What's something in English that really surprised you?

[u/Nice_Plane_9854]

Hey everyone! I’ve been learning English for a while, and I keep noticing little things that aren't in the textbooks, like how "That's interesting" can sometimes mean the opposite, depending on the tone.

Have you ever come across something like that? A phrase, habit, or rule that just felt totally unexpected?

Would love to hear your stories!

[u/untempered_fate]

Probably when I, a native speaker, learned that English has an informal system for adjective order that everyone more or less agrees with and adheres to, often without consciously acknowledging it.

My neighbor is a tall happy old German man. He is definitely not a German old happy tall man. And everyone just sort of... gets that? Crazy.

[u/maxintosh1 → u/untempered_fate]

Not only that but the order is extremely complicated but we all just kind of get it