Where does the article go?

❌ Incheon has very modern and convenient an airport.

a(n)/the + adverb (副詞) + adjective (形容詞) + noun (名詞)

Note the progression

an airport

Incheon has an airport.

Incheon has a modern airport.

Incheon has a very modern airport.

Incheon has a very modern and convenient airport.

Also note these common mistakes:

❌ Incheon has very modern and convenient an airport.

❌ Incheon has very a modern and convenient airport.

---

英語の不定冠詞は不定の単数形の可算名詞に付き、複数形の可算名詞や不可算名詞には付かない。定冠詞は数や可算性とは無関係に付く。全く冠詞が付かない場合もある。

定冠詞

• the （子音の前では普通弱形の発音となる）

英語における定冠詞は標準英文法において原則話者とその対話者間においてある特定の物体を指すときに使われる。しかし、日常生活においてある物体が話者のみに特定されている際の使用傾向も見受けられる[8]。

また、 "the" の物体に対する特定性の付与という性質から、空間としての連続体を切り離しある特定範囲を示す働きが現出する。

この"the"の働きは以下4種に大別される。

川、島嶼部等の自然境界を人為的に定義する例） the Philippines, the Mississippi River, etc."Mt. Fuji" 等が "the" による修飾を受けないのは川、島嶼部に比べ連続体としての空間から非連続体として認知しやすい傾向にあることに基づくとされている[9]。

大陸などの自然空間を人為的に定義する例） the United States of America, the United Nations, etc.

複数構成単位からなるものをひとつの物体として定義する例） the Adams, the Simpsons, etc. （アダム一家、シンプソン一家）

様態の付与例） That's not the Tom I know.（あれは私の知っているトムではない） etc.

不定冠詞

• a （子音の前）、an （母音の前）

A Glitton?

I found the following blurb on the storefront of a wahashi shop in my neighborhood.

Woo-hoo! I have room for dessert!

I am not a glitton. I am an explore of food.

Now, the sentences are alright in that they are for the most part grammatically correct and natural sounding. The problem is in the spelling.

Woo-hoo! I have room for dessert! (正い)

I am not a glitton → glutton

I am an explore of food → explorer

普段用心深い日本人はなんで英語の看板などを作る前に確認しましない？ プライド？恥？

There is a good saying in Japanese:

聞くは一時の恥、聞かぬは一生の恥

This is true even when it comes to signs and printed matter. These easily avoided mistakes are not only embarrassing, they are expensive to redo or replace. So, please, ask! I’m willing to help.

By the way, how do you say 聞くは一時の恥、聞かぬは一生の恥 in English?

Entre?

自転車のメインコースはないの？！

立ち入り禁止

→ NO ENTRY or DO NOT ENTER

自転車進入禁止

→ NO BICYCLES or BICYCLES ARE NOT ALLOWED

「Entre」はフランス語で、「はいりたまえ」という、少し偉そうな意味があります。「Entrée」はアメリカ英語でコース料理の「メインディッシュ」です。

Blue Color

青色

❌ blue color

→ blue

→ the color blue

❗️blue color = 青色色

赤色

❌ red color

→ red

→ the color red

❗️red color = 赤色色

茶色

❌ brown color

→ brown

→ the color brown

❗️brown color = 茶色色

黄色

❌ yellow color

→ yellow

→ the color yellow

❗️yellow color = 黄色色

Get In Vs. Get On

The other day, some students asked me what the difference was between get in and get on when talking about modes of transportation. They wanted to know when to use in or on.

The rule is very simple:

If you can walk onto it and stand up inside,

you say “get on”. If can’t stand up inside, you say “get in”

Take the bus. Can you stand up inside it? Yes. So, get on the bus.

Can you stand up inside an airplane? Yes. So, get on an airplane.

Can you stand up inside a taxi? No. So, get in a taxi.

Get in . . . (+ car, truck, taxi, yuk-tuk, van, etc.)

Go To . . .

❌ I went TO shoppING yesterday.

❌ GO TO shoppING

GO . . . ING

GO campING

GO boulderING

GO fishING

GO swimmING

GO shoppING

I WENT shoppING yesterday

▸ I usually shop at a discount store. 

たいてい買い物はディスカウントストアで済ませる

▸ Where do you shop for accessories? 

アクセサリーはどこでお買いになるの

▸ Thank you for shopping with us. 

｟店員の言葉｠当店でのお買い上げありがとうございます

▸ go shopping in Kobe [at a department store] 

神戸に[デパートに]買い物に行く

(╳… to Kobe, ╳… to a department storeとしない). 

▸ 買い物上手な人 

a smart [a good] shopper.

▸ 私は今日たくさん[ちょっと]買い物がある 

I have a lot of [some] shopping to do today.

▸ 彼らは大阪[デパート]へ買い物に行った 

They went shopping in Osaka [at a department store]. 

(!╳… went shopping to Osaka [to a department store] とはいわない) 【

買い物をするために】They went to Osaka [a department store] to shop.

▸ お母さんは買物に出かけている 

My mother is out shopping.

▸ 買い物に｟店に｠行くのならパンを買って来てくださる? 

If you go (out) to the stores, can you get me some bread, please?

▸ 買い物はみんな済ませた｟欲しいものはみな買った｠ 

I've bought everything I wanted. 

Be Rain

❌ It will be rain tomorrow. 

It’s going to rain tomorrow. 

It's going to be rainy tomorrow.

It will rain tomorrow.

We'll have rain tomorrow.

雨が/は

▸ 今ひどく雨が降っています 

It's raining hard [drizzling] now.

▸ しとしと雨が降っています 

It's raining hard [drizzling] now.

▸ あすは雨が降るだろう 

It will rain tomorrow.

We will have rain tomorrow. 

(話し手のいる場所について述べるときは It より We を主語にする方が多い) 

▸ 雨が降り出した

It started to rain.

The rain began [started] to fall. 

▸ 雨が降りやんだ 

The rain has stopped.

▸ 雨はやみそうになかった 

The rain showed no sign of letting up. 

▸ 今年はあまり雨が降らなかった 

We haven't had much rainfall this year.

▸ 今朝から雨が降ったりやんだりしている 

It has been raining on and off since this morning.

The rain has been coming and going since this morning.

▸ 雨がだんだん強くなってきた 

It's raining harder.

The rain is getting heavier.

▸ 家を出た時は雨がひどく降っていたが, 今は小降りになった 

It was raining hard when I left home, but now it has let up.

▸ 曇り時々雨 (天気予報で) 

Cloudy with occasional showers.

After a long time

△ We met after a long time.

→ We met for the first time in a long time.

△ I went to a beer garden after a long time.

→ I went to a beer garden for the first time in a long time.

久しぶり

 

for the first time in a long time

for the first time in ages

for the first time in many years

((1) after a long time ともいう. (2) ｟書｠ では「長い時の経過[留守; 音信不通; 別離]の後で」の意で after a long interval [absence; silence; separation] などを用いることもある )

▸ 彼女から久しぶりに電話があった

I had a call from her for the first time in a long time [in many years].｟書｠I had a call from her after a long silence.

▸ あんなに魅力のある人に会ったのは久しぶりだ

It's [It's been] a long time since I met such a charming person.

▸ 久しぶりに最高のニュースを聞いたよ

That's the best news I've heard for a long time.

▸ 久しぶりですね

I haven't seen you for a long time

I haven't seen you for ages

It's been ages!

(It's) good to see you again.

(!最後の言い方は仕事上などの改まった場合に用いる.「お久しぶり」に続く表現としては How have you been? (どうしてたの)や I could hardly recognize you. (誰だか分からなかった)などがある)

―振り

 

1 【…の後】

after …;〖…以来〗since …;〖…の期間で初めて〗for the first time in 〘ten years〙.

▸ 私は8年ぶりで彼に会った

I saw him for the first time in eight years.I saw him after (an [╳the] interval of) eight years [after an eight-year interval]. (!after eight years' interval とはあまりいわない) 【この前会ってから8年になる】It's [It's been] eight years since I saw him last. (!最初の表現がいちばん口語的)

▸ 登山者は5日ぶりに[遭難後5日ぶりに]救出された

The climbers were rescued after five days [five days after the mountain accident].

▸ 今年は20年ぶりの暖冬です

This is the warmest winter in ｟主に米｠ [for ｟主に英｠] 20 years.This is the warmest winter (that) we have had in () [for ｟主に英｠] the past [last] twenty years.

▸ こんなくつろいだ気分になるのは何年ぶりかです

I feel more relaxed than I've felt in ｟主に米｠ [for ｟主に英｠] years. (!than 以下に否定が含意された言い方で, I haven't felt as relaxed in [for] years (as this). (as this は通例省略する)に相当する )

Adjective Order

The order of adjectives (形容詞) may not seem important to Japanese, but it is a quick way to judge who is a native speaker and who is not. (Let's say, Japanese often make a mistake with the order.)

How can you fix this? Listen and read a LOT of English.

Types of Adjectives

Before the adjectives you will normally have the Determiner.

Determiner: The determiner tells us if the noun is singular or plural, definite or indefinite

• a, an, the, my, your, four, those, some etc

And then we have the adjectives that refer to…

Opinion: Explains what we think about something. This is usually our opinion, attitude or observations. These adjectives almost always come before all other adjectives.

• beautiful, boring, stupid, delicious, useful, lovely, comfortable

Size: Tells us how big or small something is.

• big, small, tall, huge, tiny

Shape / Weight / Length: Tells about the shape of something or how long or short it is. It can also refer to the weight of someone or something.

• round, square, circular, skinny, fat, heavy, straight, long, short,

Condition: Tells us the general condition or state of something

• broken, cold, hot, wet, hungry, rich, easy, difficult, dirty

Age: Tells us how old someone or something is.

• old, young, new, ancient, antique

Colour: The colour or approximate colour of something.

• green, white, blue, reddish, purple

Pattern: The pattern or design of something.

• striped, spotted, checked, flowery

Origin: Tells us where something is from.

• American, British, Italian, eastern, Australian, Chilean

Material: What is the thing made of or constructed of?

• gold, wooden, silk, paper, synthetic, cotton, woollen

Purpose/Qualifier/Use: What is it for? These adjectives often end in –ing. 

• sleeping (bag), gardening (gloves), shopping (bag), wedding (dress)

If you look at the examples above, you can ask… what are the gloves used for? (gardening) What is the bag used for? (shopping)

And after these we adjectives we have the…

Noun: The person or thing that is being described

Examples of the order of adjectives before a noun

Something to have in mind is that it does not sound natural using three or more adjectives in the same sentence and it is very rare to hear four adjectives together before a noun.

• A big fat dog.
• An interesting old Indian rug.
• A striped silk shirt
• Some comfortable black sleeping bags
• Four small round wooden tables
• Those funny little old men

Common Mistakes with OFTEN

❌ I'm OFTEN going to the movies. 　　

→ I OFTEN go to the movies.

❌ I OFTEN go to the movies once a month. 　　

→ I OFTEN go to the movies.

→ I go to the movies once a month.

My Ball

❌ I want my home
→ I want my OWN home
I have my OWN room. 

❌ I drove my car
→ I drove my OWN car

❌ I have my ball
→ I have my OWN ball
When I go bowling, I don’t have to rent a ball because I have my OWN ball. 

_______________________________________________

own | oʊn | 
〖語源は「oweの過去分詞; 所有された」〗

1 〖one's ～〗
a. 自分自身の, 自前の, 個人の

▸ I can work at my OWN pace. 
自分のペースで働くことができる

▸ Do your OWN thing. ｟くだけて｠
(他人のことはいいから)自分の(やりたい)ことだけをしなさい

▸ Do you have your very OWN website? 
自分専用の[自分だけの]ウェブサイトを持っていますか 
(!veryを用いるとownがさらに強調される) . 

類義 OWNとpersonal, private, individual

OWN は人･物･事などが, 特定の人に所属･関係することを表す最も一般的な語. 通例所有格の後に置いて, ある特定の人物への所属を強調する. personalは「他人と区別した一個人の」の意で, 個人が使用または所有することを表し, 他人と共有しない物に対して用いる. privateは人･物･事など, 個人や団体の排他的利用が可能な私的所有物に対して用い, 「非公開の, 非公式の, 会員制の」の意で用いることもある. また, personalとprivateは, 公的なものに対して私的な立場を意識する際に用いられやすい. individualは「個々人の」の意で, 個々の人が持つ権利･自由･要求など抽象的な事物について用いられることが多い.

b. 独特の, 特有の 

▸ create one's OWN design
自分だけのデザインを創り出す

▸ Each country has its OWN flag. 
どの国にもそれぞれ固有の国旗がある. 
語法 ownと冠詞･数詞

①ownは冠詞の直後に用いない 

▸ I have my OWN [╳an own] bike. 
私には自分の自転車がある(≒I have a bike of my OWN.; ↓ 成句of one's own).

②数詞はOWNの後にくる 

▸ her OWN two [╳her two own] children
彼女の2人の子供. 

2 〖one's ～〗(他人に頼らず)独自の, 自分(の力だけ)でできる; (他人のせいでなく)自分が原因の 

▸ I'm an adult and I can make my OWN decisions. 
私は大人なんだから自分のことは自分で決められます

▸ I know it was my OWN fault. 
私のミスであったことはわかっている.

Pee-Yoo!

❌ It is bad smell.
  → It smells bad.
       It stinks.

臭い

1 【いやなにおいの】bad-[nasty-]smelling, ｟話｠ smelly; 【むかつくように】stinking, foul

▸ 臭い液体
a bad-smelling [a nasty-smelling] liquid

▸ この肉は臭いにおいがする
This meat smells bad

▸ 彼は臭い息をしている
He has bad [stinking, foul, smelly] breath.【息がにおう】
His breath smells (bad) [〘婉曲的〙 
His breath has a rather strong smell].

▸ 臭い｟何のにおいだ｠
What stinks?

▸ ガス臭いぞ
I smell gas!

▸ その部屋はたばこ臭かった
The room smelled of tobacco.

❌ It is good taste.
  → It tastes good.
       It's yummy/delicious/lovely.

After a Month

❌ I need to go there again after a month.

    ⭕️ I need to go there again in a month.

    ⭕️I need to go there again a month from now.

I can finish this in a week if necessary. (必要ならこれを1週間で[1週間後に]終えることができる)のように動作の終点に注目する動詞では, 「…間で」(9b)または「…の後に」(9c)のいずれの解釈でも意味はあまり変わらないが, I'll read this in a week. (これを1週間で[1週間後に]読みます)のように一定期間続く行為を表す動詞では文脈によって意味が異なる場合があるので注意.c. 〖経過〗(現在を基準に)〈ある期間〉の後に, …たって; …以内で(｟よりかたく｠ within) (!通例未来表現と共に; afterとの違いは→after類義) ; (過去の期間の終点を示して)…後には (!通例過去(完了)形とともに) 

▸ I'll be back in a minute [ten minutes].

すぐ[10分したら]戻ります

▸ I'd like a taxi in about ten minutes' time.

10分くらいしたらタクシーをお願いしたいのですが

▸ He was dead in less than a minute.

彼は1分もしないうちに亡くなった.語法のポイント私たちは数日後には出発します.

× We'll leave a few days later [after].× We'll leave after a few days.○ We'll leave in a few days.○

We'll leave (in) a few days from now.❢(in) … from nowではinはしばしば省略される; d. ｟主に米｠…の間のうちで(for) (!否定文やfirst, last, 最上級の形容詞などの後で) 

▸ I haven't seen her in years.

何年も彼女に会っていない

▸ the worst hurricane in fifty years

この50年間で最悪のハリケーン▸ the first time in [╳of] one's life生涯で初めて.

類義①afterとlater前置詞のafterと副詞のlater(↑最初の注記(2))は過去または未来のある時点を基準として「…後に」の意を表すが, laterは一連の出来事の中で明確な時の起点を意識する場合に限られる 

▸ In May [╳Last fall] she recorded her first album. Five months later, she won the prize.

5月に彼女はファーストアルバムを録音し, 5か月後にはその賞を取った (!Last fall(去年の秋)では起点が不明確) .

②afterとin, (in) … from now 現在を基準に「…後」の意で用いるのが前置詞のinと(in) … from now

▸ I'm going to leave here in ten days [(in) ten days from now].

10日後にここを発つ予定です.③afterとsince ある過去の時点から現在まで継続している出来事を表すときはsinceを用いる 

▸ I've worked for the family since [╳after] leaving school.

学校を出てからずっと家族のために働いてきた.

1st Grade

❌ He's in the first grade of high school.

アメリカでは普通, 6—3—3制、5—3—4制、または8—4制で, 6歳で小学校に入学する。6—3—3制の場合, the seventh gradeは日本の中学1年に, the tenth gradeは高校1年に当たる

1st grade         小一

2nd grade     小二

3rd grade     小三

4th grade     小四

5th grade     小五

6th grade     小六

7th grade     中一

8th grade     中二

9th grade     中三

10th grade    高一

11th grade     高二

12th grade    高三

⭕️ He's in the first year of high school.

⭕️ He's in the 10th grade of high school.

Or, . . .

⭕️ He's a high school freshman. (ただし、アメリカでは高校は４年制で、フレッシュマンは９年生に当たる)

Freshman

｟主に米｠(高校大学の)新入生, 1年生 (!高校生について用いるのは｟米｠; ｟男女共用｠fresher, first-year student; 

▸ a freshman in college ≒ a college freshman

大学1年生

▸ in one's freshman year at UCLA

UCLA1年生の時に.

Sophomore

｟米｠(4年制の大学高校の)2年生 (!the tenth gradeの高校生に相当; 日本の高校1年生と同じ年齢) 

Junior

｟米｠〖名詞の前で〗(大学高校で)最上級生の1年下の学年の(!4年制の学校なら3年生, 3年制なら2年生, 2年制なら1年生をさす

 ▸ I spent my junior year in Italy.

私は大学3年生の年をイタリアで過ごした.

Senior

｟米｠〖名詞の前で〗(大学の) 4年生の; (高校の)最高学年の; ｟英｠高学年の; 中等教育の

▸ the senior class

最高学年のクラス

▸ a senior prom

最上級生のダンスパーティ.

Lose Weight

For some reason or another, almost all Japanese translate yaseru (痩せる) as "lose my weight". This is not actually correct. I suspect that most Japanese were taught in junior high school that michi o mayou (道を迷う) was "lose my way" in English. (Actually, that's not the best way to say that either, but I'll discuss that later.) I think what is happening is that Japanese, having "lose my way" drilled into their heads in English class, just at "t" to the phrase and end up with "lose my weight". 

So, how should you say yaseru in English? Simple: lose weight. 

▸ 10キロやせる  

lose ten kilos.

Since I started running, I lost almost ten kilograms.

▸ 彼女は病気以来ずいぶんとやせた  

She has lost a lot of weight since her sickness.

Or,

She got a lot thinner after her sickness.

I lost a lot of weight--almost 10 kilos--since I started running.

▸ 私は甘いものは食べません. やせようと｟減量しようと｠思っていますから

 I don't eat sweets―I'm trying to lose weight.

I don't eat sweets―I'm trying to slim down.

 I don't eat sweets―I'm trying to reduce my weight. (Here "my" is okay.)

As for futoru (太る), we say "gain weight" or "put on weight".

▸ 3キロ太る

gain [put on] three kilos.

I gained five kilos when I stopped smoking.

I put on five kilos when I stopped smoking.

▸ 彼は年々太った

He got fatter every year.

He got heavier every year.

▸ 彼女は少し太ったね

She has gained a bit of weight.

She has put on a bit of weight.

▸ 彼は太りすぎているのでダイエット中です

He's on a diet because he is a little òverwéight [a little too heavy, ｟話｠ a bit on the heavy side, (恰幅（かっぷく）がいい) rather hèavy-sét]. (!a little, a bit, rather などを添えて表現をやわらげることが多い) 

▸ ウエストが太ってきた

My waist(line) is expanding.

As for michi o mayou (道を迷う), a better way to say this in English is "get lost".

The reason I'm late is that I got lost.

▸ 彼らは森の中で道に迷った

They got lost [were lost, lost their way] in the wood(s).

▸ 子犬が私たちの家に迷い込んできた

A puppy strayed into our house.

▸ 「道に迷っておられるようですが, どうなさいましたの」

“You look lost. Can I help you?”

「ええ, どのバスに乗ったらいいのかちょっと分からなくなってしまって」

“Yes, please. I've had a little mix-up (in) finding the right bus.” 

Word Order

△ If I’m busy I don’t go.

    ↓

    I don’t go if/when I’m busy. 

△ When I have “kaisen-don” I don’t feel full.

    ↓

    I don’t feel full when I have “kaisen-don”.

Japanese: reason/condition → result

English: result → reason/condition

English

Who Verb What How Where When Why

Japanese

when (why) where how (who) what 

Japanese:

(???) Yesterday was raining because shopping go not.

English:

I didn’t go shopping yesterday because it was raining.

Or, It was raining yesterday so I didn't go shopping.

Almost People

❌ Almost people . . . 

Most of the people (who came) were friends of his. 

Almost all of the people who came were friends of his.

殆ど

【肯定的に】almost (!形容詞過去分詞の前で) , nearly; 【およそ】about【ほとんど…も同然】as good as, practically, virtually; 【大部分は】mostly.

解説 almost は「あとわずかなところで到達していない」ことを, nearly は「接近していてあとわずかで到達しそう」なことを強調する. したがって almost の方が nearly より強意的で, almost = very nearly と考えてよい.

(ⅰ) nearly は very, pretty, not などの修飾を受けるが, almost は受けない.

(ⅱ) almost は no, never などの否定語や any (どんな…でも), the same, the only, the first などの語を修飾できるが, nearly はできない. 

(ⅲ) almost は感情思考を示す形容詞動詞をも修飾できるが, nearly は時間位置具体的な状態を示す語しか修飾できない.▸ ほとんど満員の電車a train almost [about] full / a near-full [an almost full] train.

▸ ほとんど1年中家にいる

stay (at) home most of the year.

▸ ほとんど(すべて)の学生が英語を勉強している

Almost all (of) the students are [Almost every student is] studying English. 

(!almost の代わりに nearly も可. almost や nearly は名詞を直接修飾することはできないので

❌Almost [❌Nearly] the students …. は不可) 【大部分の学生が】

Most students [Most ofthe students] are studying English. (!前の方は学生一般を, 後の方は特定の学生集団をさす.

❌Most of students …. や ❌The most students …. は不可)

More

most people・・・「たいていの人々」という意味で，世間の一般的な人を指しています。

most of the people・・・意味は同じですが，ある特定範囲内の人々のうち「たいていの人」ということです。たとえば，ある会社に勤めている人々のうち，「たいていの人々」とか「ほとんどの人」ということで，その会社の8割から9割くらいの人を指します。

1000 Words

Students going through a list of the 1000 most frequently used English words to check which ones they were unfamiliar with discovered that four words “eat”, “nature”, “then”, and “through” had all been included in the list twice.

One of the students commented, “The person who made the list must have been really tired.”

“And hungry,” said another.

Close From

❌ It's CLOSE from downtown.
街(の中心部)から近いです。

...See More
❌ It's CLOSE from downtown.
   It is close to the city (the central part of the city).


⭕️ It's CLOSE TO downtown.
   It's NEAR downtown.
 

More Examples:

▸ our school is near (to) the station
Our school is close to the station. (man! It is also used as a 前置詞, so it is avoided in the shape of the near to.)

▸ the hospital is near here
The hospital is just a little too far from here. (it is often used in｠, which is often not a way to use it). The hospital isn't far from here. (man! In the case of the area, it is necessary for the from

▸ come to the nearest window and sit down and sit down

▸ This is the NEARest [shortest] way to the bus stop.