Interesting Facts about the English Language

Learning another language has a lot of benefits - it can open more career doors, take you abroad and help you connect with people across the globe and across cultural lines, too. Here are some interesting facts about the English language and more reasons to master it.
- One out of every six people in the world speaks English. 750 million do not originate from an English-speaking country!
- British colonialism initiated the spread of the English language across the world.
- In over 100 countries, including China, Russia, Germany and Egypt, English is the main foreign language taught in schools.
- The English language bears similarities to both French and German.
- English is the main language used on the Internet.
- Five of the world's largest broadcasting companies (CBS, NBC, ABC, BBC and CBC) transmit in English.
- Half of the world's technical and scientific periodicals are published in English.
- The Oxford English Dictionary features over 500, 000 words. Plus there are 500, 000 technical and scientific terms.

The most common letter in English is " e". More English words begin with the letter " s" than with any other letter.

2. Choose the right variant:

a) do b) does

1. … Vadim play for our team? 2. What … they take part in? 3. When … your competition take place? 4. Why … you not like this kind of games? 5. Whom... he invite to watch our game?

6. … Ann know this sport-team well? 7. How … you get to the stadium? 8. … you write to your parent very often? 9. … they work hard at the university? 10. Where … she train herself?

3. Use don’t or doesn’t in the following sentences:

1. My friends … come to see me very often. 2. Their trainer... take part in this competition, he is on leave. 3. They … study biology as they are law students. 4. His father … know his plans for summer. 5. Our friends … go to the South? They usually rest in the country. 6. I … use a dictionary when translating special texts. 7. She … teach German as she is an English teacher. 8. We … open the windows at night. 9. He … swim every morning. 10. Our relatives … visit us very often.

4. Choose the right variant:

1. Vadim … with his family in Kiev.

a) live, b) lives

2. We usually … in the country with our parents.

A) rest, b) rests

3. Their children … English at school.

a) study, b) studies

4. He … foreign texts easily.

a) translate, b) translates

5. Everybody knows that these students … in the Far East every summer.

a) work b) works

6. He doesn’t … early on Sundays.

a) get up b) gets up

7. Our professor … many foreign friends.

a) have b) has

8. Oleg trains hard as he wants… a good sportsman.

a) to be b) is

9. They move to a new flat which … on the second floor.

a) are b) is

10. … she live with her parents?

а) does b) do