Who says English is Easy?

I read this on another website and had to post it. The Author is unknown. It is an excerpt from, "The Kingfisher Book of Children’s Poetry" selected by Michael Rosen. If English isn't your first language, I hope this isn't too confusing.


I take it you already know

Of tough and bough and cough and dough?

Others may stumble, but not you

On hiccough, thorough, laugh and through?

I write in case you wish perhaps

To learn of less familiar traps:

Beware of heard, a dreadful word

That looks like beard and sounds like bird.

And dead: it’s said like bed, not bead;

For goodness’ sake, don’t call it “deed”!

Watch out for meat and great and threat

(They rhyme with suite and straight and debt).

A moth is not a moth in mother

Nor both in bother, broth in brother.

And here is not a match for there,

Nor dear for bear, or fear for pear.

There’s a dose and rose, there’s also lose

(Just look them up), and goose, and choose,

And cork and work, and card and ward,

And font and front, and word and sword,

And do and go and thwart and cart -

Come come, I’ve barely made a start!

A dreadful language? Man alive,

I’d mastered it when I was five!

This is makes me glad that English is my first language!!