Unlike mathematics or physics, grammar lacks universal laws. Languages around the world evolve on their own terms, shaped by centuries of history, culture, and communication. English is a hybrid language with a global reach, resulting in a unique set of “rules,” many of which are borrowed, but a few of which are unique. Not only does English defy adjective order expectations, but it also mashes together seemingly unrelated words to form phrasal verbs. Additionally, English’s lack of consistent article usage and odd attachment to the word “do” is enough to make any non-native English speaker scratch their head in confusion. Here are some standout grammar features that are uniquely English.
English is fond of forming questions using the word “do” in contexts where “do” lacks a specific meaning. This phenomenon is known as “do-support” because the only role of “do” is to create a question, as in, “Do you like coffee?” (This also applies to conjugations of “do,” including “does.”) In some languages, such as Mandarin Chinese, questions (especially “yes/no” formats) are formed by tone alone, not by the addition of an auxiliary verb, such as “do.” Even in English, we could casually ask, “You like coffee?” with an inflection at the end so the listener knows it’s a question.
Many other languages, including European languages, forgo “do” and form questions by inverting the subject and verb. A French speaker, for instance, would ask, “Aimez-vous le café?” — which translates directly to “Like you the coffee?” A French version of “Does he want cake for his birthday?” wouldn’t directly translate each word. Instead, one might say, “Veut-il un gâteau pour son anniversaire?” (“Want he a cake for his birthday?”). While this version might sound unnatural to English speakers, we’re in the minority when it comes to question structure.
While most languages require articles for all nouns (and gendered ones at that), English allows for no article usage. For example, an English sentence that reads, “I like music,” would be written as “Me gusta la música” (“I like the music”) in Spanish. In most languages, even general categories such as “music” require articles. Here, the noun música requires the feminine article la (“the”).
English has three general article usage rules. First, “a” or “an” is used for countable nouns whose identities are not known or are just being introduced, as in, “I went to a concert last weekend.” Second, “the” is used for countable and noncountable nouns with known identities, as in, “It was the second time I’ve seen them play.” Third, categories and noncount nouns (such as “coffee” or “air”) generally do not require an article. Most other languages require all things to have an article based on whether the word is feminine or masculine, as seen in la vs. el in Spanish.
Most languages place adjectives after nouns, but English does things differently by placing them before nouns, and in a particular order. This is why we say “red apple” and “blue sky” instead of “apple red” and “sky blue.” There is also a specific order for English adjectives: determiner, opinion, physical description (size, shape, age, color), origin, material, qualifier, and then the noun. Consider these correctly ordered phrases: “that charming, tiny, square, antique, teal, Moroccan, stone jewelry box” and “a lovely, big, round, old, blue, Italian, ceramic serving bowl.” Shift any of those adjectives and see if they still sound correct to you — we bet they don’t.
Commas and adjectives are their own can of worms, but a good rule of thumb to follow is if you can put “and” between the adjectives and it still makes sense, there should be a comma.
Other languages handle adjectives differently, often placing them after the noun they describe, as in “una mela rossa” (“an apple red”) in Italian. In some languages (including Italian), a select few adjectives are sometimes written before a noun, such as bello (“beautiful”) or buono (“good”), but those are the exception, not the rule.
English relies heavily on phrasal verbs, though they change verb meanings unpredictably. For example, “blow up” (synonymous with “explode”) has a different definition from the individual words “blow” and “up.” These quirky constructions usually include a polysemous verb (a word with many meanings) and a particle (a preposition or small adverb). Common examples include “break down,” “get up,” “hold on,” “shut off,” and “throw away.”
Other languages usually use one verb instead of a phrasal verb. For instance, “blow up” takes the form of the German sprengen and the Korean pogpahada (폭파하다). This is not to say that other languages don’t use the occasional phrasal verb, but they aren’t a common feature. Because of this, they’re one of the most challenging aspects for non-native English speakers to learn.
Understanding this practice and other English grammar norms helps learners navigate the intricacies and rule-breaking characteristics of English.
More from our network
Word Smarts is part of Optimism, which publishes content that uplifts, informs, and inspires.
