We’re told one of the reasons people flood into this country is because the English language is so easy to learn. I wonder how surprised they would be if they pitched up in Harlech, where out of season the language in the street is predominantly Welsh. I was on a train which passed through Harlech at the moment Ysgol Ardudwy, the local high school, was let out. 500 screaming teenagers rampaged through the train. The only English word to be heard was ‘Fuck’ and its present participle. Philip Pullman, author of the ‘His Dark Materials’ trilogy and the current hit movie ‘The Golden Compass’, went to school at Ysgol Ardudwy. Thank heavens his English teacher knew some other English words.

It doesn’t matter what language you speak, as long as your intended audience understands you. English is regarded as simple, and indeed you can be understood in basic English with a far smaller grasp of the language than almost any other European tongue. But good English — now there’s another bouilloire de poissons.

Take the humble adverb. It has one and only one meaning, but its presence colours the meaning of the rest of the sentence it appears in, according to its position in the phrase. It cam amplify, intensify and modify the meaning. Look at these eight sentences:

Only the bishop gave the gorilla the bun.
The only bishop gave the gorilla the bun.
The bishop only gave the gorilla the bun.
The bishop gave only the gorilla the bun.
The bishop gave the only gorilla the bun.
The bishop gave the gorilla only the bun.
The bishop gave the gorilla the only bun.
The bishop gave the gorilla the bun only.

I don’t know who created this example, but it is perfect. Every sentence has a different meaning, dependent on the position of the adverb. So clever! It shows how important it is in English to know where to put the right word.

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