GENIE Enjoy English

Hi everybody!

December is almost here! ‘Tis the season to be jolly and I hope you all have some holly-jolly plans for the holidays. Here is how native speakers talk about their plans:

A: Do you have any plans for the holidays?
B: Yes, I’m going to Phuket. (←動詞が “go” だったらネイティブはよく現在進行形を使います。｀現在´進行形なのに未来の意味なんですよ。)
A: Oh, sounds nice! How long are you gonna stay? (←これは｀How long are you going to stay?´の省略です。もちろん How long are you going to stay? って聞いても全然大丈夫ですけどネイティブスピーカーはこの言い回しをよく使うので慣れた方がいいと思います。)
B: I’m gonna be there for 10 days.

A: Sounds great!

Here are some more expressions to practice…

What are you gonna do in Phuket? (プーケットで何するの？)

I`m gonna relax on the beach. (“Relax” は動詞です。)

I`m gonna go shopping.

I`m gonna eat a lot of hot and tasty Thai food.

後、いつも主語を取り替えて色々な主語 + be動詞の省略も練習した方が良いです・・・

Is your wife going, too? (←また未来の意味の現在進行形です。)

Yeah, she`s gonna go. (現在進行形の “Yeah, she`s going” も普通です。ネイティブは両方とも使います。)

What`s she gonna do there?

She`s gonna get a massage.

She`s gonna eat a lot of tropical fruit.

Are you gonna play any sports?

Yeah, we`re gonna play golf.

Well, that`s all for today.  Do you have any plans for winter vacation?  If you are going abroad then before you go why not come to ☆GENIE☆ in December and take the special one-month Easy Travel English Course on Saturday afternoons? もし今年の冬海外に行く予定があれば☆GENIE☆の特別な一ヶ月間のかんたんトラベル英語コースを受けてみませんか？コース内容などを詳しく知りたいならメール下さい！ I hope to get a message from you and I hope to Enjoy English with you soon!  Catch you later （＾。＾）/

Bob

Hi everybody!

Here is a useful phrase one of my favorite students used in class the other day:

I`ll think about it! (考えとく！)

Well, that`s all for today.  Friday is here so I hope you all have a good weekend!  And if you`re free on Saturday why not come to GENIE to take a fun and free trial lesson and ☆ENJOY ENGLISH☆??!!　15:30～のゲームクラスはいつも無料ですよ↑  And it`s always fun!!  So…would you like to join???   お返事は・・・？？？

Okay, I`ll think about it!

Please do! (そうして！)

Catch you later(＾。＾)/

Bob

Hi everybody!

Last weekend it was really rainy, wasn`t it?  So many students talked about the rain.  Talking about the weather in English and Japanese is very different so today let`s practice some “Real English” expressions dealing with the rain. 英語で天気のことについて話すのは日本語と全然違うので今日は雨に関係がある言い回しを練習しましょう・・・

First, one student asked me, “How do you say 「長靴」 in English?  That`s easy!  Just say…

rain boots.

And 「長靴を履く」 is…

put on rain boots.

「長靴を履いている」 is…

主語 + be動詞 + wearing rain boots.

Many students often say, “I`m putting on rain boots” but “put on” is an action.  靴を履いている状態は “put on” じゃなくて “wear” を使います。　”Wear” describes the situation so 「長靴を履いている」 is “I`m wearing rain boots,” not “I`m putting on rain boots.  もし誰かが今玄関で長靴をはいている状態を伝えたかったら “I`m putting on my rain boots” って言うんですけど。

Here are some other useful rain expressions…

It`s raining. (雨だ。)

If you want to say 「雨だ」 in English you shouldn`t say, “It is rain.”  “It is rain” is Japanese English.  英語の場合は名詞の “rain” ではなく、動詞の “rain” を使うのでこれも間違えないようにしましょう。　Just remember that English is very different from Japanese and if you listen to & imitate native speakers you will sound natural in English.   いつもネイティブのしゃべり方をよく聞いて、真似して、身に付けましょう！

Here are two more…

Last weekend it rained a lot! (先週末大雨だったね！)　　←英語だったら名詞じゃなくて、”rain” の動詞です！

I hope it doesn`t rain tomorrow. (明日雨降らなかったらいいね。)

Well, that`s all for today!  I hope we can all enjoy some sunny days this week and I hope to ENJOY ENGLISH with you here at ☆GENIE☆ someday soon.  Catch you later（＾。＾）/

Bob

Hi everybody!

Here are some words that are difficult for students sometimes:

kind/kindly

Let`s practice each word individually:

Kind (親切) is an adjective (形容詞) so this sentence is quite strange:  “I like Italy because the people are kindly.” ←このような文書は生徒さんがよく使うけど “kindly” は副詞だからこの文書はかなり変です。　ジャパニーズイングリッシュですよ！  副詞は be動詞 と使いません。　だけど、 “kindly” を形容詞の “kind” にしたら簡単に自然な文書に変えられます。　So please practice…

I like Italy because the people are kind.

Also…

Tom is kind.     Vanessa is kind.     Jimi is kind. などなど・・・

分かった。　じゃあ、”kindly” の使い方は？？

“Kindly” is only used in very polite sentences.  “Kindly” はとても丁寧な文書だけで使います。　For example…

ビジネスミーティングが終わったところ：We thank you kindly. (“We” はうちの会社で、意味は「誠にありがとうございました」です。)  Also…

Could you kindly close the door? (ドアを閉めて頂けますか？)

Could you kindly repeat that? (もう一回言って頂けますか？)

☆Would you kindly call back after 5pm? (５時過ぎにかけなおして頂けますか？)

Well, that`s all for today!  I hope you kindly make a reservation for a ☆fun and free trial lesson☆ here at ☆GENIE☆ and I hope to ENJOY ENGLISH with you someday soon!

Bob

☆In this case, “would” and “could” are basically the same but I recommend using “could” as “would” sometimes sounds like the speaker is annoyed.     (この場合は “would” と “could” はだいたい同じだけどネイティブは時々 “would you…?” をいらいらしている時に使うのでニュアンスが完璧に分かるようになるまで “would” のかわりに “could” を使ったほうが良いと思います。　もっと練習したいなら☆GENIE☆の Survival English Lesson １ を受けてみて下さい！)

Hi  everybody!

Here is another simple & useful expression you can use in English conversation:

It depends on the 単数の名詞/数えられない名詞. (何々によって違う。)

Here are some examples…

It depends on the person.

It depends on the place.

It depends on the time.

And here`s how you can use this expression in a conversation:

Example 1 (Saturday Night)

A)  Do you wanna see a movie tonight?     (今夜映画見たい？)

B) I don`t know. It depends on the movie. (分かんない。映画によって違うんだね。）

Example 2

A) Are the trains in Tokyo always crowded?

B) It depends on the time of day.

Example 3

A) Japanese people are shy.

B) Do you think so?  I have some Japanese friends who are very outgoing.

A) Yeah, I guess it depends on the person.

That`s all for today!  Catch you later (＾。＾）/

Bob