English grammar is notorious for creating confusion and despair in people trying to learn it. Many people feel that English is one of the most complex languages in the world. One of the reasons cited is the grammar rules that are complicated enough to make your head swim. People learning English often ask why English grammar is so hard.
English grammar is hard because it is a language that developed from numerous other languages. The many rules are complex, and almost all of them have exceptions. Some have no particular logic and must just be learned. A person’s native language grammar will also inhibit learning English grammar.
English is a language with many rules and exceptions that must be learned. Some rules may follow patterns and others are completely random.
What Made English Grammar Hard?
English has a complicated historical development which is one of the reasons that the language became so complex.
Originally England was populated with clans that spoke Celtic languages. Breton, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, and Irish were four of the most common Celtic languages.
Germanic tribes invaded England bringing German, Frisian and Danish languages. The German and Celtic languages mixed, and a new dialect known as English was formed.
After several hundred years, the Normans invaded, introducing Norman French to England. Once again, English underwent a linguistic revolution, becoming heavily influenced by French words and grammar.
The result of this concoction of languages was the bizarre mix of vocabulary and grammatical rules that govern modern-day English.
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How Many Grammatical Rules Are There In English?
David Crystal, a renowned linguist, estimates there are three thousand five hundred grammar rules in English.
David says this figure is only an estimate and can vary depending on the analytical approach you choose when examining English. Even the experts struggle when it comes to English grammar!
A brief look at verbs will show how complex the grammar rules are relating to only this one element.
Auxiliary verbs are ‘helping verbs.’ They are complex, and choosing the correct one confuses many students learning English as a second language.
English allows phrases to stand as subjects, verbs, or objects. A phrasal verb combines a verb with either an adverb or a preposition. It changes the meaning of the verb. Examples are:
- Come over
- Cheer up
- Get along
- Break up
- Find out
- Ask (someone) out
Some phrasal verbs are used more commonly in some regions. Their meaning may change over time as English evolves with each generation.
As you can imagine, learning so many grammar rules is a challenging and seemingly monumental task. Even native English speakers do not always use their grammar correctly.
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English Grammar Rules Have Exceptions
One of the features of English grammar is the countless exceptions to grammatical rules. Some may say they can see the influence of mischievous Celtic leprechauns in English grammar.
Most of the exceptions to the grammar rules are not governed by any rules and must just be learned. Take, for example, the past tense rule for verbs.
The rule states that verbs get the suffix -ed when used in the past tense. So we have walked, danced, loved, and cooked.
The exceptions are words that do not follow the -ed rule. These words have an irregular past tense. An example is teach, which becomes taught. A similar word preach, follows the regular rule, and the past tense is preached.
Another example is run, which becomes ran. Some verbs do not change in the past tense. For example, beat does not change. The sentence “he beat the dog” is a correct past tense use of the unchanged verb.
Plurals are generally indicated by an /s/ or /es/ suffix. Some regular examples are:
- Socks
- Mothers
- Boxes
- Locks
Irregular plurals may not change at all. Sheep stay sheep whether there are one or twenty.
Some have a complete change, such as one foot and two feet or one goose and two geese.
One may be tempted from the above examples to assume that a double /o/ changes to double/e/ in plural form. This assumption is incorrect because we have one boot and two boots, one hoot, and two hoots.
This example adequately shows the inconsistencies in English rules.
Subject-verb agreement rules become complex when the subject refers to many people or things, but the verb is singular. An example of this is “everybody is going home.” Everybody refers to many people but is used as a singular noun.
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Native Language Interference With English Grammar
Learning English grammar is hard enough, but the student’s native language may also interfere with learning grammar rules.
When a child acquires a language, they learn the grammatical rules subconsciously. These rules are hardwired into the language areas of the brain and automatically govern the production of words.
Learning a new language, such as English, requires the student to override their subconscious native grammar rules and impose the English grammar rules onto communication.
Many students of English fall into the trap of using their native language word order with English vocabulary. It requires intense concentration to acquire new grammar skills and rules.
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Fossilized Errors Interfere With English Grammar
Fossilized errors refer to habitual errors made by students of English. Grammar is often sacrificed when people are trying to communicate in a new language. This makes sense in many ways as children simplify language to make the acquisition easier.
It is discouraging to English students to constantly be corrected. Some English teachers may ‘allow’ certain grammar errors to enable the students to communicate and stay motivated.
The problem is that these errors become entrenched in the speaker’s language and are difficult to change because they are a linguistic habit.
Often the features of a students first language/mother tongue will create a real barrier for perfecting English. For example, in Thai language there are no past tense verbs and so when they speak English they often forget to change a verb into its past tense form.
Whilst this might be okay and make sense in Thai it really hampers communication in English.
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English Dialects Increase The Grammatical Complexity
English dialects vary considerably, and this may even affect grammar. The most well-known example is the difference between British and American English. These differences make it even harder for people to learn English grammar.
Conclusion
English grammar is complicated historically, and its many rules and exceptions are hard to learn. The new grammar rules overlay existing native language grammar rules, making the learning process difficult. Students may fall into habitual error patterns that are hard to break and affect their English grammar use.
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