10 Confusing Grammar Rules for ESL Students (Updated for 2025)
English grammar can be tricky, especially for ESL (English as a Second Language) learners. Some rules seem to break themselves, while others just don’t follow logic.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, you’re not alone.
Here are 10 confusing grammar rules that often trip up ESL students—explained simply with examples to help make sense of them.
1. Irregular Past Tense Verbs
Not all verbs form the past tense by adding -ed.
✅ I go to school every day.
❌ Yesterday, I goed to school.
✅ Yesterday, I went to school.
Why it’s confusing: Most verbs follow a pattern, but irregular verbs don’t. There’s no rule—just memorization.
2. “I” vs. “Me”
✅ John and I went to the store.
❌ Me and John went to the store.
✅ She gave the book to John and me.
Why it’s confusing: “I” is used as the subject, while “me” is used as the object. When both appear in the same sentence, many native speakers still get this wrong.
3. Subject-Verb Agreement with Indefinite Pronouns
✅ Everybody is happy.
❌ Everybody are happy.
Why it’s confusing: Words like “everybody,” “someone,” and “nobody” feel plural, but they’re grammatically singular.
4. The Oxford Comma
✅ I love my parents, Lady Gaga, and Humpty Dumpty.
Without the Oxford comma: I love my parents, Lady Gaga and Humpty Dumpty.
Why it’s confusing: The last example could sound like your parents are Lady Gaga and Humpty Dumpty.
5. “Fewer” vs. “Less”
✅ Fewer apples, less water.
❌ Less apples, fewer water.
Why it’s confusing: Use “fewer” for countable items and “less” for uncountable ones. Easy to mix up!
6. Double Negatives
❌ I don’t know nothing.
✅ I don’t know anything.
Why it’s confusing: In many languages, double negatives are acceptable or even required. In English, they usually cancel each other out.
7. Prepositions at the End of Sentences
✅ This is the book I told you about.
Traditional: This is the book about which I told you.
Why it’s confusing: Grammatically, ending with a preposition used to be frowned upon—but it’s now widely accepted in casual speech.
8. The Order of Adjectives
✅ A beautiful small old Italian leather handbag.
❌ A leather old beautiful small Italian handbag.
Why it’s confusing: Native speakers follow a specific adjective order (opinion, size, age, origin, material, noun) without realizing it.
9. “Who” vs. “Whom”
✅ Who is coming to the party?
✅ To whom should I send the invite?
Why it’s confusing: “Who” is the subject; “whom” is the object. Many native speakers just use “who” all the time.
10. Conditional Sentences
✅ If I were you, I would study more.
❌ If I was you, I would study more.
Why it’s confusing: Subjunctive mood (used for unreal or hypothetical situations) requires “were” instead of “was” after “if.”
Final Thoughts
English grammar has its quirks, but with time and practice with native English speakers, the confusing rules become second nature. Don’t get discouraged—every native speaker once learned these too! Bookmark this post and revisit it when you’re unsure. Practice and context are your best teachers.
