7. schwa):
7️⃣ The lazy vowel: “schwa” /ə/.
It shows up in unstressed syllables ALL the time:
👉 about → /əˈbaʊt/
👉 teacher → /ˈtiːʧər/
No other language leans on it this much.

6. to + infinitive):
6️⃣ Infinitives with “to.”
Most languages: one word → comer, essen, yemek.
English: two words → to eat, to go, to sleep.

(5.subject):
5️⃣ You can’t drop the subject.
In Spanish/Turkish: “Coming.” (no subject needed)
In English: ❌ Not possible.
You must say: “I am coming.”

(4.continuous):
4️⃣ Continuous tenses with -ing.
“I am eating,” “She was reading.”
This way of marking ongoing actions is rare worldwide 🌍

(3.word order):
3️⃣ Strict word order.
English is SVO (Subject-Verb-Object).
“Dogs bite people” 🐕
≠ “People bite dogs” 👀
Change the order, change the meaning completely.

(2.do):
2️⃣ The mysterious “do.”
English uses do/does/did to form questions & negatives:
👉 “Do you like tea?”
👉 “I don’t like tea.”
This system doesn’t exist in most languages.

(1.gender):
1️⃣ No grammatical gender.
In French or German, nouns are masculine/feminine (e.g. le livre 📘, die Sonne ☀️).
In English? Everything is just “it.” Easy!

Now, I will go to the hall. I guess I will watch a film or a series.

The meal was ready when I came home. I ate it. I made myself some tea. I squeezed a little lemon into it.

Then, with my eyes gradually closing, I suddenly found myself at the final stop. I walked briskly and waited for my shuttle.