Why English Is So Hard to Learn

This is one reason why English is so hard to learn--even for those of whose 1st language is English.



"That's a great deal to make one word mean," Alice said in a thoughtful tone.
"When I make a word do a lot of work like that," said Humpty Dumpty, "I always pay it extra."

The word "set" has the largest number of meanings mostly unrelated to each other -- the Oxford English Dictionary has 26 pages devoted to this little three-letter word.