English is a strange language
By Jenaisle
@Jenaisle (14078)
Philippines
May 12, 2022 8:38pm CST
But I'm not complaining because I have learned to communicate with all of you here on MyLot.
However, I can just imagine the difficulties some people learning the language may encounter.
Since grade school, the medium of communication is English here in the country. It's also the second language used in the media and other fields. Hence, to be exact, I'm still learning the language up to today (more than 60 years) and I haven't perfected it yet.
Here are some sentences I find strange:
"I'll get the door" - when you want to open the door, not "get: it.
"Do the dishes" - isn't that supposed to be "wash the dishes"?
"the cat got your tongue" how can the cat get your tongue?
"God bless" - isn't that supposed to be: "God blesses", because of noun-verb agreement?
The list goes on.
I know some of these are idioms, but to new English learners, they will sound strange.
Have you ever encountered any English sentences that made you scratch your head in confusion?
Share it below and explain its meaning so we can all learn from it, especially, those, who have English as a second language, like me.
Thank you.
19 people like this
15 responses
@Henanas (43)
•
13 May 22
English isn't my first language either. Ironically i majored in english literature and i dont think i'm confident enough to say i speak or write good english. even basic tenses or phrasal verbs confuse me to this date. i remember being extremely confused with the usage of 'have had' and 'had had' in a sentence. for example when you are telling someone that you have had enough to eat. Apparently the past perfect of that is i had had enough to eat.
i think im still confused...lol!!
7 people like this
@Vikingswest1 (6305)
• United States
13 May 22
It's confusing to me, too.
In English, "A fat chance" and "A slim chance" mean exactly the same thing.
5 people like this
@MALUSE (69416)
• Germany
13 May 22
@Henanas I'm German but I taught English for forty years at secondary grammar schools. I know the rules of the English grammar forwards and backwards.
The problem which confuses you is easy to explain. 'had had' is used to form the tense Past Perfect. It's more precise to say 'had' plus the 'Past Participle' of a verb, for example 'had eaten', 'had left', 'had gone'.
This tense never stands alone. It is always used together with the Past Tense. It describes an action which took part *before* an action in the Past. That's the whole secret.
My family had already eaten when I arrived.
The plane had left when we finally came to the airport.
The moment the opera singer had stopped singing, the audience jumped up and applauded.
---
I hope you've got it now. It's really easy peasy.
---
If you have also probs with Present Perfect (have eaten), I can explain this, too, if you like.
Btw, what is your native language?
1 person likes this
@thislittlepennyearns (58109)
• Defuniak Springs, Florida
13 May 22
English is a werid language.
I used to write curriculum for a school that was teaching English as a second language.
4 people like this
@MALUSE (69416)
• Germany
14 May 22
@thislittlepennyearns It's not self explanatory to me. Obviously, I'm not bright enough to understand your anwser.
FYI: I learned English as a second language at grammar school and I taught English as a second language at grammar schools for 40 years. Never has the 'weirdness' of English been a problem.
When we came to the lesson about the history of the English language, I always began the topic with the question, "Why has English become *the* world language"? I *always* got the answer, "Because it's easy to learn".
1 person likes this
@thislittlepennyearns (58109)
• Defuniak Springs, Florida
14 May 22
@MALUSE It's self explanitory.
If you were learning English as a second language it would be weird. When you are teaching English as second language you would be made aware of what makes it weird for people just learning it.
1 person likes this
@kaylachan (57383)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
13 May 22
English isn't strange to me. It's my mother tongue. However, what can be confusing is when we use other language's words and make them our own.
2 people like this
@Shiva49 (26192)
• Singapore
13 May 22
Some phrases are localized too and American English is different from the UK.
I learned the UK way but I write the American spelling and phrases more here.
The English language has opened the doors for me. I agree a few phrases and usage make us scratch our heads but I think it applies to other languages too.
3 people like this
@MALUSE (69416)
• Germany
14 May 22
Of course, other languages have also oddities which can't be explained with the existing rules. It is a fact that English speaking peoples very often don't know another language - why should they what with English being *the* world language No 1 - and so they can't compare their native language with other languages if they don't know any.
2 people like this
@MALUSE (69416)
• Germany
15 May 22
@Shiva49 Yes, I've heard the name Max Müller. -- You may be interested in this post:
Why is it that Italian, French, Spanish and Portuguese students of English can read English texts quite easily, the more highbrow the better, but have problems...
2 people like this
@Shiva49 (26192)
• Singapore
14 May 22
@MALUSE The quirks in languages do exist for all I know.
I know five languages and each has some usages/terms that need some deeper understanding of the localized custom.
I recall my Bristish colleague telling me over thirty-five years ago that the German language was not easy to learn as the words can be pretty long like for the next railway station master. I know you are German and would know whether this is a fact or not.
2 people like this
@Chellezhere (5363)
• United States
13 May 22
English is my native language, and I majored in English language and literature, and I frequently talk about frustrations people learning English must have.
“I’d like to put twenty on one” means I want to put $20.00 worth of gas in my car, using gas pump number one.
“Did the trash come yet” means has the sanitation department picked up the trash?
“I’m going to the store” is not as elusive as it seems. Most people who know the person going to “the store” know what store “the store” is. And “the store” is usually a grocery, convenience store, or pharmacy.
3 people like this
@Jenaisle (14078)
• Philippines
25 May 22
@Chellezhere Thanks, I've learned something new, again. I never came across these phrases before.
@Chellezhere (5363)
• United States
20 May 22
@Jenaisle, I imagine phrases like "did the trash come yet" are confusing the people learning to speak English.
I am from Pennsylvania and am of Pennsylvania Dutch descent. We say things like, "throw me up the stairs, my shoes," and "your hair is all over your head."
The first probably sounds like I am asking my shoes to throw me up the stairs. But what I am saying is, "please toss my shoes up the stairs."
And the second probably makes the hearer say, "duh" (unless the hearer is bald or balding. In that case, the hearer would say, "um - hello!"). But the phrase has nothing to do with the amount of hair on someone's head. "Your hair is all over your head" means "your hair is a mess. Go brush it."
1 person likes this
@Hannihar (129379)
• Israel
13 May 22
@Jenaisle
English is my mother tongue but I still have problems with words and cannot think of what they are. To me, languages are not easy. I live in Israel and the language of the country is Hebrew and I am not a language person so have problems learning new languages. Hebrew is a hard language to learn and to speak and write and read. I spoke better than I do since the corona started. I have always had problems with write and reading the language.
2 people like this
@Hannihar (129379)
• Israel
20 May 22
@Jenaisle
Here they do not speak Biblical Hebrew. What I learned in Hebrew class is not how they speak here so had to start all over again learning. I have always had problems with learning a new language. Hebrew is a good language I feel too but hard for me to learn.
1 person likes this
@Aquitaine24 (11653)
• San Jose, California
13 May 22
I think God Bless is just short for God bless you.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (94806)
• Marion, Ohio
13 May 22
I have heard it can be a very hard one to learn if you dont grow up with it
1 person likes this
@aninditasen (15719)
• Raurkela, India
13 May 22
The short sentences and phrases you have written are used in our day to day when we are talking in English. We don't use these phrases while writing literally English. However we all agree that English is strange language.
1 person likes this
@Jenaisle (14078)
• Philippines
25 May 22
@aninditasen Thanks, I try to learn new idioms, phrases, and quotes everyday.
1 person likes this
@aninditasen (15719)
• Raurkela, India
20 May 22
@Jenaisle Hope you learn the language soon and its tricks.
1 person likes this
@erictsuma (9726)
• Mombasa, Kenya
13 May 22
English is also a second language in Kenya and I'm still learning it
1 person likes this
@jefferson126 (3040)
• Shenzhen, China
13 May 22
in my opinion,because i lived in homecountry,no matter how hard i worked on english,still can't speaking as fluently as native english speaker.many simplified usages and slang are out of my reach.Thus,i didn't request myself speak english as well as native speaker.as long as i can communicate with others,it's ok.At present,i felt my english met my requirement.
1 person likes this
