Why do English learners have so much trouble?

Question

And this is in no way a criticism. I have my troubles in Spanish (although not grammatical). For example, I can't pronounce "rr" to save my life, and in Portuguese, my "lh" sucks.

Answer 1

Many students make faces when they learn there are six forms for one English form as you point out. However, that is not quite right. How would you translate "I did eat, I have eaten, I was eating" into Spanish? You will find that many languages do not change the form of the verb when the English is in the progressive (ing). Also, what does DO or DID mean? why does the verb go back to the infitive? I did go (versus) I did "went." Again, many languages have one past tense form. I suspect the real frustation is that you haven't picked up the feel for the endings in Spanish. The endings make the person so clear in Italian, the pronouns are often not stated. Take a look at this:

German: I sehe

English: I see, am seeing, do see, have been seeing, will see and will be see.

I form in German, 6 in English.

Of course, our own language seems "the most logical." good luck!

Answer 2

In regard to the tenses, let's take your example of "ate". The word "ate" bears little resemblance to the word "eat", so unless you knew that example you would be clueless as to what "I ate" means. For other examples, such as "I walked" (where the standard -ed pattern applies) few people get this wrong.

Also, a tricky point about English is the writing. It is quite easy for foreigners to SPEAK English (because they hear it in songs, on the radio, TV, news, etc) but English is not seen written down as much as it is spoken. So when it comes to WRITING, the illogical spelling system of English causes problems for foreigners. After all, who would guess that the word "one" isn't pronounced like we say "own", and "own" doesn't rhyme with "brown"?

Answer 3

according to experts, english is the most difficult language to learn.  this is primarily because most of our words are bastardized from other languages.  by the way, speaking the queen's english and speaking "american" are not the same thing.  also because we have many words that are pronounced the same, yet mean different things: to, too, two, not to mention main and mane and bear and bare...  also you mention the word "ate", well the number eight is pronounced the same way and means something else entirely.  rules for english contridict each other.  I before e accept after c, except when it isn't.  other languages don't have one pronunciation for multiple words and their rules aren't full of contridictions.

Answer 4

Because so many of the words in English sound the same but have different spelling. Ate / Hate / Eight. And the variety of accents, especially in the UK and America can make things tricky too I would imagine.

Answer 5

because we have a lot of special words that aren't consistent. where other languages are.

for instance:

read , read,  reed, red

we have tons of words that can't be sounded out because they are taken from other languages. from the melting pot effect, our language has no consistency.

Answer 6

That's not what I had problems with when I learned English, I had a problem pronouncing the words and spelling them. Your verbs are the easiest part, it's just the rest of your language that is hard.

Answer 7

i copied this since it explains it best:

-------------------------------------

REASONS WHY

The English language is so hard to learn.

1) The alphabet was created for languages with five vowels, while English has sixteen.

2) The history of English is complicated, is because it incorporates spelling patterns from several different languages.

As a result you can appreciate the confusion below.

This is passed on by a linguist, original author unknown.

   1.

      The bandage was wound around the wound.

   2.

      The farm was used to produce produce.

   3.

      The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

   4.

      We must polish the Polish furniture.

   5.

      He could lead if he would get the lead out.

   6.

      The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

   7.

      Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.

   8.

      A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

   9.

      When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

  10.

      I did not object to the object.

  11.

      The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

  12.

      There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.

  13.

      They were too close to the door to close it.

  14.

      The buck does funny things when the does are present.

  15.

      A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

  16.

      To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

  17.

      The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

  18.

      After a number of injections my jaw got number.

  19.

      Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

  20.

      I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

  21. How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

----------------------------------

Let's face it - English is a crazy language.

In what other language do people recite at a play and play at a recital?

There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig. And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham?

If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it? If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?

Sometimes, I think all the folks who grew up speaking English should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell? How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down; in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which an alarm goes off by going on.

Four All Who Reed and Right ~ Author Unknown

We'll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes;

but the plural of ox became oxen not oxes.

One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,

yet the plural of moose should never be meese.

You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice;

yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.

If the plural of man is always called men,

why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?

If I spoke of my foot and show you my feet,

and I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?

If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,

why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?

Then one may be that, and three would be those,

yet hat in the plural would never be hose, and the plural of cat is cats, not cose.

We speak of a brother and also of brethren,

but though we say mother, we never say methren.

Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,

but imagine the feminine, she, shis and shim.

Answer 8

Because in many other languages verbs are even simpler. In Chinese you only ever have one verb form - be it in any tense or whoever is doing the verb, it's always the same. Also in Chinese, the word for 'he' and 'she' or 'his' and 'her' is exactly the same, they're just written slightly differently. Why would English be easier? If you're used to many verb forms then you expect them in the new language. Just accept that all languages are completely different - looking for too many similarities will only hinder your learning.