. But, English has its tricky aspects, mostly in pronunciation and spelling. Most foreign speakers never really get our short Germanic I vowel, or all three of our U vowels sounds. I hear poosh for push, etc., and my name Kim, as Keem, constantly, about half of our local population is Hispanic, of Mexican, Central and South American origin. Many are recent immigrants, completely new to English, but of course, these differences vanish in the next generation as soon as elementary school begins. Many also don’t have strong literacy skills in their native Spanish, which can give them extra difficulty with written English. We (at least a large majority of us) welcome all peaceful immigrants here in California, of whatever origin, it’s a great launchpad for families of good, law-abiding, productive citizens to get established in the US. I do think that eventual competency in English is essential for immigrants, though, and the State and local education systems are very supportive of this. English is the language that unites all Americans, and increasingly, unites us with a lot of the rest of the world.

[@rezza2507]

Hello, Gideon! You are really genius. Brilliant! Here are the answers of mine about the plural forms of the loanwords of Bonsai, Seraph, Virtuoso, Flamingo, Château, and Wunderkind as follows: 1. Bonsai 2. Seraphs or Seraphim or Seraphin 3. Virtuosos or Virtuosi 4. Flamingos or Flamingoes 5. Châteaus or Châteaux 6. Wunderkinder or Wunderkinds

[@LetThemTalkTV]

You are brilliant. All correct.

[@rezza2507]

@@LetThemTalkTV Thank you for the compliment.

[@rezza2507]

I'm Indonesian, but I ❤ English. Greetings from Indonesia. 🇮🇩🇮🇩

[@12061988]

As a German, hearing the word Wunderkinds, it hurts my ears. :D

[@brirothert]

I would have just said Bonsai, Seraphim, Virtuosi, Flamingoes, Châteaux, Wunderkinder. I'm German too, and I also feel that "Wunderkinds" hurts my ears - just as Châteaus or Virtuosos and so on. Which is your mother tongue apart from Bahasa Indonesia?

[@mariacebrecos303]

Well, the strangest rule I remember now in Spanish is the word "mar" (sea) or "calor" (heat) that can have a male or female article, both, it's up to the one who speaks. By the way, I have a whale of a time watching your videos and you help me to learn a bunch of English. Cheers, Gideon!

[@joecostner1246]

El mar, el calor. Both def. masc.

[@edgarrodriguez8973]

@@joecostner1246 No, Maria is right in poetry we use la Mar, la calor is common in popular, lunch-bucket usage.

[@KarlaWagnerEU]

Can be confusing when the C is on a tap in the sink in Spain, Italy etc. I think it might be due to how modern languages evolved from Latin and collapsed three genders (neuter) into two. Another reason for me to love English !

[@maqsoodalam519]

Nice one teaching sir, improve my English spoken day by day thanks sir

[@LetThemTalkTV]

Many thanks

[@armosa]

Unkindness of Ravens...Brilliant! Does it have a plural? What would two lots of them be called? Didn't dare take a guess on that one.

[@lenawarren9337]

An unkindness of ravens is a little kinder than a murder of crows.

[@alexanderlilov4913]

That must be the most amusing grammar lesson I have ever watched

[@piotrang8634]

That was really good.

[@user-gj3fh4zx5t]

Gideon, that's the most brilliant lesson of yours I've ever watched! You've actually blown my mind out. The dark side of the English moon is pritty terrible :-)

[@LetThemTalkTV]

I'm glad you're pleased with it. It's all very scary but good to know. Many thanks.

[@omegaia1449]

Thank you for your pronunciation of mischievous. I grew up with that, but for several decades now I've been hearing it with the 4 syllables, even from my English mother-in-law. Drives me a little crazy. I think it's not the only word with the "ous" ending that people have started adding an extra vowel after whatever consonant precedes the "ous."

[@smc3117]

The Latin genitive is not only used in astronomy. We have other expressions where it still exists even though we may only say the abbreviation. Anno domini, a.d., in the year of the Lord, exempli gratis, e.g., for the sake of example. Also some legal terms such as compos mentis, of sound mind, in loco parentis, in place of the parent, etc. I've been an English teacher for many years too. Good video!

[@LetThemTalkTV]

That's very interesting. I didn't think of that though my knowledge of Latin is pretty poor. Thanks for joining the debate

[@smc3117]

@@LetThemTalkTVHappy to put in my tuppenceworth!! Latin is my biggest passion, that's how I know. I was quite impressed with yours too! Just one self correction - "for example" in Latin should have read exempli "gratia", with "a" not "s". The spellchecker changed it to the word it recognised before I realised. Sorry about that!! I loved the bit on punctuation. People think it doesn't matter any more but its very important to avoid misunderstanding. Giles Brandreth's book "Have You Eaten Grandma?" presents this in a very humorous way. I share your videos with all my students.

[@walterwaldo]

I am not going to improve my English but..., your videos are fascinating.

[@giselefranca3182]

BEST ENGLISH TEACHER! Such a pleasure to attend his classes!, About the topic of this video - How to pronounce French words in English - I would mention ‘crêpe’ as a big NO-NO! Never pronounce it the French way otherwise it would sound like ‘crap’!

[@delphyne3699]

Great! One of my English teachers said: "English is easy, but it starts to get complicated from the seventh year." (I am from Germany)

[@dixonpinfold2582]

Good one! It's like climbing a weird mountain: The valley below keeps getting smaller and smaller, the air thinner and thinner, but after a while you're no longer getting any closer to the summit.

[@abdulmatin2576]

The best mentor

[@mbesana]

in italian we have the singular form for the words you mentioned and we use it (graffito, spaghetto, paparazzo)

[@uffa00001]

Just for clarity, spaghetto is a single string of pasta, but if ask for a portion we say (a portion of) spaghetti; Paparazzo is actually a real surname of a gossip photographer: Fellini knew him and created the term "Paparazzi", creating the plural, as the generic plural for gossip photographers;

[@souadbenayada4140]

You are the best!

[@ColHogan-bu2xq]

Hi Gideon, About Em-dashes, don't you think it would be better to ad a second Em-dash at the end of the inserted information ? For example : "Nobody -- not even his wife -- suspected he was a murderer." To me it would make more sense. About French words included in an English phrase, your rule is absolutely true and relevant. It's exactly the same in French with Italian words, for example...

[@sabrarzz8005]

My Goodness,, the parliament of owls?!? 😂

[@ecee5139]

I paused the lesson, and laughed at that exact part :D

[@murathan3432]

@@ecee5139 lol... me too...👍

[@ecee5139]

@@murathan3432 Where are you from?

[@murathan3432]

@@ecee5139 Turkey... you ?

[@ecee5139]

@@murathan3432 haha ben de. İsimden tahmin ettim de sorayım dedim ne olur ne olmaz