English is so boring?

English is so boring?

Hi guys I'm Nouhaila from Speaking English With Nouha . You've been learning English for a while now, so I'm sure at some point you thought: English is so boring!

Probably a lot of times!

Today, let's move on. What annoys you about English? Let's talk about it.

English is so boring?

English is annoying. There are complicated rules, and then there are no rules, there is the exception to the rule. Oh yes, and then there's another exception. Then there are all the silent letters. And vowels that produce completely different sounds.

English is so boring?

1. There is not only one English!

Yes, English is important, it is the language of the Internet, of business, it is spoken all over the world, but it is not universal. There is not a single type of English, is there? American English and British English, Australian English, Irish English, South African English, New Zealand English.

We use different vocabulary and slang expressions and, of course, we have different accents. I mean, Americans even use different spelling and grammar rules, and some differences are minimal, such as small changes in spelling or pronunciation.

Some words are completely different, as my rider is called "pull" in the United States. And some words, although they exist in both types of English but they mean totally different things, as if they were a string in Australia, right? But in the United States and other countries, it's a thong.

To learn and understand these differences, you have to talk to real people, right? I mean, it's nice to use language applications to learn vocabulary, but to develop your confidence as an English speaker and to use these conversation skills, well, you really need to do it with people, right?

2. exceptions

Well then another boring part about English. There are many good grammar rules, but then there are also exceptions, right?

How many times have you heard an English teacher say, "Yes, that's the rule, with a few exceptions.

For example, the rule for adding -ing at the end of a word that ends with an E is that you delete the E and add -ing.

caring
believing

Oh, except the canoe. Or dyeing either.

Well, what about this one?

For the recipe, you must add one and a half cups of milk. And then you have to add two and a half cups of sugar.

Now ask any English speaker why we don't say "two and a half cups".

They'll say: I don't know, it sounds a little weird. Just don't say it.

What?! "It looks weird" is not a rule, what are you supposed to do with it?

3. English doesn't look like what it looks like

Now, it's annoying that English doesn't sound like it looks like.

Tough
Though
Thought
Thorough
Through

All these words have the same letters in the middle. So they should at least have the same vowel sound, right? Wrong! Wrong!

Each of these words has a different vowel sound. And although it's really boring, the English language has a really fascinating word story. Throughout its history. We have words that come from all over the world.

Now, the English words are derived from the Germanic languages: Latin, French, Greek and several other languages and dialects. And over time, words have been added or modified, perhaps lost and then replaced, but the result is that there are many strangely spelled English words. Like:

quiche
hiccough
draught
Wednesday
receipt

Some words have silent letters that have been pronounced, but are no longer pronounced. And the pronunciation of some of these words has changed over time. But spelling rules are not, so they don't really make sense anymore. And other words have been borrowed from other languages such as "cappuccino" from Italian or "champagne" from French, and the spelling has not changed to reflect English pronunciation.

In fact, the reason there are two English spelling standards, British English and American English, is that the Americans have finally decided to simplify the spelling of English words in an attempt to simplify it a little less. So you can thank Noah Webster for that.

Now, if spelling and pronunciation are not frustrating enough, then there are homonyms, a whole class of words that sound the same. They may look alike, but they are actually completely different words. And it is only the context of the sentence and sometimes the spelling only makes it possible to know which word is used.

4. Prepositions

Prepositions are definitely boring.

I get on my bike.
I get into my bed.
She’s on the bus.
She’s in the car.
We hop off the bus.
We get out of the car.

The English prepositions are really annoying. A preposition can have several different meanings depending on the context. And the rules are not always very clear. And there are many exceptions with regard to prepositions in English. In addition, it is very likely that the preposition rules in English will be slightly different from those you would use in your own language. Quite often, they don't just translate between languages, do they?

5. Phrasal Verbs

Prepositions are now also part of particle verbs. And it's quite a "boring problem with English, isn't it?

Thus, you have learned that "to take" is a verb that means to seize or remove something from a place. You have also learned the basic definitions of many prepositions. And as you know, particle verbs are usually a combination of a verb and a preposition. And the meaning of a verb in the phrasal is different from the meaning of the verb alone. Particle verbs must therefore be memorized, as they are often very difficult to guess, even in their context.

I’m going to take off now.
I need to take in the waist of my pants a few inches.

But you can’t take off the waist of your pants.

You can take off your pants.
And you can take up the hem of your pants.

But you can’t take up your pants, you have to pull them up, right?

Thus, sometimes, a single verb in the phrasal can have more than one meaning, which makes them even more annoying.

So let's move on for now. If you want to consult my reading list on phrasal verbs, it's here. Lots, go ahead.

I'm exhausted now, but there are so many other reasons why English is annoying. Can you think of yourself?

The formality is not clear in English. We do not use specific pronouns to show the formality. We use certain sentences and grammatical structures to show the formality. You must learn them separately.

Syllabic stress is also annoying. The same exact letters can be pronounced in a completely different way, minute by minute. Very, very small.

So, at this point, you really want to like strangling English, don't you? Or strangle your English teacher!

Okay, moaning enough now, we evacuated, right? We have our frustration with our breasts. And it's incredibly impressive to think how much you've already learned the English language. Yes, there will always be room for improvement, but the task is difficult and you are moving forward.

Now, I want to know, what do you like to learn English? I also want to hear about this in the comments, I want to know how much you enjoy learning English. And if there are English teachers, I would also like to hear from you. Are there any questions you receive from your students that completely confuse you? Or are there subjects you absolutely hate teaching? Because they simply don't make much sense and are really frustrating for your students. I look forward to reading some of these comments.

English is so boring?

thank you for reading this, if you enjoyed the lesson say Hi in the comments and if you have any question or suggestion to the next lesson put them in the comments and I’m gonna answer to all of your questions

See you soon in some new lesson.