{"id":326,"date":"2021-05-24T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-05-24T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/?p=326"},"modified":"2021-06-11T15:45:05","modified_gmt":"2021-06-11T08:45:05","slug":"so-why-is-english-so-difficult","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/en\/so-why-is-english-so-difficult\/","title":{"rendered":"So, Why is English So Difficult?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As an online English school, we know firsthand how difficult it is to learn the world\u2019s most popular second language. Anyone who\u2019s spent any time learning the language knows that confusing grammar rules and illogical spellings are everywhere: but there\u2019s absolutely no reason to be afraid of learning English. Just because something is complicated doesn\u2019t mean that it\u2019s impossible or even difficult: all you need is the right teacher (by the way, we might be able to direct you toward some online English classes that would be perfect for you!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Inconsistent Rules<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The rule \u201ci before e, except after c\u201d tends to be true, but not always. You see this rule working in words like \u201c Interestingly, lots of words disobey this rule, and there\u2019s a lot of debate in the English teaching community <a href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/words-at-play\/i-before-e-except-after-c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">about whether or not it can even be called a rule<\/a>. Some of the words that don\u2019t follow \u201ci before e\u201d include \u201cseize,\u201d \u201cneighbor,\u201d and \u201cprotein.\u201d Another example is the word \u201cweird,\u201d which clearly disobeys the rule because, well, it\u2019s weird.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Irregular Verbs<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most present tense verbs can be turned into past tense by simply adding \u201ced.\u201d Most of them. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.worddy.co\/en\/list-of-irregular-verbs-english\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The ones that don\u2019t are called \u201cirregular verbs.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unfortunately, some of the ones that don\u2019t follow this rule are among the most commonly used verbs in the language, including \u201cto go,\u201d \u201cto be able to,\u201d and the notoriously difficult verb \u201cto be,\u201d which has its own special rules:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>Present Tense<\/strong><br><strong><br><\/strong>I <strong>am<\/strong><br>You <strong>are<\/strong><br>He, she, or it <strong>is<\/strong><br>We <strong>are<\/strong><br>They <strong>are<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-center\" data-align=\"center\"><strong>Past Tense<\/strong><br><strong><br><\/strong>I <strong>was<\/strong><br>You <strong>were<\/strong><br>He, she, or it <strong>was<\/strong><br>We <strong>were<\/strong><br>They <strong>were<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><figcaption>Present and Past Tenses of &#8220;To Be.&#8221;<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Notice how none of those conjugations look anything like the word \u201cbe.\u201d Confusing, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Learning the conjugations of these verbs is a rite of passage for people learning English, and really only gets easier with serious practice. Luckily, we\u2019re happy to help!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Homophones<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A \u201cbear\u201d is a big, furry, honey-loving animal. \u201cBare\u201d means \u201cnot covered,\u201d as in not wearing clothes. These words are spelled differently and mean different things: but frustratingly for many, they sound exactly the same. Words like these are called \u201chomophones,\u201d and English is full of them. Our online English classes identify the most common ones, and help you practice them so you don\u2019t write a word meaning \u201cnaked\u201d when you actually mean \u201cbear!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Synonyms That Stay Put<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are a lot of words that mean the same thing in English; it\u2019s one of the things that makes it such a good language for creative expression. However, using the \u201cwrong\u201d word in a phrase will confuse people even if the word means the same thing. Here\u2019s an example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I watched T.V. with my brother last night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I saw T.V. with my brother last night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSaw\u201d and \u201cwatched\u201d mean the same thing, but native English speakers know that only one of them is the correct choice when it comes to <em>watching<\/em> T.V.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>English can be confusing! That\u2019s why Verbalize Now was created. We can help you land the job of your dreams with our <a href=\"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">online business English classes<\/a>, or simply help you learn how to hold a conversation with an English-speaking friend. Whatever the reason, we\u2019re here when you need us!\u00a0<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As an online English school, we know firsthand how difficult it is to learn the world\u2019s most popular second language. Anyone who\u2019s spent any time learning the language knows that confusing grammar rules and illogical spellings are everywhere: but there\u2019s absolutely no reason to be afraid of learning English. Just because something is complicated doesn\u2019t [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":327,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>So, Why is English So Difficult? - Verbalize Now<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/en\/so-why-is-english-so-difficult\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"So, Why is English So Difficult? - Verbalize Now\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As an online English school, we know firsthand how difficult it is to learn the world\u2019s most popular second language. Anyone who\u2019s spent any time learning the language knows that confusing grammar rules and illogical spellings are everywhere: but there\u2019s absolutely no reason to be afraid of learning English. Just because something is complicated doesn\u2019t [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/en\/so-why-is-english-so-difficult\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Verbalize Now\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-05-24T15:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-06-11T08:45:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/verbalizenow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/sebastian-herrmann-jzTQVxCyKYs-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ryan Mason\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ryan Mason\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/so-why-is-english-so-difficult\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/so-why-is-english-so-difficult\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ryan Mason\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3357d977fccda8358844346d0c4621d2\"},\"headline\":\"So, Why is English So Difficult?\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-05-24T15:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-06-11T08:45:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/so-why-is-english-so-difficult\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":566,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/so-why-is-english-so-difficult\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/sebastian-herrmann-jzTQVxCyKYs-unsplash-scaled.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"English\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/so-why-is-english-so-difficult\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/so-why-is-english-so-difficult\\\/\",\"name\":\"So, Why is English So Difficult? - Verbalize Now\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/so-why-is-english-so-difficult\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/so-why-is-english-so-difficult\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/sebastian-herrmann-jzTQVxCyKYs-unsplash-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-05-24T15:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-06-11T08:45:05+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/so-why-is-english-so-difficult\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/so-why-is-english-so-difficult\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/so-why-is-english-so-difficult\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/sebastian-herrmann-jzTQVxCyKYs-unsplash-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/05\\\/sebastian-herrmann-jzTQVxCyKYs-unsplash-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"Frustrated man learning English\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/so-why-is-english-so-difficult\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"So, Why is English So Difficult?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Verbalize Now\",\"description\":\"Voc\u00ea aprende falando!\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Verbalize Now\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i1.wp.com\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/Logo-Verbalize-Now-100x100-1.png?fit=100%2C100&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i1.wp.com\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/Logo-Verbalize-Now-100x100-1.png?fit=100%2C100&ssl=1\",\"width\":100,\"height\":100,\"caption\":\"Verbalize Now\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/verbalizenow\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/verbalizenow\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/3357d977fccda8358844346d0c4621d2\",\"name\":\"Ryan Mason\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/site-ryan2.png\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/site-ryan2.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/02\\\/site-ryan2.png\",\"caption\":\"Ryan Mason\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/verbalizenow.com\\\/en\\\/author\\\/litaryan\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"So, Why is English So Difficult? - Verbalize Now","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/en\/so-why-is-english-so-difficult\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"So, Why is English So Difficult? - Verbalize Now","og_description":"As an online English school, we know firsthand how difficult it is to learn the world\u2019s most popular second language. Anyone who\u2019s spent any time learning the language knows that confusing grammar rules and illogical spellings are everywhere: but there\u2019s absolutely no reason to be afraid of learning English. Just because something is complicated doesn\u2019t [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/en\/so-why-is-english-so-difficult\/","og_site_name":"Verbalize Now","article_published_time":"2021-05-24T15:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-06-11T08:45:05+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/verbalizenow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/sebastian-herrmann-jzTQVxCyKYs-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Ryan Mason","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ryan Mason","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/so-why-is-english-so-difficult\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/so-why-is-english-so-difficult\/"},"author":{"name":"Ryan Mason","@id":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3357d977fccda8358844346d0c4621d2"},"headline":"So, Why is English So Difficult?","datePublished":"2021-05-24T15:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-06-11T08:45:05+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/so-why-is-english-so-difficult\/"},"wordCount":566,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/so-why-is-english-so-difficult\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/sebastian-herrmann-jzTQVxCyKYs-unsplash-scaled.jpg","articleSection":["English"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/so-why-is-english-so-difficult\/","url":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/so-why-is-english-so-difficult\/","name":"So, Why is English So Difficult? - Verbalize Now","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/so-why-is-english-so-difficult\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/so-why-is-english-so-difficult\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/sebastian-herrmann-jzTQVxCyKYs-unsplash-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2021-05-24T15:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-06-11T08:45:05+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/so-why-is-english-so-difficult\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/so-why-is-english-so-difficult\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/so-why-is-english-so-difficult\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/sebastian-herrmann-jzTQVxCyKYs-unsplash-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/sebastian-herrmann-jzTQVxCyKYs-unsplash-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707,"caption":"Frustrated man learning English"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/so-why-is-english-so-difficult\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"So, Why is English So Difficult?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/","name":"Verbalize Now","description":"Voc\u00ea aprende falando!","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/#organization","name":"Verbalize Now","url":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/verbalizenow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Logo-Verbalize-Now-100x100-1.png?fit=100%2C100&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/verbalizenow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/Logo-Verbalize-Now-100x100-1.png?fit=100%2C100&ssl=1","width":100,"height":100,"caption":"Verbalize Now"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/verbalizenow\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/verbalizenow\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/#\/schema\/person\/3357d977fccda8358844346d0c4621d2","name":"Ryan Mason","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/site-ryan2.png","url":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/site-ryan2.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/site-ryan2.png","caption":"Ryan Mason"},"url":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/en\/author\/litaryan\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=326"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":488,"href":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326\/revisions\/488"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/verbalizenow.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}