here’s some I’ve noticed:
- Why do we have articles? They’re mostly useless.
- Why do capital letters exist? (this is mainly an issue with the Greek and Latin alphabet though)
- Why is “I” used plural for verbs?
- Why are there so many inconsistent prefixes for tenses?
- 's is used for possessives. However, “its” is the possessive and “it’s” is not.
- Why do we have another set of pronouns for possessive pronouns?
- Why do adjectives go before the noun compared to basically every other language?
In response to yours:
\1. They’re super useful. “I don’t want this spoon, I want that spoon.”
\2. To make text more readable.
\4. Because English is a mutt of a language, Germanic grammar and common words with Latin, French, and Greek chunks stirred in and a sprinkle of everything else.
\6. Like your article complaint, hardly unique to English. Spanish does both as well.
\7. Better for both building suspense and for poetry.
Things that annoy me: When one letter makes multiple sounds, or when you need to use multiple letters together to denote a sound.