The Two ‘Haves’ of Irish: Possession as a State
Unlike English, the Irish language doesn't have a single verb for "to have." Instead, to say "I have a book", you say `Tá leabhar agam`, which literally means "A book…
Tag: alienable possession
How to Own Without ‘Have’: The Be-Languages
In languages like English, you 'have' a book. But in Russian, Irish, or Turkish, you would say "to me there is a book". This fundamental grammatical difference explores the world…
My Hand, My Self: Inalienable Grammar
In English, you can talk about "a hand" as a detached object. But in many languages, the rules of grammar forbid this, forcing you to say *whose* hand it is.…