【生英語】今日の学び_20110208

Face to Face

今月になって、オンライン英会話教室を変えることを検討。

とりあえず、Language Summary 10 – 12 最後までまとめてみよう。

○anything, someone, no one, everywhere, etc
  - No one, nowhere and nothing are negative words. We use them with a positive verb:
    ○No one likes it.
    ×No one doesn’t it.
  - Everyone, everywhere and everything have a plural meaning, but we use these words with a singular verb:
    ○Everyone is watching TV.
    ×Everyone are watching TV.

○Use of articles: a, an, the, no article
  - We don’t use an article:
    to talk about people or things in general.
    ○Lots of people love buying clothes.
    ×Lots of people love buying the clothes.
    for most cities and countries.
    ○It was started in Italy.
    ×It was started in the Italy.
- We use the in some fixed phrases:
   go to the cinema/shops, in the morning/afternoon, at the weekend, the news etc

○Shopping
  - We can say pay cash or pay by cash.  ×pay with cash

○Present Simple passive; Past Simple passive
  - The person or thing doing the action is the subject of active sentences:
    The houses make a lot of money selling memorabilia.
  - We often use the passive when we are more interested in what happened to someone or something than in who did the action:
    One of George Harrison’s guitars was sold for $117,000.

○Present Perfect
  - We usually use just and already in positive sentences.
    These words fo between the auxiliary and the past participle:
    Robin Hall’s just phoned. Ted’s already done three dives.
  - We usually use yet in negative sentence and questions.
    Yet urually goes at the end of the sentence of clause:
    I haven’t done any yet. Have you sent him the cheque yet?
  - In American English we often use the Past Simple with just, yet and already:
    US: Did you do it yet?
    UK: Have you done it yet?
  - We can use the Present Perfect with this morning, this afternoon, etc.
    When it is still that time of day.

○Connecting words
  - We use first, next, then, after, after that and finally to show the order of events.
  - We usually use while with continuous verb forms:
    While he was studying to be an actor, he used to do magic tric.
  - After can be followed by subject + verb or a noun:
    He became famous after he made a TV show. They left after breakfast.
  - After that is usually followed by subject + verb:
    After the he lived without food for 44 days.

【生英語】今日の学び_20110206

Face to Face

今日はLanguage Summary 8-9 をまとめてみる。

案外役に立つコラム集。

○Verb patterns
  - We can say start/like/prefer doing or start/like/prefer to do.
    For these verbs the maeaning is the same.
   - In British English, like/love + doing is more common.
   - In American English, like/love + to do is more common.

○Past Perfecrt
  - We can also use for with the Past Simple:
    I lived in German for two years. (but I don’t live there now)

○How long… ?
  - We often answer How long… ? questions with short phreases, not complete sentences:
    How long have you lived here?  Since 2010.
  - We can also make questions in the Past Simple with How long ago… ?
    How long ago did you see him?  About three months ago.

○should, shouldn’t, must
  - We use should to say we think something is a good thing to do.
    You should wait for the houtess to start eating first.
  - We use houldn’t to say we think something is a bad thing to do.
    You shouldn’t ask people howmuch they earn.
  - We use must to give very strong advice.
    You must ask the hostess if you can smoke.
  - We often use I think with should: I think you should go to work.

○Infinitive of purpuse
  - To say why we do something, we often use the inginitive with to:
    ○ I came here to study English.
    × I came here for study English.
    ○ I go to the shops for some coffee.

○Asking about places
  - We use questions with What’s/What are … like? :
    What’s Edingburgh like?  It’s very cosmopolitan.
  - We use questions with Do you like … ?:
    Do you like Edinburgh? Yes, I love it.

○Adjective to describe feelings
  - fed up
    annoyed or bored because you have dome something for too long.
    I’m fed up with my job.
  - calm
    relaxed and peaceful.
    I always feel very calm after yoga.
  - We say a situation stressful not stressing.

○Phrasak verbs
  - We often use well with get on with:
    I get on well with my all my other neighbours.

○First time clauses with as soon as
  - In the main clause we use will/woun’t  + infinitive:
    As soon as I finish this work, I’ll fo to the bank.

○too, too much, too many, too enough
  - We use too, too much and too many to say something is more than we want.
    I try to get home too late.
    He’s got too much work to do.
    I’ve always got too many things to do.
  - We don’t use too to mean very very
    ○ It was really beautiful.
    × It was too beautiful.
  - We use not enough to say something is less than we want.
    She’s not old enough to talk.
    I don’t have enough energy to do anything in the day.
  - We use enough to say womething is the correct number or amount.
    I earn enough to money for the whole family.
    I think this pen is big enough for us.

【生英語】今日の学び_20110205

Face to Face

英語を始めて6ヶ月。

TOEICの勉強も大事だけど、やっぱ話せないと意味がない。

ってことでLanguage Summary 6-7 をまとめてみる。

○Making comparisons
  - We use a lot or much before the comparative to say there there’s a big different:
    He’s a lot noisier. He’s much lazier.
  - We use a bit before the comparitive to say there’s a small differece:
     He’s also a bit more patient.
  - We can also use more with nouns:
     He’s got more money than her. I’ve got more free time than my brother.
  - We can also use not as ＋ adjective ＋ as to compare two people or things that are different:
    Harry isn’t as happy as Tom.
  - We use as ＋ adjective ＋ as to say that two people or things are the same.
     Tom’s as intelligent as Harry.

○Superlative
  - Before superlatives in sentences we use:
    the : She’s the happiest person Dom knows.
    possessive’s : He’s Jake’s best friend.
    possessive adjectives : She’s our richest relative.

○Expression with go
  - We use go on with trip and journy:
     He went on a business trip to Spain.
  - We often use go for a ＋ noun or go ＋verb＋ing to mean the same thing:
     go for a swim/run/walk = go swiming/running/walking

○Present Continuous for future arrangements
  - We often use the Present Continuous to ask about people’s arrangemens:
     What are you doing this evening?
     We’re getting married in July next year.

○Quantifiers
  - We don’t usually use much or many in positive sentence:
     ○I’ve got lots of free time.
　　×I’ve got much free time.
  - We use How much…? to ask about uncountable nouns and How many…? to ask about countable nouns.
    How much soap have we got?
    How many towels are there?

【生英語】今日の学び_20110116

好きな英単語

ってなんだろう。

・absolutely
・exactly
・that’s why
・maybe
・passion
…

私がよく声に出すのはこんな感じ。

これから使いたい、「気になる言葉」のナンバーワンはコレ。

INDEED

・He is indeed a man of few words.
・Do you remember her name?  Indeed I do.

・I am very happy indeed.
・Tha't’s a very good answer indeed.
・It depends very much indeed on the location.
× Is she very hungry indeed?
× I wonder if she is glad indeed.

・I saw her recently, indeed last night.
・I don’t mind. Indeed, I am glad.
  → in fact, in reality, in truth

・Indeed he is old, but he is still healthy.

・He left without saying good-bye.  Did he, indeed?
・Indeed! You finished your work!

【生英語】今日の学び_20110109

Face to Face

英語を始めて丸五ヶ月経ったわけで。よーやく、馴染んできたこのごろ。

Language Summary 3-5のまとめ。

・JOB – WORK
  ○ What’s his job? He’s got a job as a cleaner.
  × He’s looking for a work. I job in London.
  JOB: a countable noun
  WORK: an uncountable noun, a verb

・In the present we can use have to or have got to:
  ○ I’ve got to work tonight. = I have to work tonight.

・In Present Simple questions we can say:
  ○ Do you have to… ? or Have you got to… ?
  ○ Do you have to work tonight? = Have you go to work tonight?

・Activity verbs talk about activities and actions.
  We can use activity verbs in the Present Simple and the Present Continuous.
  play, work, write, eat, run and do

・State verbs talk about states, feelings and actons.
  We don’t usually use state verbs in the Present Continuous.
  ○ I like him. / I think it’s great.
  × I’m liking him. / I’m thinking it’s great.

・For apologies we often use:
  I’m really sorry, but I can’t see you tonight.
  I’m sorry, I couldn’t finish it yesterday.

・For reason we often use:
  I have to take a client out to dinner.
  I had to help Kate.

・For promise we often use:
I’ll do it now.
I’ll see you on Friday, I promise.

・We use –ed adjectives to describe how people feel:
  Many people are worried about how much TV children watch.

・We use –ing adjectives to describe the thing, situation, place or person that cause the feeling:
  TV can sometimes be fun and exciting.

・We often use Do you think… ? to make questions with will:
  Do you think robots will take over the world?

・To talk about ability in the present we use can/can’t + infinitive:
  At the moment robots can’t move around easily.
・To talk about ability in the future we use will/won’t be able to + infinitive:
  By 2020 robots will be able to walk and run.

・With the verb go, we usually say:
  I’m goint to Italy. not I’m going to go to Italy. but both are correct.

・be planning : I’m planning to retire early.
・be hoping : We’re hoping to spend about a year traveling.
   I’m hoping to… is less certain than I’m going to…
・be looking forward to : I’m looking forward to spending more time doing the things I enjoy.
   We can also use a pronoun or a nown : I’m looking forward my holiday.
・would like : I’d like to live abroad.
・be thinking of : I’m thinking of doing a degree in history of art.
・I want to be famous. I’d love to travel around the world.

【生英語】今日の学び_20110102

Nativeの生英語

Naitiveの生英語を題材に、ポイントをピックアップ。

やばいね。勉強になる。そっくりそのまま使いまくろう。

・I like to talk about Japan and learn more about japan and I enjoy telling you about Austrlia.

・I am coming to Japan for holiday to go skiiing in Niseko and then I will spend one week longer in Japan to see Tokyo and also visit my friend who has english school in Tokyo. He has had school there for long time.

・I have travelled to Japan 4 times but have not yet met any local people who could tell me and show me what Japan is like for local person.

・Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?

・Regards.

・It looks as though she is a bright girl

・After having lived in Japan for over 10 years now.

・I don't mind new experiences...eating new foods.

・I am interested in meeting a person who has a great imagination, enjoys good conversation with an intelligent man.

・New Year and Las Vegas was very exciting thanks to the fireworks.

・It was not so cold here but it was not so warm either.

・Time for me to board the plane.
・It is time to have a little food fun!

・lately I have been taking Irish Harp lessons which is a far cry from rock and roll.

・They have some incredible decorations as well as a very exciting New Year's Eve party that is held right in the center of the city and out in the streets!

・Hopefully I can get in a few days of rest and then start teaching again on the 5th.

【生英語】今日の学び_20110102

Face to Face

Language Summary の１と２のまとめ。

・We use a or an with jobs
  ○ I work as an editor.
  × I work as editor.

・We don’t usually use the verb practise with sports.
  ○ I play tennis.
  × I practise tennis.

・In gegative sentences we can also put very often at the end.
  ○ I don’t play tennis very often.

・We also use a lot and all the time to mean often.
  ○ He watches TV a lot / all the time.

・For plural numbers of days, weeks, etc., we use once, twice, etc. ＋ every.
  ○ I go once every two months.

・a couple of weeks ＝ two weeks

・I like this song. Oh, me too.
・I don’t like cycling. Oh, I do.

・I don’t like this song. Me, neither.
・I’m a vegitarian. Oh, I’m not.

・We don’t use a preposition with last or yesterday.
  × I saw it in last weekend.
  × I had dinner with Mike at yesterday evening.
  ○ I bought it on Friday. ＝ I bought it last Friday.

・We don’t usually use while with the Past Simple.
  ×　Shahrazad was getting ready for bed while her sister came to visite her.

・We don’t use did when we ask about the subject of the sentence.
  ○ Who bought KFC in 1986?
  × Who did buy KFC in 1986?
  ○ When did Mike buy it?
  × When Mike bought it?

・We can also use the Past Continuous to talk about an activity in progress at a point of time in the past.
  ○ I was watching TV at 9 o’clock.
  ＝ I started watching TV before 9 o’clock and continued watching after 9 o’clock.

・When we think the answer to a question will be yes we often use negative questions.
  ○ Didn’t we meet in Milan last year? (I think we did.)
  ○ You’re a student at the English Center, aren’t you? (I think you are.)

・Ending conversations.
  It was nice to see you again.
  I hope we meet again soon.
  It was nice meeting you.
  See you at school, probably.
  Let’s keep in touch.
  See you later, maybe.

【生英語】今日の学び_20110102

自分で見つけた生英語

最近頻繁に英文メールをやりとりしているが、これまでの学びをフル動員して書いているわけで。

果たしてその文法はあっているのか？

相手からの英文メールをそのままにしていくのはもったいないのでは？

と思い、このカテゴリで学びをまとめたい。

・Face to Face にある「Tips」
・その他の本文中にある「スラング」
・自分で書いた英語メールの添削
・相手のメール内にあるイカした表現
・ネットで見つけたイカした表現
・洋画で見つけた表現
・洋楽の歌詞中に見つけた表現

をピックアップ！