For me, the weird thing in English is the use of "it" to designated animals, from my cultural frame it's like giving them an object status. The other "weird" thing is the verb "to be" designating our "ser" (which point to the essence or identity of something or someone) and our "estar" which philosophically speaking it points more to accidental, it points out the "state" of a person or an object. So, for us being ill as a state it's different as an identity. In both cases, I know how to use them but I feel weird using it as such.