どんなマドンナ？

Hi everyone,

Did you hear the big news? Madonna will perform (演奏する) at this year's Monster Bash in Manno Park! I heard this from one of my intermediate class (中級) students tonight and was amazed (驚いた) until I realized (気が付いた・分かった) that today is April 1. So, to all of you who got excited (ワクワクした) about Madonna's coming to Sanuki and eating Udon after her performance:
Happy April Fools' Day!

See you at E-Style,

Alan

Back to the Future: 3 years later VS in 3 years

Hi all,

What's your goal (目標)? One of my goals as a teacher (先生として) is to have all of my students at E-Style use the word "later" properly (適切に).

Many people who study English in Japan make the same mistake: With a time expression (時間表現), they use "later" when they should use "in" or "from now." The word "later" should be used when something starts and ends either in the past or future. Examples include the following:

• In 1993, I moved from Miami to Shodoshima. Three years later (3年後), I moved to Takamatsu.
• Next year, I'm going to move to Australia. Three years later (3年後), I'll move to New Zealand.

In either of the above examples, "after that" can be used instead of (の代わりに) "later."

Unfortunately (残念ながら),  many students use "later" when describing something that will happen after the present moment in time. A sentence like "The class will begin 10 minutes later." (授業は10分後始まります。) IS WRONG!

Instead of "later," please use either "in" or "from now." For example:

• The class will start in 10 minutes (10分後).
• My favorite TV program will begin 10 minutes from now (今から10分後). 

See you later,

Alan

P.S. Because there is no time expression in the sentence, saying "See you later" is OK.

A question of time: 「夜中」

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.

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
    

Happy New Year!

Hi everybody,

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

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

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