996: Exceptions are Universal Aug 31, 2017

The English language has a great deal of exceptions in the way that words are formed and arranged, which will be true of almost any general rule people might make. It can be frustrating for sure, but this is going to be the case in every language, both in descriptive rules, which reflect on how language is used, such as "adding '-er' to a verb makes it a noun indicating the agent of said verb", and prescriptive rules, which try to force people to speak in a certain way, such as "don't end a prepositional phrase with a preposition". Indeed, even Latin—the language which provided the base for many prescriptive rules in English—would have just as many exceptions. The only languages that will not have exceptions to rules nor irregular forms—such as the conjugation of 'to be'—are ones that are invented, such as Esperanto, though some people who make up languages will include exceptions and irregulars in order to give the illusion of being authentic and natural. Given enough time, and given enough use, Esperanto will also develop exceptions to its rules, as that is one of the many ways languages evolve.