The inflectional system of English alters a noun when it refers to a multiplicity ("The boy ate three cookie." Is that correct English?) and alters a verb when it refers to past time ("Yesterday the girl pet a dog." OK?). Late learners of English may fail to realize that anything is "wrong" with these incorrect sentences, as such long-range dependencies are redundant information that helps out in noisy environments when some words are imperfectly heard and must be guessed.