Hi everybody,
Question: How do you say 「夜中」in English?
Most students answer this by saying "midnight." Unfortunately, this is wrong.
"Midnight" or "12 midnight" means 「午前零時」in Japanese. It is a specific (明確な) time and requires the preposition (前置詞) "at" when used in a sentence. For example:
The movie started at (12) midnight. 映画は午前零時に始まりました。
On the other hand (一方), 「夜中」 is unspecific or even vague (曖昧) and often needs the preposition "in." The phrase "in the middle of the night" is a good translation of 「夜中」and is commonly used in conversation. An example is the following sentence:
I woke up in the middle of the night. 夜中に目が覚めました。
If you want to be more specific when saying 「夜中」 you can use "a.m." For example:
I got up at 3 a.m. 夜中の３時に起きました。
Again, because the time is specific (3 a.m.), the preposition "at" is needed.
Time to go,
Alan
P.S. 「午後零時」is "noon" or "12 noon" in English.
Friday, 28 February 2014
Friday, 31 January 2014
It's made of ～
Hi everyone,
This week, the beginners classes have been playing a guessing game (推測ゲーム). One student gives a hint about a common object (日常的な物) and his or her partner tries to guess what it is. Among the hints were some of the following useful expressions:
It's made of plastic and metal. プラと金属で作られています。
It's expensive. (値段が)高いです。
I use it for business and pleasure. 仕事と楽しみのために使います。
I use it almost every day. ほとんど毎日使います。
A famous brand is a type of fruit. 果物の種類は有名なブランドです。
Can you guess what it is?
See you at E-Style,
Alan
This week, the beginners classes have been playing a guessing game (推測ゲーム). One student gives a hint about a common object (日常的な物) and his or her partner tries to guess what it is. Among the hints were some of the following useful expressions:
It's made of plastic and metal. プラと金属で作られています。
It's expensive. (値段が)高いです。
I use it for business and pleasure. 仕事と楽しみのために使います。
I use it almost every day. ほとんど毎日使います。
A famous brand is a type of fruit. 果物の種類は有名なブランドです。
Can you guess what it is?
See you at E-Style,
Alan
Tuesday, 31 December 2013
Happy New Year!
As the sun sets on 2013, Jack and I would like to thank all of our students and blog readers for their support over the past year. We would also like to wish you a happy and healthy 2014.
See you at E-Style,
Alan
Thursday, 26 December 2013
Someone (who looks) like 〜
Hi everyone,
Last time, I wrote about my students' answers to the following question:
What kind of person do you want to marry? (どんな人と結婚したいのですか。)
Among the answers we studied was the following:
Someone who likes music. (音楽が好きな人。)
This pattern is very useful because the verb "likes" can be followed by any noun (名詞), even a proper noun (固有名詞). For example:
Someone who likes Hugh Jackman. (ヒュー・ジャックマンが好きな人。)
Feel free to use the "Someone who likes 〜" pattern when talking about people's preferences (好み), but please be careful. For there are other patterns using "like" which have different meanings.
One similar pattern is: Someone like Hugh Jackman. (ヒュー・ジャックマンみたいな人。)
Another is: Someone who looks like Hugh Jackman. (ヒュー・ジャックマンに似ている人。)
"Someone like 〜" is often (but not always) talking about personality (性格) rather than looks (外見). "Someone who looks like 〜" is always referring to one's appearance (外見).
Take care,
Alan
Last time, I wrote about my students' answers to the following question:
What kind of person do you want to marry? (どんな人と結婚したいのですか。)
Among the answers we studied was the following:
Someone who likes music. (音楽が好きな人。)
This pattern is very useful because the verb "likes" can be followed by any noun (名詞), even a proper noun (固有名詞). For example:
Someone who likes Hugh Jackman. (ヒュー・ジャックマンが好きな人。)
Feel free to use the "Someone who likes 〜" pattern when talking about people's preferences (好み), but please be careful. For there are other patterns using "like" which have different meanings.
One similar pattern is: Someone like Hugh Jackman. (ヒュー・ジャックマンみたいな人。)
Another is: Someone who looks like Hugh Jackman. (ヒュー・ジャックマンに似ている人。)
"Someone like 〜" is often (but not always) talking about personality (性格) rather than looks (外見). "Someone who looks like 〜" is always referring to one's appearance (外見).
Take care,
Alan
Thursday, 5 December 2013
Someone who 〜
Hi English-conversation students,
For the past few weeks in my beginners classes, I have asked the following question:
What kind of person do you want to marry? (どんな人と結婚したいのですか。)
Here are some of the most popular answers using adjectives (形容詞):
I want to marry someone who is rich (お金持ちの人).
I want to marry someone good-looking (ルックスの良い人).
Someone who is kind (親切な人).
Someone funny (面白い[ユーモアがある]人).
Please notice that when using an adjective, you can shorten your answer to just two words (Someone _____.).
Of course, there are other ways to answer the same question. Changing the verb from "is" to "can" is very useful. In this case, "can" is followed by the dictionary-form of a verb (動詞の辞書形). For example:
Someone who can cook (料理ができる人).
Someone who can play tennis (テニスができる人).
Changing the verb to "likes" followed by a noun (名詞) is another good way to answer the same question:
Someone who likes music (音楽が好きな人).
Someone who likes movies (映画が好きな人).
Good luck,
Alan
For the past few weeks in my beginners classes, I have asked the following question:
What kind of person do you want to marry? (どんな人と結婚したいのですか。)
Here are some of the most popular answers using adjectives (形容詞):
I want to marry someone who is rich (お金持ちの人).
I want to marry someone good-looking (ルックスの良い人).
Someone who is kind (親切な人).
Someone funny (面白い[ユーモアがある]人).
Please notice that when using an adjective, you can shorten your answer to just two words (Someone _____.).
Of course, there are other ways to answer the same question. Changing the verb from "is" to "can" is very useful. In this case, "can" is followed by the dictionary-form of a verb (動詞の辞書形). For example:
Someone who can cook (料理ができる人).
Someone who can play tennis (テニスができる人).
Changing the verb to "likes" followed by a noun (名詞) is another good way to answer the same question:
Someone who likes music (音楽が好きな人).
Someone who likes movies (映画が好きな人).
Good luck,
Alan
Thursday, 31 October 2013
Disagreeing Dos and Don'ts
Hi everyone,
In recent posts, I've been writing about how to agree (同意する) with someone by saying "Me too" or "Me neither." Today, I want to explain what to say when you disagree (同意しない) with somebody.
For example, if a friend were to say "I like baseball" and you do too, then you could simply say "Me too" or "So do I." However, if you have a different opinion (違う意見を持っている) and don't like baseball, then you would say "I don't (like baseball)."
If that same friend then said "I don't like soccer" and you don't either, then you could respond with "Me neither" or "Neither do I." However, if you do like soccer, then you would say "I do. (I like soccer.)"
Are you confused? Just remember to change the verb from positive (肯定的) to negative (否定的) or vice versa (逆の場合も同じ) when you have a different opinion to the person with whom you are speaking.
Good luck,
Alan
In recent posts, I've been writing about how to agree (同意する) with someone by saying "Me too" or "Me neither." Today, I want to explain what to say when you disagree (同意しない) with somebody.
For example, if a friend were to say "I like baseball" and you do too, then you could simply say "Me too" or "So do I." However, if you have a different opinion (違う意見を持っている) and don't like baseball, then you would say "I don't (like baseball)."
If that same friend then said "I don't like soccer" and you don't either, then you could respond with "Me neither" or "Neither do I." However, if you do like soccer, then you would say "I do. (I like soccer.)"
Are you confused? Just remember to change the verb from positive (肯定的) to negative (否定的) or vice versa (逆の場合も同じ) when you have a different opinion to the person with whom you are speaking.
Good luck,
Alan
Monday, 30 September 2013
Me neither = 私も = I don't either = 私も = Neither do I
Hi everybody,
In my last entry, I wrote about how to say 「私も」 in English in the affirmative (肯定的). This time, I want to teach how to say it when responding to a negative (否定的) statement. For example:
(A) I don't like natto.
(B) Me neither. / I don't either. / Neither do I.
Just like "Me too" in the affirmative, "Me neither" can be used anytime that A's comment is negative and B has the same opinion as A (BはAと同じ意見です). Since this is very convenient (便利), "Me neither" is often used by native speakers. Please remember that "don't" and "neither" are both negative. Therefore (だから), they cannot be used together in a sentence because the result would be a double negative (二重否定).
In my last entry, I wrote about how to say 「私も」 in English in the affirmative (肯定的). This time, I want to teach how to say it when responding to a negative (否定的) statement. For example:
(A) I don't like natto.
(B) Me neither. / I don't either. / Neither do I.
Just like "Me too" in the affirmative, "Me neither" can be used anytime that A's comment is negative and B has the same opinion as A (BはAと同じ意見です). Since this is very convenient (便利), "Me neither" is often used by native speakers. Please remember that "don't" and "neither" are both negative. Therefore (だから), they cannot be used together in a sentence because the result would be a double negative (二重否定).
Like "I do too" and "So do I" in the affirmative, when the verb is in the past tense (過去形) in a negative statement, the responses "I don't either" and "Neither do I" must also be in the past tense. Maybe the following example is true for some of you:
(A) I didn't like natto when I was a child.
(B) Me neither. / I didn't either. / Neither did I.
Also like last entry's affirmative examples, sometimes the verb in B's response must be changed to match the verb in A's sentence. One common example is when "can" is used in the negative:
(A) I can't stand (我慢できない) the smell of natto.
(B) Me neither. / I can't either. / Neither can I.
See you at E-Style,
(A) I didn't like natto when I was a child.
(B) Me neither. / I didn't either. / Neither did I.
Also like last entry's affirmative examples, sometimes the verb in B's response must be changed to match the verb in A's sentence. One common example is when "can" is used in the negative:
(A) I can't stand (我慢できない) the smell of natto.
(B) Me neither. / I can't either. / Neither can I.
As I told my elementary-level students, the best way to master 「私も」in English is through practice. I hope that this final example becomes true for all of you:
(A) I can say 「私も」in English.
(B) Me too. / I can too. / So can I.
See you at E-Style,
Alan
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