European English

Courtesy of 9gag.

How to Write Good

Cool Stuff: Each

I would just like to take a moment to sing the praises of the word each.  It is the only word that comes to my mind which encompasses the totality of a word like all yet maintains the individuality of those entities included in the "all."  The word every comes close to this, but it does not quite reach the level of separateness inherent within the whole that each so beautifully does.  While every hints that there is more to the all that unmitigated oneness, it still favors that oneness in its connotation; each maintains the oneness, but emphasizes the distinctness within.

So here's to you, each!

Things That Don't Make Sense In English: English

A good sampling of why English can be a wild ride sometimes!

Language Puns (Spanish): Aladdin

Things That Don't Make Sense In English: Could

This will be my first post in an ongoing "Things That Don't Make Sense" series that will address things that don't make sense in English, Spanish, Turkish, and any other language I stumble upon.

Right now I'd like to take a minute to address the word could.  I can't count the number of complaints I've gotten from students about this word.  Aside from the ridiculous pronunciation relative to its spelling (we really should be saying "kowld" or writing it kood or even kud), it just has too many meanings.

Can in an of itself is a strange word for people whose native language has regular conjugation, like Spanish.  For example: the verb poder, Spanish's version of can (or literally to be able):

puedo - I can
puedes - you can
puede - he/she/it can
podemos - we can
pueden - they can


Although poder is not quite as easy-peasy in its conjugation as other verbs due to stem changes, there is still a different conjugation for each subject that follows a regular pattern.  This may seem more complicated than English conjugation (or lack thereof) to native English speakers, since we tend to use one version of a verb for I, you, we, and they and only bother to add an -s or -es for he, she, and it:

I walk
you walk
he/she/it walks
we walk
they walk


But you may have noticed that English can't even be bothered with any conjugation when it comes to modal verbs, like can above -- it's the same for every subject!  Talk about lazy.


Things brings me to my next point, which also happens to be the future subject of a "Things That Don't Make Sense" post: the English past tense.  There is no conjugation whatsoever in this tense, which, again, may seem simple; and it might even have been simple if it weren't for all of the irregulars (hence the future post).  One of these irregulars is the very same can, which by the English "rule" should be canned in the past tense.  But nope!  That's too easy.  Although it is the same for every subject, the past tense of can is the nonsensical could.

As if its horrendous pronunciation and confusingly irregular conjugation weren't enough, could also functions as the CONDITIONAL version of can.  The sentence "I could just read for hours" may be referring to the real past or a hypothetical future, depending on the context: "When I was younger, I could just read for hours, but now that I'm older, my eyes get tired more quickly" versus "What shall I do with my day off?  I could go to the zoo, or I could just read for hours."  Is your could helping you to relate an anecdote or make a decision?  Context only knows...

For Spanish-speakers, this is even (slightly) more complicated, since there are two simple past tenses (preterite and imperfect).  Could is the translation for all subject forms of pudo, podía, and podría.  For Spanish-speaking students of English who have to constantly train their brains, eyes, ears, and tongues to acclamate to our more-exceptions-than-patterns-to-memorize language, it is particularly frustrating to have to remember that all three versions of a word actually only have one translation.

Of course the multifaceted nature of could could (see what I did there) also lend it to be the subject of fascination, awe, and appreciation.  While I do concede that it is a useful word (and I actually have a particular fondness for modal verbs), as my pondering this word has come of multiple complaints from non-native students and friends of mine about their frustrations with it, I stand in solidarity and dedicate this post to them!

What are your views on the word could and other irregular verbs and/or modals?

Es Que No Entender Esta Canción Es Inevitable

One of the most infamous differences between English and Spanish is the double-negative-that-really-means-single-negative: unacceptable in English, necessary in Spanish.  For example, "I don't have anything" in Spanish is "No tengo nada," which literally translates to "I don't have nothing."  There is no counterpart to anything in Spanish that is separate from the "negative" nada (nothing), which makes words like nada and nunca used the way English speakers us anything and ever as well as nothing and never.

Keeping this in mind, I bring to your attention Exhibit A: the song "Inevitable" by Dulce María.  The full lyrics to the song make it apparent that the singer is, in fact, falling in love with the addressee.  Lyrics such as "te quiero amar" ("I want to love you") and "Tu boca dice ven, tus besos dicen ven, Tus ojos me derriten, baby" ("Your mouth says come, your kisses say come, your eyes melt me, baby").

This is why one line in the chorus is particularly and frustratingly confusing to me:

"Es que no enamorarme de ti es inevitable"

Which translates to:

"(The thing is that) me not falling in love with you is inevitable"

Personally, this lyric gets under my skin.  I am used to "No tengo nada" ("I don't have anything") and "No lo haré nunca," ("I won't ever do it"), but "Me falling in love with you is inevitable" should be "Enamorarme de ti es inevitable."  Now, if inevitable (same spelling and meaning though different pronunciation in English) is considered a "negative" word in Spanish like nada or nunca, this might seem to fit under the Spanish double-negative-that-really-means-single-negative safety, making the actual translation "Me falling in love with you is inevitable," which is what makes sense in the context of the song.  However, similar sentences with this same structure would mean exactly the opposite because they leave the double negative meaning intact: "Es imposible no hacerlo" means "It's impossible not to do it," whereas following the logic of the "inevitable" lyric it should mean "It's impossible to do it."

The kicker is, in another context, the same lyric can be understood to mean "Me falling in love with you is not inevitable," i.e. "I am never/not necessarily going to fall in love with you."  Although native Spanish-speakers (at least the ones I have consulted) know which meaning to infer, it is by the context, and the interpretation could go either way to the native ear depending on that context.  But in this song, the singer NOT falling in love inevitably just doesn't make sense.  

So my questions are: is inevitable a "negative" word like nada or nunca?  Is imposible?  Is context the sole determiner here, or is this actually just lazy grammar?  Could "No hacerlo es imposible" mean "Doing it is impossible," or "No hacerlo es inevitable" mean "Doing it is inevitable," as opposed to their negative counterparts?  Native speakers and non-native speakers -- what are your thoughts on this subject?