英語

I’ve found that “お勧めの********は？” is often translated as “What is your recommend ********”, which is incorrect.

As I always tell mydents, it’s important to understand what a word is (noun, verb, adjective, adverb, etc.). So today, I want to point out..

動詞 – RECOMMEND


名詞 – RECOMMENDATION

Now we know this, we can apply the correct grammar. Here are some common examples for you.

• What do you recommend?
• What dish do you recommend?
• What is your recommended dish?  (受身系)
• Where do you recommend I visit in Kyoto?
• My father recommended the BLT sandwich.
• I can’t recommend her.  She’s too selfish.

Now, because RECOMMENDATION is a noun, our options are few.

• What is your recommendation?
• His recommendation is to invest money in cryptocurrency.
• My best recommendation for traveling in Kyoto is to rent some electrically-assisted bicycles.

Here is some easy English for you. A lot of my students tend to use “but” a little too much.

I studied really hard for a month, but I failed the test.

This is OK, but I feel that most Japanese might say something like

1ヶ月一生懸命勉強したのに、試験に落ちた！

..using a のに, not a けど.

So, an easy way to express のに in English is “even though“.

Even though ___A____ , ____B_____ .

or

___B____ even though ____A____ .

So,

• Even though I studied really hard for a month, I failed the test.
• My Japanese is not so good, even though I’ve been living in Japan for almost 14 years.
• Even though she promised she would come to the party, she never showed up.
• Even though he’s Japanese, Hiro hates sushi.
• I can never remember the word “断る”, even though I’ve studied it countless times.

Do you know this word “stuff”??  As a noun, it is uncountable (数えられない), but very common to describe 物 or 事 in English.



For example.

• There is a lot of stuff in my wife’s bag.
• I have some stuff to do today.
• I gave some of my stuff to my brother.
• She learned interesting stuff at the seminar.
• Can you help me move my stuff tomorrow?  (引越し)
• My father knows a lot of stuff.

Also, you could use “things” instead of “stuff” for the same meaning.  The only real difference is that “thing” is a 数えられる名詞, so you need to mind your grammar.

• There are a lot of things in my wife’s bag.

「Please」の使い方と日本語の「ください」の使い方は少し違います。うちの生徒はよく間違えます。

間違えポイントは文法の順番です。日本語の下さいは使いやすいですよね。

動詞 + ください

名詞 + ください

しかし、英語の「please」は

PLEASE + 動詞

1. Please bring some beer.
2. Please don’t pick your nose.
3. Please tell Bryce that I love him.
4. Please shutup.

名詞 + PLEASE

1. An example please.
2. Coffee please.
3. I want two beers and some fish & chips please.
4. Can I have a day-off please?

もちろんこの文法が間違えったら、問題ではないと思うけど、正し順番は覚えやすいです。

Here are 6 words you ought to remember.

Here are some examples about my life.

• Bryce is always right.
• Most of my students often drink alcohol.
• Sometimes, I like to walk around in my underpants.
• I seldom write kanji.
• My wife never apologizes.

Easy, don’t you think?

A useful word to know in English is “fault“, or “所為” in Japanese.

Here are some common usages.

• This is your fault.
• It’s Bryce’s fault that we’re late.
• It’s not my fault !
• Whose fault is this?
• You are at fault.  You’d better apologize.
• The investigation found many people to be at fault.

Give it a try.  But it’s not my fault if you make a mistake!!!

ホームページを見た方に聞かれた質問は

「…..外国人の同僚は I’M OK と言うけど、たまに OKと言います。何が違いますか？」

「I’M OK」と「OK」は似ているけど全く違う意味です

例えば。



質問：Would you like something to drink?



答えA：I’m OK.（いいえ。大丈夫です。）

答えB：OK.（はい。お願いします。）

でも、どちらも、違った声の調子やボディランゲッジを使います。OK?

「Move」は便利な動詞です。すぐ使える意味は

1. 動かす

• Who moved my bag?
• She moved her lips silently.
• Please move your car, I can’t exit.

2. 動く

• Don’t move! There’s a snake behind you.
• Something big is moving outside.
• He moves like a dancer.

3. 感動する

• This book is quite moving.
• I was moved by your speech.
• Her passionate dance moved me.

4. 引っ越しする

• Recently, I moved to Okinawa
• Can you help me move on the weekend?
• I want to move to a bigger apartment.

This is just a quick note about a common mistake among students.

予約 can be translated as “appointment” or “reservation”, but these are most often used for when we are talking about a business meeting or a dentist appointment etc.

When we are talking about meeting our friends, we say “I have plans.”

Examples:

• Do you have plans for dinner?
• Sorry, I already have plans.
• If you don’t have plans, let’s go for a drink.
• I don’t have any plans for the weekend.
• I have plans to meet my friends.

OK?

”可哀そう” is a little tricky in English for many of my students. Most students make the mistake of just saying “poor”. For example, thinking “可哀相”, they might say “Bryce is poor.” However, this actually means “ブライスは貧乏です”.

Using “poor” is OK, but we usually only use it like this;

Poor + 主語

• Poor Bryce! He’s so fat!
• Ayaka’s boyfriend is a nerd. Poor girl!!
• Poor old man!! He looks cold and hungry.

Do you see? We usually only use it with someone’s name, or short description.

But there is another way, using the phrase “I feel sorry for 主語.” Please check out these examples.

• I saw a documentary on families in Africa. Their life is difficult. I feel so sorry for them.
• I feel sorry for the Royal Family, because they have no freedom.
• You are so stupid. I feel sorry for you.

This method is a little more flexible when we want to express 可哀相. Please try it out, when you get the chance.