Let Possibility Be Your English Language Grammar Guide

The connection between physical possibility and grammar came up recently while playing the NYT Spelling Bee game. The object of the game is to create words using seven letters. While playing the game, we discovered a “category” of words that always caught us off guard. That category contains verbs where you can’t use the prefix “un” but “un” as a prefix makes sense for the adjective derived from the verb. For example, in the puzzle, we would get “uncooked” and then pause for a second wondering why “uncook” wasn’t acceptable. 

In English (and I’m sure there are exceptions!), we don’t use “un” before the following verbs when there is another word that expresses the idea, and when it doesn’t make sense in terms of being physically possible to do the reverse of the verb. Think of the classic physics problem of the cup of coffee smashing to the floor: reversing the process is not possible (or better to say probable).

• bake, unbake (don’t bake), unbaked
• cook, uncook (don’t cook, raw), uncooked
• discover, undiscover, undiscovered
• remember, unremember (forget), unremembered
• break, unbreak, unbroken
• boil, unboil, unboiled
• play, unplay, unplayed
• live, unlive (die), unlived
• sit, unsit (stand)
• Others: break, expect, melt, own seek, smile, sleep.

You can’t uncook, unboil, or unmelt something. These actions would not be physically possible (or again, not very probable). But you could have an uncooked meal, an unboiled egg, or unmelted chocolate. using the adjectives derived from the verbs.

However, you can use “un” as a prefix with verbs when the reverse action makes sense physically.

• freeze, unfreeze, unfrozen
• thaw, unthaw (use thaw), unthawed (use thawed)
• peel, unpeel, unpeeled
• wrap, unwrap, unwrapped
• coil, uncoil, uncoiled
• do, undo, undone
• wrap, unwrap, unwrapped
• screw, unscrew, unscrewed
• fasten, unfasten, unfastened
• mask, unmask, unmasked
• bend, unbend, unbent
• cover, uncover, uncovered
• dress, undress, undressed
• Others: lock, leash, load, plug, tie, wind

Also, there are recent additions from social media:

• follow, unfollow, unfollowed
• like, unlike, unliked
• friend, unfriend, unfriended
• watch, unwatch, unwatched

References:

• adjectives - How productive is the verb prefix "un-"? - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange 
• meaning - Prefixes for the opposite of "perishable": unperishable, non-perishable, imperishable - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange 
• The Un-Believable Un-Verb : Word Routes : Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus
• Static and Dynamic Verbs

Street Sign Language Lesson XLII - Lamentations

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In this 42nd episode of Street Sign Language Lesson, we deal with signs that take a little work to understand. As usual, Italians write these signs in all caps, see Lo Stampatello: How Italians Write. Stop screaming at us, okay?

[1] AFFRETTASI – CHE CASA VUOI DI PIÙ?
“Hurry up – what more do you want as a house?”

A satirical (?) sign that works at a few levels. Affrettarsi means to hurry up and it looks exactly like a sign used for renting a house, written as affittasi. So, in that sense it’s absurd because the sign is on a telephone booth. And, telephone booths like this are never used these days so the sign is likely a commentary on the difficulty in finding housing and a commentary on abandoned places in Italy. See the sfitto signs below.

[2] ASPETTA IL VERDE
“Wait for the green (light)”

We saw this sign in a car wash. Yes mom, we have carwashes in Italy.

[3] CERCASI CAMERIERA/E - MEGLIO SE CON ESPERIENZA, MEGLIO SE PERSONE ASIATICHE.
“Wanted waiter – preferably with experience, preferably Asian.”

Not sure you’d see this sign in a restaurant in the US. CERCASI is like AFFITTASI in that you see them in signs wanting or advertising something. In this case, it's passive as in "a waiter is wanted" or "a house is for rent".

[4] L’ECO DI BERGAMO NUOCE GRAVEMENTE ALLA SALUTE
“The Eco di Bergamo seriously harms your health”

We saw this sign at the NATO IDGZ Station at Dosso dei Galli. For more information about that visit, see the post A Visit to ACE High - NATO IDGZ Station at Dosso dei Galli, Brescia Italy. The author clearly has a beef with the Bergamo-based newspaper L’Eco di Bergamo. He/she uses the verb nuocere – to harm or damage.

L’Eco di Bergamo was founded in 1880, with ownership majority-controlled by the Curia of Bergamo (Diocese of Bergamo) and following a centrist line, close to the Catholic Church.

[5] PASSO CANTO ALTO. PASSO DEL FURBINO. PASSO’ UN CRETINO.
“Canto Alto Pass. Footprint of the sly one. A jerk passed by.”

This sign was spotted hiking around Canto Alto (see keyword canto alto). The creator of this sign is mad – rightfully so – that someone left trash on the trail. The sign uses different senses of the word passo. “Passo” as in a mountain pass, “passo” as footprint, and “passò” (passato remoto of passare) as in the person passed by this location.

[6] PER SCARICARE: SE FATE PIPÌ - PREMERE PULSANTE PER QUALCHE SEC. SE FATE ALTRO – MEZZO SECCHIO ACQUA!

“To flush: If you pee – press the button for a few seconds. If it’s something else – a half bucket of water!“ 

This was seen at Rifugio F.A.L.C. (see A Hike to Pizzo Tre Signori and Rifugio F.A.L.C.) where the toilet needed to be explained. 

[7] SI PREGA DI CHIUDERE IL CANCELLO – SENZA SBATTERE – GRAZIE.
“Please close the gate - without slamming it - thank you.

Can we just say thanks for mentioning “no slamming”.

 

 

[8] SFITTO N17. SFITTO N18.
"Vacant number 17. Vacant number 18."

We had to look up the word sfitto when we saw this. This “graffiti” is a performance piece from the Venetian artist Freak of Nature. The performance is meant to raise awareness about abandoned shops in the city center.

The artist painted her trademark green strokes resembling bamboo on empty store fronts. Color us not impressed and thanks a lot FON because now we’ll have to stare at green eyesores for 10 years. 

Travelmarx Music Picks - Fall 2023 - Grab Bag

Composite image of 25 albums featured in the Travelmarx Fall 2023 playlist.

It’s a grab bag for the Travelmarx Fall 2023 playlist. The oldest song in the playlist goes back to 1967 with Brigitte Bardot’s “Contact”. The newest song is Huw Marc Bennett’s “Y Gwydd” released in the summer of 2023. Enjoy! Spotify playlist.


Baxter Dury – “Celebrate Me”
Young Fathers – “Rice”
Holy Hive – “Ain't that the Way”
King Hannah – “All Being Fine”
Sure Sure – “Lonely One”


Motor City Drum Ensemble – “Again (Scratch 22 Remix) - Mixed”
Wildcookie, Anthony Mills, Freddie Cruger – “Serious Drug”
Huw Marc Bennett – “Y Gwydd”
Meltt – “Blossoms”
A Decade Deeper (Mexican Summer) – Tonstartssbandht – “Livin’ in Hope”

Michael Nau – “No Quit”
Anchorsong – Salamanda – “Windmills (Salamanda Remix)”
Sudan Archives – “Selfish Soul"
Brigitte Bardot – "Contact”

Juniore – “Les héros de Barbès”


Jonathan Wilson – “Charlie Parker”
Kishi Bashi – “Winter's Eve”
The Mango Furs – “Got Me Floating”
Angelo De Augustine – “The Ballad of Betty and Barney Hill”
Nick Waterhouse – “Looking for a Place”


The Saxophones – “Boy Crazy”
Jaguar Jaguar – “So Long”
Peggy Gou – “(It Goes Like) Nanana”
Michael Kiwanuka – “One More Night”
The Last Shadow Puppets – “My Mistakes Were Made for You”

Street Sign Language Lesson XLI – Animals

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This 41st edition of Street Sign Language lesson is all about animals: cats, dogs, pigeons, deer, foxes, and mosquitoes (they are in the animal kingdom).

[1] CERTE MACCHIE LASCIANO IL SEGNO. LASCIAMO IL VERDE DEL SUO COLORE.

“Certain spots leave their mark. Let’s leave green its color.” 

The share of households in Italy owning at least one dog is 25% according to statista.com. (According to that statistic, the country with the highest ownership: Poland at almost 50% of households.)  The Animalidacompagnia.it says about 40% of Italians families have a pet and about 50% are dogs, or 20% in the ballpark of the other number. 

In Bergamo, with the large number of signs and notices aimed at dog owners, you might think the number of dog owners would be greater than 20-25%. But bad behavior doesn’t require large numbers. 

[2] E’ BUONA EDUCAZIONE PULIRE DOVE IL PROPRIO CANE SPORCA!

“It’s common courtesy to clean where you dog has gone to the bathroom.”

See?  Another dog-related sign in Bergamo. Honestly, Bergamo is a clean city and dog-poop isn’t a huge problem. Maybe the dog owners are reading the signs?  

[3] Mi sono smarrito in zone Monterosso, ho 6 anni, sono bianco e crema, ho gli occhi azzurrissimi, segno particolare: naso a pois neri.  Non cercate di prendermi ho molta paura.

“I got lost in Monterosso. I am 6 years old. I am white and cream colored. I have very blue eyes. A distinguishing mark: black polka dot nose. Don’t try to catch me, I’m really scared.” 

Finally, something about cats. You never see signs lamenting bad cat behavior. Just lost cats like this one. Love the naso a pois neri or “polka dot nose”. Monterosso is a neighborhood of Bergamo. 

  

[4] NO CIBO! NON DARMI CIBO! PER ME É NOCIVO! 

“No food! Don’t feed me! For me, it’s harmful!” 

We saw this sign on a hike in Tuscany. See Hike to the Source of the Arno River and Lago degli Idoli (Lake of the Idols).  The interesting word here is nocivo – noxious or harmful. 

NO CIBO! NON TOCCARMI! NON PREMDERMI! NON SONO ABBANDONATO. LA MIA MAMMA É NELLE VICINANZE. 

“No food! Don’t touch me! Don’t take me! I’m not abandoned. My mother is nearby.” 

On that same hike, this sign as well.  Just leave these animals alone! Interesting phrase here nelle vicinanze or “nearby”.  

[5] IN QUESTO LUOGO SI SVOLGE IL PIANO DI CONTENIMENTO DELLE COLONIE DI COLOMBI 

“In this area, a containment plan for pigeon colonies is underway.” 

Back in Bergamo and now we are dealing with pigeons. A friend once tried to convince us of the intelligence of pigeons. We were not swayed. A piano di continemento or “containment plan” is underway in this park.  Please don’t bring your old loaves of bread here and feed the pigeons. Make breadcrumbs instead and use sprinkled over pasta (ground finely) or over salads. 

[6] Viaggiare con gli animali. SONO AMMESSI A BORDO CANI DI TUTTE LE TAGLIE SOLO SE PROVVISTI DI MUSERUOLA, GUINZAGLIO E IDONEO DOCUMENTO DI VIAGGIO. 

“Travelling with animals. Dogs of all sizes are allowed aboard only if they have a muzzle, leash, and a valid travel document.” 

We saw this sign on the San Vigilio funicular in Bergamo. Interesting words here are museruola or “muzzle” and guinzaglio or “leash”. 

[7] VIETATO DARE DA MANGIARE AI DAINI

“It’s forbidden to feed the fallow deer.” 

More well-meaning people trying to feed animals, this time at Monte Poieto. The deer in question are fallow deer, a deer native to parts of Europe. These deer were in a large pen. Fallow refers to the pale brown color of this species. 

[8] Zanzara Tigre. Per un’estate senza noia, il tuo aiuto è fondamentale per non subire l’invasione della tigre. 

“Zanzara tigre. For a summer without issues, your help is essential for undergo an invasion of the tiger mosquito.” 

The zanzara tigre is Aedes albopictus or the tiger mosquito. The interesting term in this sign seen in Bergamo is senza noia, which translated directly means without boredom, literally. But it’s the figurative sense of noia here that makes sense as “without issues”.