Common Mistake with I'm Sorry

🔺 (I'm) sorry to be late は可能だが｟まれ! & 不自然!｠

▸ (I'm) sorry for/about being late yesterday.

. . . we’re lateが続くときは, Sorry we're late. のようにsorryの前の主語と〖動詞〗は省略されるのが普通)

But . . .

▸ (I'm) sorry to bother [trouble] you, but I've got to talk to you.

ご面倒をおかけして申し訳ないのですが, お話があるのです (文脈から明らかな場合, butまで述べた時点で聞き手がそれ以降を察することも多い)

お待たせして申し訳ありません

▸ I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. ｟かたく｠

▸ I'm sorry for having kept you waiting.｟まれ｠

3 比較なし 〖be ～〗 残念に思って(regretful); «…することを/…ということを» 残念に思う «to do/(that)節» (!｟かたく｠ ではI regret …)

▸ (I'm) sorry to hear that.

(悪い知らせなどを聞き)それは残念です

One Hour and a Half

How so you say ー時間半 in English?

Most Japanese translate it literally (直訳) as one hour and a half.

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     一時間      半

       ↓         ↓

❌ one hour and a half

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This is wrong. Not only wrong, it sounds very unnatural.

So how can we fix this common mistake?

Very simply. Instead of saying “one” say “an”.

An hour.

⭕️ AN hour and a half.

When you say it quickly, it sounds like “annower anna half”.

It took AN hour and a half.

It took me AN hour and a half to come here.

The movie lasted AN hour and a half.

Again, one hour and a half is WRONG ❌

AN hour and a half is correct ⭕️

Now, there are other ways to say “an hour and a half”.

It takes about 90 minutes.

It takes about one and a half hours.

Note the “s” at the end of hours.

So, It takes about one hour and a half is WRONG ❌ But the others are correct ⭕️

It takes about an hour and a half. 

It takes about 90 minutes.

It takes about one and a half hours.

The last one is important to remember as it can be used for other lengths of time. For example:

ONE and a half hourS

TWO and a half minuteS

THREE and a half dayS

FOUR and a half weekS

FIVE and a half monthS

SIX and a half yearS

Catch Cold

Now that winter has settled in, colds will start going around (風邪がはやる) and students of English will once again be incorrectly using the phrase they memorized in junior high school “catch cold” (風邪を引く). Like some English verbs—such as get dressed/wear—catching a cold is not just one on/off action, but rather a progression of actions or process.

I think I’m coming down with a cold.

↓

I’m coming down with a cold.

↓

I’ve caught a cold.

↓

I have a slight cold.

↓

I have a cold. (now)

↓

I have a bad cold. 

↓

I’ve had a cold since yesterday.

↓

My cold is getting better.

↓

I’m all better. 

I’ve gotten over my cold.

風邪

【普通の風邪】(a) cold ; 【インフルエンザ】influenza, ｟話｠ (the) flu. ～風邪▸ せきの出る[鼻]風邪 〘have〙 a cold in [on] the chest [in the head] / a chest [a head] cold.

▸ 夏風邪 a summer cold.

▸ ひどい[軽い; しつこい]風邪 a bad [a slight; a stubborn] cold. 風邪～

▸ 風邪気味である have a slight [a touch of a] cold. 風邪が[は]

▸ 風邪は万病のもと （⇨万病）

▸ 風邪が学校ではやっている【The】flu is [Colds are] going around in our school.

▸ 彼の風邪がうつった I got a cold [caught (a) cold] from him. / He gave me his cold [╳his cold to me].

▸ ちっとも風邪が治らない I just can't get over [(取り除く) get rid of, (振り払う) shake off] my cold.

▸ 風邪はだいぶよくなりました[ひどくなってきました] My cold is much better now [is getting worse].

▸ 患者は快方に向かっているようだったが, 突然風邪がぶりかえした The patient seemed to be recovering from his cold, but suddenly he suffered [had] a relapse. 風邪を[で]

▸ 風邪を引いている have a cold / be sick [｟英｠ ill] with a cold.

▸ 風邪を引きかけている be getting [coming down with] a cold.

▸ 風邪を引きやすい catch (a) cold easily / be subject [susceptible] to colds.

▸ 風邪を引いて熱がある have a fever with a cold.

▸ 風邪をこじらせる make one's cold worse.

▸ 風邪を引かないように気をつけなさい Take care [Be careful] not to catch (a) cold.

▸ ちょっと風邪を引いちゃった I've got a bit of a cold.

▸ 彼は今日は風邪を引いて寝ている He is in bed with a cold today.

▸ 風邪で胃(の調子)が変になっている My cold is affecting my stomach. 風邪薬 〘take〙 medicine for a cold / a cold medicine [(錠剤) pill].

Leave For Work

Many Japanese confuse the phrase “leave for work” with “leave work”.

〈人･乗り物が〉出発する, 旅立つ; 〖leave for A〗 A〈場所〉に向かって去る, 出発する; 〖leave from A〗 A〈ホーム･ターミナル･ゲートなど〉から出発する (!leave Aと異なり, leave from Aは旅の出発点に焦点があり行き先を意識しない表現; よってleave Tokyo for Osakaとし, ╳leave from Tokyo for Osakaは避ける)

So, leave for work means 家を出て、仕事に行く. Leave work has the opposite meaning and means 職場から家に帰る

In the morning, we:

leave for work

go to work

are on our way to work

get to or arrive at work

and finally, we are at work

In the evening, we:

leave work

head home

are on our way home from work

get or arrive home

and finally, we are (at) home

Okay?

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類義 leaveとdepart, start, set off [out]leave とdepartはある場所を離れることをいうが, departは〘かたく〙 で用いられ, 〘かたい文〙 では「死ぬ」の婉曲表現として「旅立つ」の意でも用いる. startは移動行為を開始することに焦点がある. set off, set outは共に出発することを意味するが, 長旅や困難な旅路への出発にはset outが好まれる傾向がある.

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【帰る】WORD CHOICE : 帰る, 戻るgo back 話し手・聞き手のいない場所に戻ることを含意する.come back 話し手・聞き手のいずれかがいる場所に戻ることを含意する.get back 戻る行為, 特にたどり着いた瞬間を強調する.be back 戻るべき場所にすでにいることを含意する.return 主に書き言葉で用いる. back の意味が含まれているので, ╳return backとはいわない.〖もとの場所へ〗come* [go*, get*, be] back ; return （⇨[WORD CHOICE]）; 【帰宅する】come [go, get, be, return] home ; 〖去る〗leave*, go away. （⇨行く）

▸ 走って家に帰る run back to the house.

▸ 家へ帰る途中 on one's [the] way home.

▸ 英国へ帰る go home to England. (!go back to に比べて自分の属している場所という意識が強い)

▸ 彼はまたすぐに日本に帰ってくるだろう He will return [come back] to Japan soon.

▸ 彼女は昨夜英国から帰って来たShe returned (╳back) home from England last night.

▸ 10時までに帰って来なさい Be [Come] (back) home by ten. (!back がある方が強意的 ) / Be [Come] backby ten.

▸ 彼は夜中の2時まで帰らなかったHe didn't get home [get in] until two o'clock in the morning. (!get in は「着く (arrive)」の意)

▸ 私はホテルへ帰る道が分からなくなった I couldn't find my way back to my hotel.

▸ 東京に住んでいる息子が夏休みで帰っています My son who lives in Tokyo is now home on a visit during [for] the summer vacation. (!(1) on a visit は「滞在中で」, forは「…を過ごすために」の意. (2) 「東京に住んでいる息子が…」は My son is now home from Tokyo on a visit …. ともいえる)

▸ そろそろ帰らなくてはなりません I think I must be going now. (!帰る際のあいさつ言葉. I will go now. (もう帰ります)などとはいわず, このように進行形を用いて表現を和らげる ) / I must say good-by now.