The entry of the United States into WWI ... helped Russia
helped Russia

was applauded by Germany
was applauded by Germany

did not make much difference to the fighting
did not make much difference to the fighting

was a decisive factor that turned the tide for the Allies.

The three steps before modern english were indo-european, germanic, and old english. as peoples moved around the eurasian continent, their languages changed. throughout the ages, the languages became more specialized. as english has many germanic influences, it is easy to see how this was one of the forebears. also, old english was one of the main ancestors of the modern language, spoken in the 5th through about the 13th centuries.