Hey Native speakers! Come and help us! Part 4

If you are a native speaker of English, please help us with
those questions that we are losing sleep over.

日本人の皆さんは、日頃どうしても気になって仕方がない質問を
ネイティブの方々にぶつけてみましょう。

前スレ
Hey Native speakers! Come and help us!
http://academy6.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/english/1162896792/

Hey Native speakers! Come and help us!
http://academy4.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/english/1089696504/

Hey Native speakers! Come and help us!
http://academy6.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/english/1172797189/

>>1
Thank you very much!!

いつも似非ネイティブしか来ないのにｗ

ネイティブだけど何か質問ある？

本日、無事、1万ＨＩＴを迎えることができましたm(__)m

感謝、感謝です。


8月2日のブログ1周年を前に、なんと喜ばしいことでしょう！！

1万人目の栄冠に輝かれた方はどなたか存じませんが、知らずに1万人目をＨＩＴされた方、おめでとうございます。
（気づいてないかもしれないですが…）

昨年、ブログをはじめた当初はまさか、ここまでになるとは予想もしてませんでした！！




特にファン登録されている皆様、いつも温かいコメント、ありがとうございます＼(^o^)／

これからもよろしくお願い致します。
広がれ！茅ヶ崎校ＮＯＶＡ友のＷＡ！英語レベル5　フランス語まだ７B 中国語もノバで学習29才血液　O型。他の学校に誘導開始。ノバに勝手にリンク。各種情報無断掲載で金もうけ。
注意なし実質公認。中傷ブログ　以下２段わけ
http://blogs.yaho
o.co.jp/mari_marine_marilyn
私は約5年前にNOVA茅ヶ崎校に入りました。７Cからスタートして、現在５までいきました。（私は一度、仕事の都合で藤沢ルミネに転校しましたが）マーク(元教師　現在独立　生徒誘導中)には茅ヶ崎、藤沢ルミネともにお世話になりました。

>>3
You obviously weren't watching the old thread then. There's me and at least one other dude who regularly answered people's questions.

>>6
Well then, prove it!
For a start, why don't you translate >>5 into English?
It's a piece of cake, cuz you're bilingual, right?

hey im not >>6 but im the new fluent kid here!
being a bilingual doesnt automatically make u a professional translator lol

You just give up before you actually try it!?
What a lazy bilingual ass!
Nobody is expecting professional work here, u know.

Yeah, i am a bilingual and lazy ass i admit that lol
im more lazy than i am bilingual actually
why would anybody waste time on translating some garbage sentences for some faggot ass stranger?
you seem to speak pretty good english too

Keep it classy, guys.

Since the previous thread had been gone, I posted the same question in "chat in English thread"
but haven't got no response. So let me ask here.
----
Let's say you invite two friends to your cottage in a resort.
You decided to take a picture in one of the rooms, welcoming them.
You'll write a welcome message on a paper and have the friends
sit behind it and you take a photo of them.

Does it sound natural if the message is " Dear A and B. Welcome to
my cottage." I'm not sure if "Dear" is right to use in this context.
I know it's used when you write a letter to someone but what about
the situation like this?

Is it better and natural to write, "To A and B" instead of "Dear A and B?"
Or are there other good alternatives?

>>12
Both "to" and "dear" are fine. "Dear" sounds more friendly/welcoming.
If you're close to these friends, you can also write "Hey A and B!"

Why not just write "Welcome A and B!" It is shorter.

I'm a native speaker, so let me answer your question.
In that situation I would write just "Keiko and Taro, welcome
to my cottage" without adding anything like to or dear.
But I'm not 100% sure, because I'm a native speaker of Japanese...hehe.

the final answer is that it really doesn't matter!

Dear can be used but whether or not you should use it depends on how
close you are. While dear shows signs of affection and respect it
sounds too formal to be used with close friends. I would go along with
>>13.

>>14, and >>15 can be used, but they sound like empty greetings that
one would used just to be polite. But this is only because I'm not
good at interacting with people and I take signs of encouragement
and affection and misinterpret them as signs of deception and
obligatory formalities.

>>13-17
Thank you very much for your responses and suggestions.

As an English learner, it's really hard to feel nuances of English, but
your explanations really help to understand subtle differences.
Thank you!

This was linked over from http://4-ch.net/4ch. I cannot read Japanese, so I don't frequent here. If anyone needs help, you could always hop over to 4-ch and ask for help.

Got a question here

Does anyone get Japanese obssesion with circumcised penises?
Is there any other country where ppl (men i should say) get crazy about it?

Uh, Israel? w

>20
Be more specific because this is an unheard of phenonemon.

>22

Unheard? Then you've obviously never bought men's fashion magazines here.
Just go to the last few pages of these magazines. They are full of this kind of ads.
Oh no your penise is usually covered? too bad girls wont like it.

I just think there are more to sex than the head of ur penise lol.

>>21
lol. Somehow it makes sense to me.

>>23
Ads trying to persuade someone into getting circumcised? It's a
shame girls are turned off by this. I often hear girls and other boys
mocking men who are rumoured to be uncircumcised. But that
was back in school when the word penis would make girls giggle.

I'm an Australian by the way.

>>24

Its everywhere. they say it improves ur sexual performance somehow.

Wish i was circumcised.
apparently circumcised males have less chance of getting HIV.
saw it a while ago on THE AGE. being clean is the best thing ur penise can hav.

Come on!
English is a very difficult language for me to pronounce.
Why do you native speakers often use your tongue and teeth?

I tried to look it up in my dictinary, but I couldn't.
What does "The Eel and the Cave springs to mind!" mean?

>>27
Read this: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080104060601AA8k84q

The expression "(something) springs to mind" basically means that you suddenly think of (something).
Here's one of the definitions for "spring" from dictionary.com: 10. to come or appear suddenly, as if at a bound: (example) An objection sprang to mind.

>>28
Thank you very much!

○○にのみ効果がある

というのは
have effect only on marumaru
と
have effect on only marumaru

どちらが正しいのでしょうか？
出来ればそれぞれのニュアンスなども教えて頂けないでしょうか？

>>30
誘導してもらったらまず礼を言え、ボケ。
日本語じゃなくて英語で質問しろボケ。
日本語ができる外国人はこのスレに一人だけだ、ボけ。

Hi teacher,
I'm planning to have a homestay in London next month and could you recommend something good for souvenir to my host family?
They are native English..Any advice is greatly appreciated,

Thanks

Chopsticks...
Or rubber dildos...

>>32

Ginseng tea is a good choice. The English love tea, you know.

What does Internet service provider mean?

I tought it means a commpany that enables you to get access to the Internet,
bisides giving you e-mail address and in some cases website spaces on the
Net. But I read article where it is usesd to mean a company that provides
services on the Net.

I know some companies such as AOL provide both sevices, which are
internet connecting service and webportal service. But if it's just
a company that doesn't give you Internet connecting service, then you
still call it Internet service provider?
For example, do you call Google Internet service provider?
I'm kind of confused and I hope you undersatnd what I'm trying to
say.

>>35
An Internet Service Provider, or as it is commonly abbreviated, ISP,
is a company who provides internet service to your home or business.
Google is not an ISP. Companies that allow you to connect to the internet,
like AOL as you mentioned, are ISPs. Simply put, they're companies that
give your home, office, or otherwise, internet access.

While companies like Google do indeed provide a service on the internet,
you would not often, if ever, hear someone refer to them as an ISP.

>>20
Most men in the U.S. are circumcised, to answer your question
concerning other countries.
However, it's not a topic I can say is commonly brought up.

>>26
Hehe, that's just the way most European languages evolved, I suppose.
Japanese has less sounds but more characters... English has more sounds
and less characters. Moving from a native language with a smaller vocal
range to a foreign one with a larger range is usually difficult for anyone.

WOW!
This thread seems to be intellectual.
Though it is said that a lot of native speakers are here, I can't
judge which are their comments.

By the way, did I say that right?

>>37
You being here can serve no purpose at all. Goodbye!

>>37
This is >>36. I'm a native speaker.

Yes, your post was quite easy to read. Though, there are a couple parts
that sound a little strange to me, while still being correct. Instead of
"this thread seems to be intellectual", I would say "this seems to be an
intellectual thread" or something similar. I would also replace "...I
can't judge which are their comments" with "...I can't judge which comments
are theirs."

Very good, though.

>>39
Thank you so much!

>>38
Please don't deceive yourself.
I'm not the man who leaves trivial comments. Actually, my English
comments are odd and amateurish but I'm a square English learner.
I think you don't have a right to say that.

>>36
Thank you very much for making everything clear.
There's a company called "livedoor" in Japan and it runs a portal site
like yahoo. It used to provide Internet connecting service before but
not anymore. But I saw an article where it is refered to as an ISP or Internet
sevice provider, so I was really confused.
Thank you again.

>>41
Are you still here? Leave!

>>43
Could you tell me the reason that I should leave this thread?

I have a question about the word "further" when used in the sentense
below. (Sorry I need to blur the exact sentense. I hope you understand
what you mean.)

Almost one in five people do not ..... at all, and a further third
----

What does this "further third" mean? Does it mean "as many as one third"?

Or is it "one third" of "one in five" ? so that means 1/5*1/3=1/15?

>>45
Are you sure you transcribed that sentence properly? In its current form
I can't make much sense of it. There's not enough around the portion
you're asking about to see what they mean via context clues.

>>46
I had to make the original sentense blur because writing it as it is not
a good idea. Sorry. I give it another try. Hope the below makes sense.


Almost one in five people do not --- at all,
and a further third ---- .

A verb comes in the first--- and another verb which has negative
connotatioin comes in the second ----.
Let's say the number of people is 150.
So the number of "one in five people" is 30.
What I don't understand is "a further third" part.
I think it means one third but I don't understand whether
it's "one third of 150" or "one third of 120" (150-30=120).

Do you undersatnd what I mean? My interpretation is "a further third" is
wrong? I think it's one third but what I'm not sure is if it's
one third of 150 or one third of 120.

When something (not someone, subject is neither a person nor people)
"make the connection," what does it mean?

Take-out doesn't often convey "gourmet," but a new restaurant in Harrisburg has made the connection.

In this case above, what "made the connection" mean.
More generally speaking when "something" not "someone" make the connection,
what does that mean?

Thank you.

>>49
When a connection is made it means that the things in question are somehow
related. In the example you provided it is pointing out that gourmet
food is usually not associated with fast food, but the restaurant in
Harrisburg has bridged the gap between those two things.

In case bridging the gap is an unfamiliar term. It means to bring two
things closer together by creating a link/bridge between the two contrasting
objects and eliminating the "gap" between them. If anything else needs
clarification please do not hesitate to ask.


On a completely unrelated note. I've had to type this out twice because
the first time I neglected to send the message and closed the window.
It's late--10 minutes to 2AM. My eye lids are getting heavy.

>>50
Thank you very much for your response.
Yes, I know the expression, "bridge the gap."
Youe explanation is so detailed and easy to understand that I came to
understand the expression deeper than before.


Thanks a millioin for taking all the trouble to type twice to post your response.
Sweet dreams!

>>47

It means a one third of 150. The writer is using different methods of relating a percentage in order
to avoid a cluttered sentence. For example, you wouldn't use the same word five times in a single sentence
but rather think of synonyms which would make the passage easier to read. Notice how I said "passage"
just now instead of "sentence" for a second time.

emily is my energy to live. she is my wife. her sexy body makes my penis exciting. THX

>>53
they say that KGKGKG has no occupation and is being fed by his parents.
He is a middle-aged man, though. LOL

KGKGKG is god

>>52
Thank you for you explanation.

"Almost one in five people do not --- at all,
and a further third ---- . "

>The writer is using different methods of relating a percentage in order
>to avoid a cluttered sentence.

I think I know what you mean. You mean the writer avoid using "one in third"
ands used a third. What I don't I don't understand is what kind of nuance
the word "further" has. What's the difference between just saying
"one third" and "a further third?"

>>56

"Further", in this case, means "in addition to the previous statement."
It's not really necessary to the meaning of the sentence but if it was left in a more basic form, it would sound awkward.
There are many ways to write the same passage and have it retain the same meaning. For instance:

"Almost one in five people do not --- at all, and one third ----." (Basic)
"Almost one in five people do not --- at all, and even one third ----."
"Almost one in five people do not --- at all. Also, one third ----."
"Almost one in five people do not --- at all. Furthermore, one third ----."
"Almost one in five people do not --- at all, one third ---- as well."

I can think of a hundred more ways to write it really.

>>57
Oh, Thank you very much for paraphrasing the passage, and explaning
what nuance "further" adds to the sentense.
Your explanation really helps. Now I'm out of fog.
Thank you very much!

What does "Puuti" here mean? I serached in various languages dictionary online but couldn't find the meaning
of the word. Thank you.

"Can she push a plow? Can she milk a goat? No, she is too delicate. Can she have an intelligent conversation?
No, she is silly and foolish. Will she take care of you when you are sick? No, she is spoiled and
will only want you to take care of her. So, she is beautiful. So what? Ptuui!"

I mean Ptuui, not Puuti.

>>59
Wow! I haven't heard that phrase in a loooong time!

"Ptuui" or "P'tooey" (and other versions I guess) are a sound effect for spitting.
A long time ago (and sometimes today) if you want to show disrespect towards someone you will spit on the ground while talking about them.
In the case of "ptuui" the speaker wanted to show disrespect, but didn't want to go through the trouble of spitting, so they said the sound effect instead.

>>61
Thank you VERY MUCH for your answer.
This is an exerpt from a novel, "Holes."
It became a movie where Sigany Weaver (terrible spelling, but you know who she is.)
makes appearance.

>>62
You're welcome! I'm glad my answer was okay to understand. n_n
I am familiar with that movie, but not the novel. :)

>>63
The storyline is very interesting and not so difficult so the novel
is kind of popular among Japanese English learners.
It's a real page turner.

You'd think that someone would start an "Ask the English Speakers" thread by now, huh?

>>65
What do you mean?

>>66
I meant that it's possible for someone to make a thread to ask questions to English speakers (like this thread) except...oh, forget it.

>>67
Ahh, You mean you're a fluent English speaker but not a native
English speaker? If you know an answer to a question, you can answer it.

Tanpa Bay Devil Rays has won League seires and advamced to World Series.

I saw a sign hold up by a fan in the stadium that reads, "Devil Rays
World Series bound." What does this mean? When train is bound for A,
that means, the train's destination is A.

Bind can mean "tie" so its pas particple form can mean Devil Rays
advancement to World Series can mean its advancement is set in stone.

Wouuld you explain what "Devil Rays World Series bound" means?

>>69
Your first guess is correct. It means the same thing as saying "The Devil Rays are bound for the World Series".
But they're not called the "Devil Rays" anymore, it's just "Rays" =P.

>>70
Thank you for your explanation!

I googled and yeah, it changed its name to just "Rays" during the last
year's stove league. Maybe the sign I saw was written correctly.
Maybe it's just that I changed the sign in my head before I posted here.

I bought a book yesterday whose title can be translated as something like
"Can you talk about yourself in English?" In the book there are many
sample paragraphs the authors think useful when you introduce yourself to
English speakers. It's cowritten by a pair of a Japanese and a native
English speaker. The Japanese is involved in English education business
and has written some English learning books. I feel something awkward a bit
about the paragraphs in the book. There are some parts in them that don't sound
natural to me. Maybe I'm wrong but I suspect the paragraphs were written
by the Japanese and the native English speaker didn't proofread them.
I'll type two paragraphs from the book and would like you native speakers to
tell me your opinions.

Paragraph 1)

In my family, the men outnumber the women.< For example,> I am a guy,
and I have two brothers and only one sister. <Both> my parents also came
from families that had more brothers than sisters. My poor sister was always wishing
she could have another sister! I'm the second youngest members of my family.
<When I was growing up,> my brothers and I fought all the time. I fought with my
sister quite a bit, too. However, we are all pretty close now.
We send each other e-mails two or three times a week. We live pretty
far apart, though, so we don't see each other in person as much as we
would like to.

I feel something is awkward about the usage of <for example> here.
Doesn't it sound more natural if you say "both of" instead of <both>?
DOesn't it sound more natural if you say "When I was a kid/child or
As a kid/As a child or in my childhood" instead of <when I was growing up>?
I feel something awkward about the last sentense, regarding, ---though, so---part.
All in all, I feel the flow of the paragraph is awkward.

<Sample paragraph 2>

I really love my new apartment! <It wasn't easy to find what
I was looking for,> but I finally did.
I had three priorities: First, I wanted it to be on the
same line as my office. Second, I wanted to find a place
within a five-minute walk from my station. Finally,
I wanted to have a park nearby, where I can jog. <I went to
about fifteen places before I found something I was happy with.>
<This place has everything I was looking for.>
There is a big park just around the corner, it's a three-minute
walk from the station, and I don't have to transfer
to get to work! Not only that, it's brand new, and
it's ten thousand yen less than my last place!

<It wasn't easy to find what I was looking for,> sounds awkward to me.
"It wasn't easy to find my ideal apartment" or "It wasn't easy to
find an apartment that lives up to my expectation" or something like that
sounds more natural to me.

<I went to about fifteen places before I found something I was happy with.>
sounds a little bit odd to me. According to its Japanese translation,
this "something" is meant to mean the apartment he decided to live in.
<I went to about fifteen places "until" I found "the one" I was happy with.>
sounds more natural to me.

Shouldn't <This place has everything I was looking for.> be something
like "This place matches all of the conditions" or "This place has
everything I hoped for." or something?

There're other things that sounds a little bit odd to me.
I feel the overall flow is awkward, too. What do you think from a native
speaker's point of view? If my sense is right, I think I'll throw the book away.

By the way, It's not that Paragraph 2 comes after Paragraph 1.
They are independent samples.

>>73
<For example> is fine and <both> or "both of" have no difference in terms of one sounding more natural.
People would say <When I was growing up> or "As a kid"/"When I was a kid" more so then "During my childhood".
The paragraph it self is fine, it just isn't very interesting and is written very simply with clipped (short) sentences. It sounds like something a 10 year old would say.

>>74
This paragraph is more complex then paragraph 1 and actually sounds natural, even the phrases in the <>.
"This place matches all of the conditions" sounds very awkward, but "This place has everything I hoped for" works just as well as the original phrase.
Your alternative suggestions probably sound more natural to you because of how it translates into Japanese.

>>75
Are these examples supposed to be conversational or written narratives?
Also, the exclamation mark ("!") is overused. My teacher once told me, "You get 3 exclamation marks in your lifetime as a writer, use them wisely."
The book doesn't seem too bad, although you're right that it doesn't sound completely natural. This is because, at least the examples you gave, are monologues.
I can't really accurately tell you whether the book is good or not since I know it's nearly impossible to learn conversational English/Japanese from a book. You need to actually find someone to speak to.
Actually, the internet is probably the closest you can get to conversational English without speaking practice.

>>76
Thank you very much for answering my question.
You really helped me. I think my guess was wrong and I can trust the
book at least.

Japanese is said to be shy. Plus, Japanese isn't good at self introductoin
even in Japanese and isn't good at making an impression on people overseas
for that matter. This book's concept is showing English learners
effective ways to get themselves known to people with many sample paragraphs.

The contents of the sample paragraphs is rich in variety. Ranging from
talking about your hobby, explaning your company's product lines to
foreginers, explaining your family members (like paragraphs 1) followed
by explanation of key words and phrases after each paragraph.

>It sounds like something a 10 year old would say.
I see. Maybe that's because this is the first paragraph of all or
maybe the contets about the days of fighting with siblings or maybe
the authoirs think using easy words and phrases is a good idea because
some users of this book isn't advanced. as I said above there are smaple
paragraphs regarding explaining companies and such.

>Are these examples supposed to be conversational or written narratives?
Maybe all the paragraphs are for occasions of when you "talk" to foreigners
although I think they can be used when you explaining yourself in email.
I keep in mind that you can't overuse ! when it comes to writitng. Thank you
for the tip. Three times in your life? Then I can't use it for the
rest of my life. lol but I know what your teacher meant.

>This is because, at least the examples you gave, are monologues.
I see. All the sample paragraphs are in the form of monologue.
It's OK as long as the book isn't full of awkward mistakes.
I udesrstand what you mean reagarding speaking to foreigners face to
face (virtually such as on the Internet included).

I'll keep reading this book as long as the awkwardness you felt
comes only from the form of monologue. You really helped me.
I would throw away the book if all those paragraphs were full of
Eng"R"ish kind of awkwardness.

>>77
>>78
I'm curious, can you give an example of a later/more advanced example?
If the first paragraph you gave was actually the first example in the book then it would make sense that it's so simple.
Japanese aren't good at self introductions? You guys invented the 自己紹介! The Japanese people I met in Japan weren't shy, but maybe that's because we were all high school students.

By the way, are you sure you need this book? Your English is very good and it seems like you have good enough of a vocabulary to be able explain yourself to English speakers.

>>79
I'll show you two more examples. This time, they are realated to
work. There are some parts I think kind of awkward. Maybe I'm wrong
again, though. If you have time, please tell me what you think about the two
examples.
---------
<A>
I work for a pharmaceutical company. and we develop drugs to treat various
forms of canacer. Our company has <a Mission Statement>, and every employees has to
know it by heart. It's in Japanese, <but> in English it is translated as, "We serve
humanity's needs, with the highest levels of scientific and human excellence<".>
The point is, as scientists, we can develop effective medicines.
And as people, by working hard and improving ourselves, we can do things which make the
world a better place. I think it's <a good Mission Statement>, and I am
proud to work at this company.

Should <a Mission Statement> be Mission Statement? (Without "a"). If you
add "a" then doesn't it mean there are prural mission statements in the
company? Writing M as in mission and S as in statement in capital letters
looks odd to me.

Shouldn't the <but> be <and>?
ragarding <".>, I read somewhere a period has to be inside a quotation mark.
<a good Mission Statement> in the last sentense should be written without
capital letters?(M and S)

<B>
Our headquarters are in Sangenjaya, which is a very convenient area.
It is just two stops from Shibuya, one of the main stations of the central
Yamanote Line. We have two buildings, which occupy half a city block.
Both buildings are brand new, <and so> they are designed as "intelligent
buildings<".> That means they are fully equipped to handle all our
computer and telecommunication needs. The offices are very modern
and spacious, so people like coming to work here. Furthermore,
you can access the building directly from the station, which is great
for cold or rainy days.

Regarding <and so>, is "and" needed? I just thought "and" isn't necessary.
If there are any parts you think awkward, please tell me.
-----------
>Japanese aren't good at self introductions? You guys invented the 自己紹介!
The Japanese people I met in Japan weren't shy, but maybe that's because we were all high school students.

自己紹介!?? Is it a website which consists of many questions prepared
for self-intorduction and just by answering these questions a user
can introduce themselves? If so that's not a face to face communication
and you don't need creativity at all to effectively introduce yourself.

But as you say, younger generation might be getting less and less shy.
According to the google search below, Japanese people are 100 times
as shy as American people. This is just a joke though.
http://www.google.co.jp/search?hl=ja&q=%22American+people+are+shy%22&lr=
http://www.google.co.jp/search?hl=ja&q=%22Japanese+people+are+shy%22&lr=

>By the way, are you sure you need this book? Your English is very good and it seems....

Thank you for your compliment. Actually I bought this book at a second-hand
book store at a half price. Yes, as you say I think I can introduce myself
in English but it cost just half of the price you have to pay at
a bookstore(not a second-hand one) so I thought why not?
I think I wouldn't have bought it if I had spotted it at a usual
bookstore.

There is always something I learn even from a relatively easy book.
Sometimes it's good to review by reading an easy book, too.
I agree with the idea that Japanese aren't good at talking about themselves
in English when they meet new people. When it comes to English,
output(writing and speaking)is more difficult than input (reading and listening)
as am English learner and self-introduction is output, so I bought
the book.

How come fucking gaijin living in Japan are all crap at Japanese?

>>80 ,81,82
The "a" should definitely be there since it's referring to the singular noun "mission statement".
However, the "M" and "S" do not need to be capitalized, I'm not sure why they did that...
It should be "but" since it's providing the alternative meaning to the Japanese. Not sure if that made sense, but the usage in the example is correct.

Ah yes, the tricky rules of quotations. Since the example is actually quoting something, the period should be included in the quotation <.">.
However, <"intelligent buildings".> is correct because it is being used to describe something.
In the book's example it coins words "intelligent building" and then defines "intelligent building" in the next sentence.
Different example: Many homes now have machines called "computers". In the mid 20th century these machines were created to autonomously compute data.

The "and" isn't necessary, but it also isn't awkward.

Actually these paragraphs are very good and much more complex then the other examples. If this is how the majority of the book is then I'd say it'd be very useful tool.
From what I've seen, they seem 95% correct and as long as you only practice the more complicated examples you won't sound awkward.
It's funny, but I bought a Japanese phrase book from a second hand book store because it was so cheap, but it's very simple ("トイレはどこですか。").

>>83
I think it's usually because they haven't been learning the language for very long. Japanese kids learn English starting at a very young age, but most Westerners will never learn Japanese, and therefore classes are usually only found in universities.
Even then, it's not common for universities to offer Japanese language courses. I'm lucky my high school offers Japanese and I think all the universities I'm looking at have Japanese.

>>84
Fuck off liar. This thread is for honest people only.

>>84
How long you've been learning the language isn't the main reason, IMO. Most Japanese people also suck balls at English even if they've been "learning" it, as you say, for years.
Most people suck at most foreign languages, because a) it's hard for most people to pick up new languages; b) a lot of people don't actually give much of a shit about the language they're "learning";
and c) the majority of foreign language learners aren't living or haven't lived very long in a country where that language is widely spoken = not a lot of practical experience.

>>85
What?

>>86
True, although I found that the Japanese high school kids I met were much much better at English then I was at Japanese.
I think the reason a new language is hard to learn is because it takes straight up memorization. Years of being exposed to the same words will eventually drill it into your head.
I agree that if your passionate about learning a language you can improve exponentially compared to someone who doesn't give a shit and immersion is of course a plus. There is way more English in Japan then there is Japanese in America.

>>87
Way more Engrish, you mean. www

>>84>>87
×then ○than

>>84
Thank you for explaining one by one.
Your endorcement are convincing and now I kind of have trust in the book.]
I read out loud 20 paragraphs in the book. It's said reading out loud works
to impolant something in your brain.

"トイレはどこですか。" is very important phrase to remember in a way.
You would have to pee on the spot if you didn't know the phrase. :p

Please tell me the meaning of the following sentences.
I had it said in a chat room.

"Have not seen tits on internet in a week? Lurk moar"

>>91
moar -> more (this is internet slang)

(You) have not seen tits on internet in a week? Lurk more.

>>92
Thank you for explaining to me.

I've got a question. Help me.

You pronounce the word 'front' /frant/ when it is one word.
(Some pronunciation symbols of IPA cannot be displayed properly here.
So, I had to simplified some symbols. /a/ is a vowel as in 'cut', 'much', 'sang' etc.)

I learned many fixed phrases have fixed stress patterns.
For example, the word 'waiting room' is pronounced with
stress on 'waiting', not on 'room'.

I know vowels in unstressed syllables are pronounced /e/.
(/e/ is actually a reversed 'e' letter. It's a so-called schwa sound,
as in weak forms of 'was', 'have' etc. and the first vowel in 'po' of 'poteto')

According to a book, the word 'front door' is pronounced with stress on 'door'.
I want to know how you say 'front' in 'front door'. /frant/ or /frent/?

Sorry. I've made a mistake.
/a/ is a vowel as in 'cut', 'much', 'sung' (NOT sang) etc.

It's definitely /a/.
At least, that's what the dictionary I checked said.

sparky4 is here

"Their photographs did not tell us much new about the world,
other than it could now be photographed."

1) Does this sentense sound natural?
2) Is "much" in this sentense modified by "new"?
3) If so, is it common that "much" as a noun is modified by an adjective
put right after "much"? I'm familiar with expressions like
"something new (or other adjectives), anything new (or other adjectives), but
I've never seen "much+adjective" pattern like this.

>>98
1) Yes
2) Yes (much new = much that was new)
3) Yes, usually used in the negative. (random examples from google: "We don't learn much new about her here", "Clinton can’t seem to say much good about Obama", "At first there doesn't seem to be much special about him.")

>>99
Thank you very much!
And thank you for googling, too.
There is still a lot to learn...

>>96
Thanks for answering my question.
Are you a native speaker of English?

>>92
lurk moar is the equivalent of look around in the internet more!

Hi,native speakers.
1.Can you correct my prounciation? http://www.kantalk.com/Recording/Play/ID/5659
I'm happy if you let me know anything strange or weired.
I'm sorry If my terrible pronunciation makes you feel bad.
2.Can you tell me which one is more natural to native speakers
,"My room is messy" or "My room is cluttered."

>>103
Your pronunciation is pretty good, you just have an accent.
Since it says you live in the US, you'll starting picking up more on American accents.
"My room is messy" is more common, but it wouldn't be strange to say "My room is cluttered".

>>104
Thanks a lot. You've been very helpful.
By the way, do you know any American websites like 2ch?
I want to try to upload my recording and get some advice
there.

>>105
There is one... http://www.4chan.org
It doesn't have as many boards as 2ch, but it is the most popular imageboard for English speakers.
I post on a couple of the boards, but I stay far away from others. For example, it might be your first instinct to post in /jp/ (Japan/General),
but they mostly talk about hentai. /trv/ (Travel) gives good advice though, maybe you could post there.

The mood in 4chan is a lot different than here.
People are sarcastic and biting. Answers are scathing.
Also, there are a variety of memes that may confuse you at first.

The /jp/ board was never supposed to exist.
It was split-off from the /a/ board (for anime and manga).
What happened was that a troll spammed the /a/ board with Touhou threads.
Eventually, a mod decreed that only anime and manga-related threads were allowed in /a/.
Supposedly, /jp/ is a Japan Appreciation board, but it was only ever created to shunt off Touhou threads.

/jp/ is mostly Touhou and visual novel threads.

ベイエリア人 and I are basically telling all 日本人 to stay away from 4chan unless you're prepared for a lot of general douchebaggery.
Seriously though, /trv/ is the best bet for you that I know of. Your post about English help would be kind of relevant since you're a foreigner in America.
If you do post there you should offer something in return, ex:telling people to ask you questions about your experience etc. Many posters on /trv/ would find it interesting.
http://zip.4chan.org/trv/imgboard.html

If anyone does want to post on 4chan, just ask ベイエリア人 or I for help I guess (and say in which board you are posting).

>stay away from 4chan unless you're prepared for a lot of general douchebaggery
The same goes for 2ch.

What matters is what you want to get out of it. Do you want to get better at English slang? Keep up with the latest Internet jokes and memes? 4chan's the place to go.
You've even got ED (http://encyclopediadramatica.com/Category:Memes) to explain the history behind all the memes to you, something I wish 2ch had an equivalent for (although はてな tends to have all the major ones).
If your English is good enough that you're mostly comfortable understanding the content, and you happen to like the 4chan-brand of humor, it's an awesome site. Never fails to crack me up.
Just like the hilarious douchebaggery on 2ch, which is why I've stayed here so long.

If you want a friendly site with nice people, look elsewhere. If you want a site full of really funny assholes, 4chan is for you.

>>109
Anon tends to deliver though, so don't count out the random helpfulness found on 4chan.

Democrat Barack Obama leads Republican John McCain in six of eight key battleground states one day before the U.S. election,
[ including the big prizes of Florida and Ohio ],
[ according to a series of Reuters/Zogby polls [ released on Monday ] ].
Obama holds a 7-point edge over McCain among likely U.S. voters in a separate Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby national [ tracking ] poll, up 1 percentage point from Sunday.
The telephone poll has a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points.
Obama heads into Tuesday's voting in a comfortable position,
with [ McCain struggling [ to overtake Obama's lead in every national opinion poll ]
and [ to hold off his challenge in about a dozen states [ won by President George W. Bush in 2004 ] ].

頑張れオバマ

>>106,107,108,109
Thank you for your advice. 4ch looks different from here.
I should be careful of how to behave there.

Good luck.

>>112
I think I saw your post in /trv/ (or was it someone else?)

Unfortunately, 4chan sounds like my kind of place. I have mixed feelings about that..

There is also http://4-ch.net

I think it's much different from 4chan, since it's more serious discussion.
I think you could get some good advice there!

I've posted in 4chan a few times with some 2chers lol.
That wasn't bad though becasue I've been in 2ch loong time.
I think I know what to do and not to do for that kind of community :P
But, I'm kinda afraid of posting by myself, so I'll just read 4ch.
YES I'm a chicken

http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=6zJs6aJHlok

What does he say at 1:26 in the video above?

Did he say "Oh, is that right?"

>>118
Yup.

>>119
Are you serious?
Are you S-chan?
Do you think he looks like Obama?

>>120
Yes. Yes. Not really.

>>121
All right. Thank you for your response. Sleep tight.

Blonde at Starbucks

A blonde is working at the local Starbucks.
A lady walks in and orders an Iced Cappuccino.

"Do you want it hot or cold?"

Fabio Lanzoni

I searched for his information on the Internet and found out that
he's an Italian model. Do you use the term "fabio" in conversation
when you redicule or put someone down? I searched in Urbandictionary.com
and got the nuance but I want you to introduce how you use the term
in conversation.

I want to know what's your take on him? I mean, in what way he's considered.
Thank you.

>>124
Fabio is known for buff and blond with long hair. He used to appear on romance novels and in commercials with his shirt partly open or completely off.
The general consensus is that he's really cheesy and over the top, maybe a little overconfident in his looks.

I would only use this in the case of maybe being at the beach and seeing a really muscular guy with his shirt blowing open, posing for girls and touching his hair.
I would think "Oh geez, this guy thinks he's Fabio.LOL " xD

>>125
Ahh, I see. I now understand his image. And your example situation is
very funny. I can imagine the situation. haha
Thank you very much.

He is now almost 50 years old and I guess he can't count on his looks,
muscles than he used to...Still he looks young than average 50 year-old
manm though.

I'd like to know how "cod" is used. I looked it up in urbandictionary.com
and know it sometimes mean dick or something.

If you refer to a man as cod, then what connotation does it have?
Like when it is used, "he's a cod" or something.

Would you rewrite the following sentense? "Be that blah blah" part is
difficult to understand.

"Be that face and tremendous power will be transmitted through you,
for you will be reflecting - back upon those who sent them - a million prayers."

It's about Obama and the article is not in favor of him.

The sentence is hard to figure out unless you look at the sentence right before it.

There is no limit to the adoration of the potential fan club for
an individual who - in myth or reality - can present a welcoming,
receptive but essentially blank face with warmth, with charm, and
perhaps a little guile too. Be that face and tremendous power
will be transmitted through you, for you will be reflecting -
back upon those who sent them - a million prayers.

The sentence is directed towards the reader: if you be "that face", power will be transmitted through you.

>>129
Thank you very much. Yeah, I should have pasted more.
This is a very difficult to understand article in the first place.

>>104

4ch = english 2ch

What does she say at 2:45?
http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm1471585

I think it's "There. Did that do the trick?"
Am I right?

By the way, you need to sign up to see the video.
I heard niconico is popular and some English speaking people have
their accounts there.

>>132
"There. Bet that did the trick."

>>134
I see. I see. That makes sense and the line exactly sounds like it.
Thanks!

>>135
I love that show by the way lol. I'm not a big anime fan but for some reason that one grabbed my attention.

>>136
Well.... Actually, that wasn't originally my question. I mean, someone posted the
question in a thread in English board. The line sound like the one
I posted in 132 to me but I wansn't sure so I asked the question here to
confirm if my answer is right or not.

For >>132 and >>134. Thanks. I post the question in another board mentioned.
That does make sense! ;)

http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=My5JbaN2HKs
↑はある邦楽バンドのライブ動画ですが、1曲目は一応
全て英詞なのですが、英語のできる人はこれがちゃんと
英語として聴こえるものでしょうか？
それとも、典型的な「日本語英語」でしょうか？

Is anyone here now? Maybe not, it's 2:30 in Japan now, isn't it? Nobody has posted for over an hour and a half.

I was studying with sbd.
Talking about cocoa, I meant it hot cocoa, we confused.

She wrote:
"Its taste and perfume sets my mind at ease."

I wrote:
"Its flavor and perfume make me feel at ease."

What do you think about these passages?
Are they wrong? How do you say?

>>141
using "perfume" seems strange here. I would just say "smell." "Aroma" might sound nice, too.
As for "flavor" and "taste," either one is fine - I don't think one sounds unnatural. However, with this sentence, it seems you are trying to give those feelings to the reader.
So using "flavor" and "aroma" would flow nicely.
Either way, "perfume" doesn't seem right. At the moment, I can't think of a situation I would use that word, except for talking about an actual perfume.
Perhaps if you were discussing the smell of flowers, it would work.

>>141
For the second half of the sentences, "Sets my mind at ease" or "make me feel at ease."
Either is fine. However, there should not be an s at the end of "sets" in this case.

In addition, watching the Youtube, I found a movie about Japanese-English, called Japlish.
In the movie,looking at an advertisement below of a vending machine , a spokesperson saying with laughing at loudly,
"Why don't you have anything to drink? Choose one making you better feeling."

I don't make out why he laughed at these sentences.

Why are these so funny? Could you tell me the why?

>>142 >>143
Thanks! I made it out! A and B is not ONE.
And the usage of perfume or so!

>>144
Were these sentences on the vending machine, or did he just say them?
I will answer assuming that they were printed on the machine.
There is nothing grammatically wrong with the first, however the meaning is not what was probably intended.
"Why don't you have anything to drink?" is something you might say to a person who has nothing to offer you. It is as if you want something to drink, and they don't have any.
If I understand the intent correctly, this should read "Why don't you have something to drink?"
The difference in meaning is because "anything" or "something" are being used with a negative (don't).
I could rephrase this way: "Why don't you have anything to drink?" Carries the same meaning as "You have nothing to drink. Why?" It is as if the person asking expects there to be drinks available, and none are.
On the other hand, "Why don't you have something to drink?" is an offer. It is roughly the same as "Please have something to drink."

As for the second sentence, it is just poorly put together. I can understand the meaning, but only intuitively. The grammar and word order just don't work.
It should read "Choose one to make you feel better." maybe. Or, "Choose one and feel better."
Even these are a little bit strange though, because they imply that the person reading them does not feel well.
They might be better off saying something like "Choose one to feel good."
If my interpretation is correct, that would be closest to the intended meaning.

>>144
Thanks!!
I got it! And I could laugh at them, now!
These sentences are just so Fuuny, indeed!
Yes, they were printed on the machine.
Thanks to you, I got it!
It had been the hardest question among us that can't be answered.

I was wrong. >>144 should read >>146. thanks.

>>148
Glad to help.

>>139
I see you have bad taste in music.

>>150
What do you mean?

>Black Friday (day after Thanksgiving), or Cyber Monday (first Monday following Thanksgiving)

I know why it's called Black Friday. It's called like this because
Christmas shopping starts the next day of Thanksgiving day and businesses
can make profit, meaning become in black as opposed to in red.

Why is the first Monday after TG called Cyber Monday?

Black Friday is a real Holiday (or at least a day with a name - it isn't traditionally something to celebrate).
I don't know why it became a shopping day, but it is. Stores open early in the morning with great deals, and people stand in line go get good prices.
It's a very profitable day for stores. It's called Black Friday though because of something much older - It's the day Jesus was crucified.
Some people also say it's the day that ensures a store will be "in the black" (That is, make a profit) because they do so much business that day.

"Cyber Monday" is a very new term, only a couple of years old, and no real people ever says it.
It was pretty much invented by the media a couple years ago.
What it describes is people going back to work on Monday after the holiday and getting online to do shopping.
It is said that this is the biggest day of the year for online shopping.
As I said though, real people don't use the phrase.

>>153 scratch that bit about jesus. I'm thinking of something else.
I'm fairly sure the name is older than te shopping tradition, though.

>>154 forget that too. Wikipedia tells me I'm wrong. What do I know?
"The term "Black Friday" originated in Philadelphia in reference to the heavy traffic on that day.
More recently, merchants and the media have used it instead to refer to the beginning of the period in which retailers are in the black (i.e., turning a profit)."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_(shopping)



I suppose none of this matters though, because the question wasn't about Black Friday, it was about Cyber Monday.
I stand by my answer to that.

>>153
Thank you for your explanation and the link.
I didn't know Black Friday came from the heavy traffic.

The quote was from C-NET's newsletter so it makes sense that
the word was used there althuogh it isn't commonly used.
The description in the wikipedia article is funny.
Back in the days of narrow band people couldn't do online shopping at home
so they did shopping at company where broadband connection could be taken advantage of.

black on blondes!!!

>>154 lol... yeah I was wondering how you were going to explain the Jesus
crucifixion thing not being anywhere near Easter. You're silly.

>>158 The same was Christianity explains Christmas being in the winter, when Jesus was born in the spring.

"I don't have to do homework today. But I must do it."
Does this sentence make sense?

I meant:
When my teacher says that there is no homework today, so I don't have to do homework today, but I know it's better to study everyday, so I must do it.

>>160
Your sentence would be better written "I don't have to do homework today, but I will (do it) anyway."
It doesn't really make sense to say "I don't have to" and then "I must" because they conflict with each other.

>>160
It just occurred to me that you could probably say, "I don't have to do homework today, but my better judgment tells me I must."
That way, you are making it clear that it isn't strictly necessary to do homework, but you feel like you have to anyway.

>>161
Thanks!
But, I wanna feel the difference of meaning between "must" and "have to".
Therefore, I made the sentence to feel the difference of these words.
You said, if "must" and "don't have to" is used in the same time, it's strange.
Are there any difference? Using "have to" or "must" is at random?
Japanese are taught that these word are just same meaning.
A part of Japanese know its difference, but only knowing.
Few person can tell its difference. So I want to comprehend them.
Knowing the difference, I can use the word which is right in case.
Please tell me the difference?

>>163
I can't think of a difference between them, actually.
"Need to" "have to" "must" all mean something is required.
Maybe somebody else knows of a subtlety that doesn't come to mind for me?
Personally, I don't even get a different feeling from the use of each word.
Except that "must" isn't used as commonly as "need to" or "have to."

>>163 If I had to give an answer, I would say that using "must" is a bit more formal.

Thanks!
"must" is a bit more formal.... I got it!
And these means are almost same...
Thank you for teaching me a lot.

http://www.apple.com/jp/iphone/gallery/ads/

This is a CM of i-phone. They demonstrate how easy it is to download
a software of your choice. The software downloaded in the CM is a translation
software.

The sample sentense is "Can you recommend a restaurant?"
We Japanese English learners learn from a teacher that when you ask
something it's more polite to say, "Could you...?" or "Would you..?"

I googled and found out that "Can you recommend a restrant?" is used more
often than "Would you recommend a restrant?" and "Could you recommend
a restaurant?" combined.

What does it sound like if you say "Would you" or "Could you" in this
case? Does it sound odd?

>>167 It's just a little more polite. We are also told to say would or could
when we are asking for something. Some people might always say would
or could in such situations, but my guess is that the majority of us would
say "can" in a casual setting, and "could/would" if there were any reason we
might feel the need to be a bit more polite. I am more likely to use could or
would if I am asking a favor from a stranger or a larger favor from a friend.

Saying "would you" or "could you" does not sound odd.
Strictly speaking, they have different meanings, but the interpretation is the same.

"Can you recommend a restaurant?" is sort of asking whether you are able to.
So maybe you don't know any good restaurants. Then the answer might be "No, I can't."

"Would you recommend a restaurant" sort of says you particularly want them to.
It doesn't give as much room for someone to say "I don't know any."
I would get the idea that perhaps they want me to recommend one anyway, even if I don't know many.

"Could you recommend a restaurant?" is somewhere in between.
It's less of a firm question. That is, it gives the person hearing it more room to get out of answering.
It isn't asking if they know one (like "can you") or whether they simply will recommend one (like "would you").
"Could you..." would sound to me more like "Are you willing to recommend a restaurant to me."

But as for usage... they're all fairly equal.
Perhaps "could you" is slightly more formal, and then "Could" and then "can" is most casual.
I might not say "can you" to a stranger who is dressed nice or looks important, because I would be polite to them.
But I would say it to someone in a casual setting, even if I don't know the person.

Anyway, none of them sounds unnatural at all.

We've all had that teacher way back when that would correct us when we said, "Can I go to the bathroom?" instead of "May I go to the bathroom?"
Same concept lol.

>>168-169
Thank you very much for the detailed explanations.
So, these three(can, could, would) are all OK.
It's just depend on a setting or how you feel about a person you ask the question.

Thanks for explaining the slight difference in nuance between the three, too.

>Perhaps "could you" is slightly more formal, and then "Could" and then "can" is most casual.

>>169
You meant to say, "would you" is slightly more formal,???

>>170
Ahh, They think you students should be more polite so "May I" is better
than "Can I" Thank you for you additional post.

>>171 Yes, sorry. I got confused when I was writing, and apparently forgot to change it.
You are correct that "Would" is a bit more formal.

>>172 Usually if I said "Can I go to the bathroom?" the teacher who wanted
me to say "May I" would reply "I don't know, can you? Are you capable of
using the toilet?" or something so that I would then have to explain that I
wanted to ask permission by saying "May I"

>>174
Yes, I had teachers that did the same thing. Cheeky bastards.

>>174-175
Wow, I wonder if this is purely an American/English phenomenon...

>>173
All right. Thank you.
>>174
I heard between mom and her kids, same conversation can be seen.
Thank you.

I have sensed that Apple's Ad planner took that lines by error for effect to their consumers.
Such that the effect should make actual attention more for the consumer.

For example, it would be one scene, if an consumer watch Apple's Ad," Hey, Did someone say something strange?" like that.

>>178 I don't understand.

I'm not the Native English Speaker, if you want to know.
I meant, incorrecting lines in grammar can be cool typically.

>>179 I think this is what >>178 meant.
I have sensed that Apple's advertisement agency used strange dialogue to affect their consumers.
Their goal was to make the consumer pay more attention to the advertisement.

For example, a consumer might watch Apple's advertisement and afterward think," Hey, Did someone say something strange?"

That's appreciated for me and thanks to your definition.

Is this thread dead? Seems like it.

noone ever told me
noone ever said
noone ever loved me
TILL I WAS GOING OUT OF MY HEAD
♪
noone ever listening
to the things i try to say

you gave me everything i needed : that's your way
you gave me hope,
you gave me love,
you gave me faith to carry on

GOOD GOD HAVE MERCY ON ME
DON'T YOU DESERT ME BABY

i wanna be together
SOUL ON SOUL THIS TIME
---------

This is thelyrics of Rod Stewart's song titled "Soul on Soul."
What do you think this "Soul on soul" means? The usage of "on" is the same as that of
basket ball's term "one on one"? Thank you.

>>184
I don't know how to answer you. It's a song title, it doesn't necessarily make sense.
If I had to think about it though, I would say that the title means two souls together, against each other.
"on" means together, touching, I guess.

If you say "one on one" like playing basketball, then they are against each other.
In this case, the two souls are in love, and they stand together and support one another.

>>185 Sorry, it's hard to interpret. That's the best answer I can come up with.

>>185
Thank you for your answer. I understand what you mean.
I wanted to know how native English speakers interpret its meaning
and your explanation is convincing. I understand its meaning, too.
----
I have another question.

*How does it pronounce "A" and "B"?
(A and B are different words and you are asking this question in writing say,
in email, NOT asking to, say, a friend next to you.)

Q1: This sentence is wrong, right?
Q2: I think if you change the sentence to "How are "A" and "B" pronounced
respectively?" the sentence is right. Am I right? Any alterntive sentenses?
Q3: I think "How do you pronounce "A" and "B"?" is right English, too.
Am I right?
Q4: Mr.C and Mr.D are both native English speakers and if Mr.C asks Mr.D
"How do you pronounce "A" and "B"?" , does "you" in the sentence can be
"general you" or "you" means Mr.D?

What about if Mr. C is an English learner and Mr. D is a native English
speaker? In that case, "you" mean "native English speakers in general"
or "Mr. D"?

>>187
I'm pretty sure there's no need to use "respectively" in this case.
Anyway, "How do you pronounce "A" and "B"?" is correct.

I never really thought about who specifically the "you" is referring to,
but if I had to guess, I'd say that it's the "general you" or
"native English speakers in general".

>>188
Thank you very much for responding.
So, let me confirm."How are "A" and "B" pronounced?" is not very good way of saying the same thing?
"How does it pronounce "A" and "B"? " is wrong?

Now I know "you" means "general you" or "native English speakers in general".
No need to add respectively. Thank you.

"How are "A" and "B" pronounced?" is okay.
"How does it pronounce "A" and "B"?" is wrong.
However, you could say "How do you pronounce "A" and "B"?"

>>190
Thank you again.
So, "How do you pronounce "A" and "B"? is the best and "How are "A" and "B" pronounced?"
is kind of like the second best.
Thank you very much for answering all of the question!

>>191
I think Both alternatives of the question are equal.
As for: Q4: Mr.C and Mr.D are both native English speakers and if Mr.C asks Mr.D
"How do you pronounce "A" and "B"?" , does "you" in the sentence can be
"general you" or "you" means Mr.D?

I think it will usually be taken as a general "you" unless you emphasize
the word,ie: "How do YOU pronounce "A" and "B"? or if you put a pause after
"you". ie: "How do you, pronounce "A" and "B"?

Is it really that classical music is getting more unpopular in Europian Countries or U.S.A?

>>193
I made a grammatical error.I correct it as follows.

→Is it real that classical music is getting more unpopular in Europian Countries or U.S.A?

What you should say is: "Is it true..."

>>192
I see. If it's not in writing, but you are saying the sentence face to face,
emphasizening and putting a pause work. Tnak you for explaining.

A: We have a commitment to providing quality service.

B: We have a commtment to provide quality service.

Which sentenses above is correct? Both are OK? If so, is there any differences
between them in meaning and nuances? Thank you.

>197
A is correct.

B...well, "commitment" is spelled wrong. It is grammatically correct, but A is more natural.

>>198
Ooops. Sorry. Just forget the typo.
I meant to ask which is correct, to infinitive or to ---ing form.
So you mean A is correct....

Are you a natigve English speaker, by the way? Anyway, thanks for responding.

I have a question about these English expressions - in mind, in my mind, on mind, on my mind.
First off, I wonder how different "in mind" and "on mind" are.
And secondly, what's the differences between the forms of the phrases with "my" and without the particle?

I'd appreciate it if you would explain "what's in mind", "what's in my mind", "what's on mind" and "what's on my mind".

>>200
"On mind" is more immediate than "in mind." Also, "on mind" is much more common. "In mind" is really only used in one expression..."I'll keep that in mind." (I will consider that while making decisions)

"My" or no "my" makes no difference. It is assumed to be "my mind." Who else's mind would it be?

>>199
Yes, I have lived in Massachusetts all my life. I also have a 3.76 college GPA so I like to think I'm not too uneducated, ww.

I'm glad to help.

>>201
How about "what's in your mind?" and "what's on your mind?"?
Do these questions express almost the exact same thing?

>>203
No, they don't.

"What's in your mind?" refers to an object you have in your mind (or your head as a matter of fact).
"What's on your mind?" refers to what you're thinking.

>>203
"what's on your mind?" is usually used. I have never heard someone ask "what's in your mind?"

>>204
Thanks.
That's quite interesting.
So if someone had his head operated before and he's not in shape,
there's a chance of him asking the doctor, "what's in my mind?".

>>205
I see. Thanks.
Come to think of it, I haven't, either. I was curious about the differences "in" and "on".

>So if someone had his head operated before and he's not in shape,
there's a chance of him asking the doctor, "what's in my mind?".

The question itself is pretty much awkward, maybe not so much in a psychological context. Still, I've never used it and like >>205 I haven't heard anyone using it.

>>207
I believe >>206 was joking.

>>202
I see. Thank you. Lots of good uni in your states.

>>199
to infinitive is correct.

>>198
Not only is B correct, but A sounds unnatural and is incorrect.
You wouldn't say "I'm going to driving home from work".

Is this a mistake on your behalf or is this some sort of idiosyncratic
thing you guys have going on in Massachusetts?

This isn't a question from me but I'll post it in English instead of him/her.


1) I look upon stars for the sake of praying for my love.

The sentence above is correct? What about the sentence below?
"I look up stars for the sake of praying for my love."
Is this right or wrong? Any differences between the two sentenses?

2) Are there any differences in meaning between the two adjective,
"holy" and "sacred"? Any tips to use each of them properly?

>>211
1) You can say either of these and it will be fine. "upon" is probably more poetic though.
I look upon stars for the sake of praying for my love.
I look up at (the) stars for the sake of praying for my love.
You can't say "I look up stars..." That would mean you search for the names of stars in a book or something."
2) Holy refers to items that are definitely recognized by a religion as sacred. Sacred can be anything really treasured by someone.
Some examples are: "My beliefs are sacred to me." or "You are sacred to me"
You can use sacred for religion too. Example: "To Christians the chalice that Jesus passed around to his disciples at the last supper is sacred."
You could replace sacred with holy in the "To Christians ..." example, but not the other two.

>>212
Amazed by the very easy to understand expanation!
I'll translate it to Japanese and post in the thread where the question
was originally posted. Thank you very much.

>>213 You are welcome. Thank you for the compliment, I'm glad I can help. Good luck with the translation!

I'm writing a paper on English grammar, especially comparatives and superatives.
If you don't mind, please rewrite the following adjectives into comparative and superative form.

ex)big→bigger,biggest

1)cool
2)nice
3)cute
4)sweet
5)sour
6)bitter
7)clever
8)complete
9)idle
10)moral
11)pleasant
12)polite
13)sincere
14)stupid

1)cool, cooler, coolest
2)nice, nicer, nicest
3)cute, cuter, cutest
4)sweet, sweeter, sweetest
5)sour, sourer, sourest
6)bitter, bitterer, bitterest
7)clever, cleverer, cleverest
8)complete, completer, completest*
9)idle, idler, idlest*
10)moral, more moral, most moral
11)pleasant, pleasanter, pleasantest
12)polite, politer, politest
13)sincere, sincerer, sincerest
14)stupid, stupider, stupidest

* For these, the forms I wrote are technically okay, but I think most native speakers would use more and most for the comparative and superlative forms.

>>215 >>216
Wait a sec...can you have superlatives for an adjective like "complete"?
Something's either complete or it's not.
Like "unique"; you can't be more or less unique.

Checking the dictionary, the only acceptable use is "most complete" in the
sense that "His book is the most complete discussion of the economic meltdown
to date", meaning it is the most thorough. But even that usage is a little iffy.

The other forms in >>216 are all correct. But, um, I hope we're not doing your homework
for you...

I'm not >>215 but let me ask a question.
We learned that a long adjective change its form by adding more(comparative) and most(superlative).
I don't remember correctly but the number of syllables decides whether
an adjective change its form either with more and most or with er and est.
9) is very short word but still adding more and most in front of it
is more natural? It's just an exception? Maybe it's just the way
native speakers change its form...

>>217
Adjective's comparative and superative is what we learn in junior high.
He seems like a university student and to think that his English is good,
I don't think he asked the question because he doesn't know answer.
I think he has a reason to ask the question to a native English speaker.

>>218
I don't remember that rule, but it sounds right. It would make sense,
not to add a suffix to an adjective with several syllables.
Not that English is logical...
The word "idle" is rarely used as an adjective. So the comparative and superlative forms
would be even more uncommon, and sound a little strange. Idle can also be a verb. Presently it is mostly
used to refer to a car where the engine is running but it isn't in gear, "the car
was idling at the light". Many people turn it into a noun "The car's idle is set too low." for
a car that stalls a lot, but that's not a correct usage.

Do you think that >>215 was looking to see which forms are preferred by native speakers?

Sorry, I should have told you why I'm doing this,
I'm a university student, and I belong to English dept.
And in English grammar class, I learned that some of the disyllabic
adjectives (such as #6-14 in the list) can be formed either
placing more and most, or adding the suffixes -er and -est.
So I just wanted to see which is preferred by native English speakers.

And the textbook also says that, addition of -er and -est is obligatory
with most monosyllabic adjectives. So in order to find the exceptions,
I put #1-5. Because I've heard these adjectives in "more" form.
(Those sound more colloquial and less bookish though..)
#6-14 are the examples from the textbook which can be in both forms.

I apologize if it bothered you to ask this...
And to Crystal, thank you very much for the answers. I really appreciate.

>>217
Thank you for your help, I hope you dont mind.

I found a novel titled "I Is Someone Else"
What does the title mean?

>>222
I'm not a native English speaker, but I'm pretty sure you can't understand the actual meaning of a novel's title before reading the book.
How do you tell what a title means when you don't know the story?

>>223

What I want to know is what the "I" means.
Since "is" follows "I", this "I" won't be a pronoun.
Neither the ninth letter of the alphabet, because complement looks like a person.

Then what is the "I" and what can the title mean?

While watching Harry Potter, I noticed that some people trill as they pronounce R.
Why do they trill?
What does it sound?
What do you think?

>>219
Idle is used mostly as a verb... I see. The usage if idle as a verb is
familiar to me in relation to global warming. It's recommended to
turn off the engine not to exhaust gas emission.

>>220
I understand what you mean. Sometimes we Japanese English learners
want to ask native English speakers a question to make sure
what we learn at school or from a grammar book is commonly used
by them.

Ah, and thank you for your explanation.
>>219

>>222, >>224
The "I" is oneself. The title means the same as "I am someone else"
The author must have a reason for doing the title that way.

>>222
>>228
Yes, the grammar is incorrect on purpose.

>>229
I'm not >>222 but

>Yes, the grammar is incorrect on purpose

To sound like uneducated is one possibility?
Or to sound like sparky"ish" maybe?

>>230 Reading the book would probably give you a clue.

>>231
All right. I don't have the book. But that's OK.

I redid my response to show you which forms I prefer to use or which are completely optional depending on circumstances. This is just my personal opinion and my initial impressions, so don't take it as the word of law :P

1)cool, cooler, coolest preferred but you might hear "more cool"
2)nice, nicer, nicest preferred but you might hear more/most
3)cute, cuter, cutest preferred but you might hear more/most
4)sweet, sweeter, sweetest preferred but you might hear more/most
5)sour, sourer, sourest OR more/most based on preference
6)bitter, more bitter, most bitter preferred but bitterer/bitterest are okay
7)clever, more clever, most clever preferred but preferred but cleverer/cleverest are okay **
8)complete, more complete, most complete*
9)idle, more idle, most idle*
10)moral, more moral, most moral
11)pleasant, more pleasant, most pleasant preferred but pleasanter/pleasantest are okay
12)polite, more polite, most polite OR politer/politest
13)sincere, more sincere, most sincere preferred but sincerer, sincerest are okay
14)stupid, stupider, stupidest OR more stupid/most stupid

* For these, the forms I wrote are the only ones I hear used. or would use myself although other forms are correct according to the dictionary.
** Because clever end in the "er" sound I think I might actually prefer using the "more clever" "cleverest" combination. That way the end of it doesn't have "erer" in the comparative form. With the superlative you don't have that issue.

>>225

Can you give me an example, and maybe tell me which movie it was in?
This may be due to the actor's accent, for some sort of effect, or
maybe the word that is being said is foreign or made up, but I really
can't give a real reason until I know which word it is.

My personal opinion is that the trill when pronouncing the 'R' is just
there to make it sound foreign. If used in real life and when speaking
English I think it would be rather strange as the 'R' should not be
too hard, and it should kind of "roll off" your tongue.

I've seen the Harry Potter movies and I don't recall there being
any significant trills, but if you can pin point the word, or even
give a sound clip I will try to give a better explanation.

"I had another relaxing day today, bathing in a hot spring."

Does the senstence I made above sound natural?

Would you rewrite it if you think it doesn't sound natural?

Natural enough.

"I had another relaxing day today while bathing in a hot spring." might be slightly better.

>>236
Thank you very much. It might slightly be better to use "while." I got it.

>>236
Although I can really see anything wrong with this. It kind of sounds
like the relaxing part of the day only lasted while the person was
bathing in the hot spring.

>>234
Thank you for answering my question.

For example, this teacher.
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=NdLa9yYt_jw

And this song include the R as well.
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=JAagedeKdcQ

>>239
In the first clip, I didn't notice her trilling particularly, but probably it's just that character's particular way of speaking.

I couldn't watch the second video for more than about 30 seconds, sorry.
I don't like that kind of music - it sort of hurts my ears.

>>240
Thank you.

You didn't notice it?
She says "Art of reading" at 0:49-0:50, doesn't she?
I think the R as "reading" is trilled.
It sounds trilled at least to me.
1:02 too.

Oh you don't like Judas Priest very much.
But the singer trills at 0:35.

>>241
You're right, she did trill at 0:49. That's just her accent - Which I can't decide whether or not it's fake.

I went back to see the second one too, since you told me a specific time to look for.
You're right there's a trill there too. I'm not really sure why - I guess they thought it sounded cool.

>>242
I see.
Thank you very much!

If any native speaker read this,
could you please answer my question?

My question is the difference between "impose" and "inflict."

My dictionary shows the difference like this:

impose...force a person to do or obey something
inflict...give something hurt a to a person or a thing

(These are not from English-English dictionary,
just my translation of the explanations I found in an English-Japanese dictionary)

If so,
the sentence below I found in an English-Japanese dictionary isn't correct, isn't it?

Don't inflict your ideas on me.

Sould we use "impose" instead of "inflict" in this sentensce?

>>244
That's odd the dictionary would use that as an example. You're correct, it should be
"Don't impose your ideas on me" although http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=inflict says inflict could be used there as well.
It is definitely more natural to use "impose" in that context however.

>>245
Thank you for answering my question.
It is kind of you to show me the reference site also.
I'll check the contents and I'd like to understand the meaning and usage more.
Many thanks again, and sorry for many typos.

I have a question about grammar.

I ran into this expression: Stone walls do not a prison make.
And to be totally truthfull, I found the sentence quite unnatural(or literal?)
From my experience, it should be like stone walls do not make a prison, to make it sound more natural or colloquial.
Anyway, that's not the point. What I want to ask is that it's ok to construct sentences in English like that, I mean,
like Professional baseball players do not baseball like to play in the snow, instead of professional baseball players don't like to
play baseball in the snow. Something tells me that's not ok, of course, and still I wonder what makes the sentence in question Ok to use.

Anybody shed any light on this?

Another two questions.

Can you tell me how different
1)"that's real" and "that's for real"
2)"that's sure" and "that's for sure"
are?
In what situaion or context is "for" needed or not needed to make sound natural
those English phrases above?

I'd be happy if you helped me out.

Is here activated?
I have some questions about English.

There questions are about "locative inversion with modal aux (LI with modal)."
LI is usually used in a present or simple past tense.
but, I found in corpas or magazines in the US LI with modal!
(e.g.
On the lorry will be a clutch of nubile young ladies in red Santa Claus miniskirts.
Sitting next to him may be a Christian who has been given the Spiritual gift.)

Here is my question 1;
・Sitting on the stump {will/ may/ can/ should/ must} be a great big toad.

Are these sentences acceptable?
If you think acceptable,
which modal aux will be a top, and which will be a low? Please grade!
If you think unacceptable,
what contexts are required to make these sentences acceptable?

question 2;
will have "future" and "intention" meaning.
may have "speculation" and "admission".
can have "ability" and "possibility".
must have "assertion" and "obligation".
should have "prospect" and ..."ought to"

which meanings are easy to be used in LI?

You would not need to answer all of my questions.
おねがいします。

I have a very simple question for native speakers of English.
When you talk about your sisters or brothers, why do you usually not specify
them as 'younger sister/brother' or 'older sister/brother'?
The reason why I'm asking this is that in Japanese, we have specific words
for those, i.e. 姉(older sister), 妹(younger sister), 兄（older brother) and
弟(younger brother), and it feels very odd when English speakers do not
specify them in their conversation.
To us, 'I (a guy) went to see a movie with my younger sister' and 'I (a guy)
went to see a movie with my older sister) have different connotations.
Could someone share any view on this?

>>247
The grammar is unusual in that quote because it comes from a poem.
"To Althea From Prison" by Richard Lovelace.
Here is the poem and some analysis:
http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Guides3/Althea.html
You would use that quote to refer to a mind that is free, even if the person
is confined physically in some way (for example, is imprisoned).

>>248
"Please answer two questions" is a little more polite.
I haven't heard the expressions "that's real", "that's for real"
or "that's sure", but "that's for sure" is a true expression in conversational
(informal) English. It means that you agree very much with something someone else
just said. It's idiomatic, so I can't really tell you what the "for" is doing there.
The conversation might go like this:
A: Man, is it cold out.
B: That's for sure...my car doors were frozen shut this morning.
The last is true by the way--it really is that cold here today.

>>250
Are you this student?
http://www.englishforums.com/English/LocativeInversionEnglish/hvpgw/post.htm
I want to help you but I'll have to get back to you later.
First I need to find out what the terms "locative inversion" and "modal verb"
mean. We aren't taught English using those terms.

>>251
Simple answer: We do things a little differently in English sometimes.
No good reason; it's just the way it is.

Here's how it goes for relatives:
In my family, the oldest girl is me, then there is another girl, then a boy.
I refer to my younger sister and brother as just my sister and brother, since there
is only one of each.
My sister (middle child) also refers to her sister and brother, for the same reason.
My brother has two older sisters. So he would use our names, and say "my sister Agatha"
or "my sister Bertha" (not our real names!). You can use names with family titles in English,
like my Aunt Gertrude, or my cousin Ernestine etc. But not with mom or dad; since you would usually
only have one of those.
The only situation I can think of where you would use "my younger brother/sister" and "my older brother/sister"
is when you have two siblings of the same sex, one older, one younger. But you could also use names in that situation too.
If you have many siblings, some older, some younger, you would use names: my brother Jack, Joe, Frank, Edward etc.
The one advantage to the English system is that you don't have to keep track of the birth order of someone else's family.
You can just say "your sister" and not have to remember if they're older or younger.

I'm outta here for now--catch you later!
And I'll see if I can come up with some kind of answer for >>254.

>>256
thank you for responce!
And yes. I'm a student of English Forum.

"locative inversion" is a kind of sentences like this;
・<Down the hill> rolled the baby carriage.
・<On my left> was Tom Lopez.
・<Standing next to you> is a Christian.
This kind ofsentences can be found in many literatures and magazines,
and these sentences are used in proper contexts.

"modal auxiliary" is a verb such as can, will, or may that is used to
express possibility, permission, intention, etc.

I'm studying which modal aux is easy to be used in LI,
and why easy and why not.

Coopman(1989) specifies that modal auxiliaries make LI "much less acceptable."
However, I found the following sentences in corpas, and magazine, the New Yorker.
・Through these coruscating channels will ultimatly run most of the commerce of the world.
・Standing next to the Hudson will be the eagerly-awaited Bristol Beaufort....
・Sitting next to you in class may be a former teacher, engineer, lawyer, doctor, accountant or librarian.

As I collected some opinions from native speakers,
I found that "will" and "may" ("should" a little bit...) tend to be used in LI.
So, I'd like you to show me yours.
mmm... my eng is poor... what a shame

>>253
What? Are you sure you haven't heard "is real" nor "is for real"?

Results 1 - 10 of about 40,500,000 for "is real". (0.13 seconds)
Results 1 - 10 of about 4,720,000 for "is for real". (0.14 seconds)

>>258
First things first. I'm not a native speaker or 253.
Also, I think it may be better to talk a little more politely.

Anyway, you said "for real," but are you talking about idiomatic phrases like "Are you for real?"
If so, it's easy. You just said, "What? Are you sure about that?"
"Are you for real?" is pretty much the same as the line.
"Are you serious?" also means the same.

If you say, "Are you real?", I think you're asking if the listener is a fake.

Hope thiat makes sense. I'd be glad if native speakers could correct me if I'm wrong.

Hey Native speakers! Come and help us! Part 4

>>255
I see. Using family titles with names is a very wise idea.

In Japan, or at least me, if I hear a guy says 'I went to see a movie with my
younger sister', I get the feeling that the guy is caring, on the other hand, when I
hear a guy says 'I went to see a movie with my older sister', I never get the
feeling that the guy is caring, but may feel that he has Oedipus complex.
I may be farfetched...well, just one observation.

>>258
LI isn't a common form in spoken English. You would see it more in written English
I think.
I'm trying to think of some examples...it isn't too hard for "will+verb"
"Appearing with Mr. Pitt in his latest movie will be the lovely Angelina Jolie."
Will+verb is the simple future tense in English, so it is LI used with the future tense.
And I guess that it functions to emphasize the subject, since the subject is appearing in an
unusual position in the sentence.

LI plus "may" in the sense of speculation.
That's a little harder.
I keep coming up with sentences that use gerunds rather than modal aux.
("Drinking a glass of water may cure your hiccups." Drinking here is a gerund,
or present participle verb used in place of a noun.)
The sentence from the New Yorker (or wherever) is fine, but I can't come up with my own.

I really can't come up with any sentences using can, must or should that don't sound
awkward and unnatural. My vote is for will as the easiest and most common modal aux to
use in LI.

Good luck with your project! There is a ton of stuff written by linguists on LI in various
languages; maybe you could look at some of that.

By the way, the articles in the New Yorker are pretty sophisticated writing.
If you are reading them, then you have great English reading skills!

>>258
Of course, "is real" and "is for real" are used in English.
But the original question was about "That's real", "that's for real",
and those forms are not used.
The difference between "is real" and "is for real" is as >>259
said. "is real" is one way to say that something actually exists.
The threat of al-Qaeda is very real.
"for real" is a idiom (and very informal English), see >>259 for examples.

Sometimes native speakers make mistakes on which to choose, "a" or "an".
It's interesting. I think I'm no longer afraid of making mistakes.

>>264
I see what you mean. Oops, my bad.

>>262
Wow!　Thank you very much for your nice example and encouragement!

Could you taught me about "may" more minutely?
"Speculation" is OK in LI, isn't it?
How about "admission, affirmative"?
(an example of "admission":
There may be a six-pack in the fridge, but we have work to do.
→This "may" doesn't mean that a speaker speculates there is a six-pack,
but means that a speaker admits there is a six-pack.)

I created the following sentences using "speculation" and "admission".
Which meaning of "may" is easier to be used in LI, "speculation" or "admission", do you think?

(1) A: Look, what do you think is on that stump?
B: Sitting on the stump may be a great big toad,
but let me check closely if it is a toad or not. ["speculation"]

(2) A: Let's take a rest on that stump.
B: Sitting on the stump may be a great big toad,
but I'll remove it from the stump for our room. ["admission"]

�@
(37) I admired Mary's singing of 'Salty Dog' in church
(38) I admired Mary's singing 'Salty Dog' in church

There is a meaning difference -- (38) states that I admired the fact that she did
it (Mary's temerity in giving voice to a bawdy song in a sacred place); (37) states
that I admired the manner in which she sang (her syncopated style, etc.).

□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□

�A
(10a) I criticised [John's throwing of the dice]<NP:O>
(10b) I criticised [John's throwing the dice]<Complement Clause:O>

The object argument of (10a) is a noun phrase with the nominalization 'throwing' as head,
whereas the object of (10b) is the complement clause 'John's throwing the dice'. There is
a difference in meaning, with (10b) stating that I criticised the fact that he threw the dice,
while (10a) states that I criticised the way in which he threw them.

�B
A THAT complement essentially refers to some activity or state as a single unit,
without any reference to its inherent constitution or time duration. In contrast,
an ING complement refers to an activity or state as extended in time, perhaps noting
the way in which it unfolds. Compare:

(17a) He thought that Mary would apply for the job
(17b) He thought of Mary('s) applying for the job

(17a) states an opinion that the application would be made, where (17b) may be taken
to relate to how she would go about it -- searching for pencil and paper, wondering
how to frame the letter, then buying a stamp.

□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□□

These are excerpts from a certain grammatical book, each extracted from different pages.
In �@ and �A the author of the book seems to be saying that an ING complement clause
(here, a gerund) focuses on the 'fact' that sb does sth or that sth happens to sb,
while in �B his assertion appears to be that an ING complement clause (here, too, a gerund)
refers to the 'manner' in which sb does sth or in which sth happens to sb -- a contradiction.

Or this is not a contradiction at all, only due to my lack of understanding or my imbecility?

Would anyone give me a vital clue to this seemingly paradoxical (at least to me) conundrum?

インフォーマントワークをここでやるっていったいw

�@
Published in 1949, it arrived in the McCarthy era, when “Communism” was damned officially
as a monolithic, worldwide menace, and there was no point in even distinguishing between
Stalin and Trotsky, any more than for shepherds to be instructing sheep in the nuances
of wolf recognition.

Is the latter part of this sentence grammatically sound?

More concretely, is it possible to place grammatically different constituents before
and after 'than' in the comparative construction? (In this case, 'distinguishing' is a
gerund, whereas '(for shepherds) to be instructing' is a Modal (FOR) TO complement.)

I know that both a Gerund and a To-Infinitive may function in the same way as a Noun,
but isn't it possible for a To-Infinitive as a nominal function to follow the preposition 'in'?
('In', because between 'than' and 'for' "there was (some point) in" has to be omitted
in the light of what I know about English.)

And what is the purpose of bothering to use a progressive tense in 'to be instructing'?

�A
As close as "1984" gets to an anti-Semitic moment is in the ritual practice
of Two Minutes Hate, presented quite early, almost as a plot device for
introducing the characters Julia and O’Brien.

Is it possible for an adverbial element to function as a subject of the sentence?
('Adverbial', because in 'as close as "1984" gets to an anti-Semitic moment'
'close' seems, at least to me, to be the salient constituent.)

訂正
×a subject of the sentence→○the subject of a sentence

>>266
Sorry this answer is so late, I kept forgetting to check this thread.
I think speculation is much easier to convey with LI. You example of admission in LI
with the toad doesn't seem quite right.
"Sitting on the stump may be a great big toad, but I'll remove it [for us]." sounds better.

I could be wrong, but I don't think your "admission" examples are actually admitting anything.
It's more like "dismissive".
Your sentence, "There may be a six-pack in the fridge, but we have work to do." is dismissing the existence of the beer
as an irrelevant factor to working.
"Sitting on the stump may be a great big toad, but I'll remove it [for us]." is dismissing the notion that even if a frog exists,
it is not a problem because it can be removed.

Again, I could be wrong because as 米人 said, we don't learn this much grammatical detail in school.
_____
Whoo boy, there sure are a lot of questions to still look over. I need some backup lol.

>>267 >>268
I posted an answer to your question in "chat in english #125"
My post is >>767
>>266
The meanings of the word "may", as I understand it, are to express the following:
permission: You may leave now.
possibility/probability: You may be right.
desire or wish: Long may he live!
ability/capacity: May I help you?
The speculation meaning obviously corresponds to possibility, but
I think your admission meaning may also fall into the same category.
To me, it's equivalent to saying "[Even if/Whether or not there is beer in the fridge, we have work
to do."
Anyways, looking at those two sentences, I would be more likely to say:
"Sitting on the stump may be a great big toad; let me check."
The second sentence I can't imagine saying.

>>270
1. The sentence sounds fine to me.
It is true that gerunds and "to-inf" forms can function as nouns. But they
are not always used in the same ways.
For example, with verbs like hate, love, etc. the gerund is used to describe
something general (I love dancing), but the "to-inf" form should be used
to describe a specific situation (I would love to dance with you.)
I can't think of any time when a "to-inf" form is used after the preposition "in".
Anyways, I don't think that the two forms are equivalent in that sentence; "distinguishing"
is functioning as a noun, but "to be instructing" is the action of a clause.

2. I think that the clause "As close as ....moment" (I got lazy) is the
subject of that sentence.
Clauses can do that.

>>273
Big thanks for sparing your precious time for answering my question.

I know the syntactical differences between an ING complement
and a nominal derived from a verb.

(1) I criticised John's throwing of the dice

''Throwing' in (1) is an 'Activity-nom', a nominalisation just describing an activity.

(2) I criticised John's throw of the dice

"Throw" in (2) is a 'Unit-nom', a nominalization describing a unit of activity.

These are nominals derived from verbs, clearly distinguished, therefore,
from an ING complement, which is only a product of inflexion, such as a
present participle and a gerund, (as in 'I criticised John's throwing the dice').

And an '-ing' form can be easily discerned as an Activity-nom or as a gerund
by the adjective/adverb test, or zero/of test, or by the possibility of using an article.

What I cannot understand is that the author argues an Activity-nom signifies
the 「way」 in which someone does something, while a gerund indicates the 「fact」
that someone does something, and in the same breath asserts a gerund refers
to the 「way」 in which someone does something.

I cannot figure out what is the semantical difference(s) between a gerund
and an Activity-nom, when the author's exposition is muddled and ambiguous
(so it seems, at least to me) in this way.

>>273
The book from which I extracted these passages is "A Semantic Approach
to English Grammar". You can read parts of the book online in Google Book Search.

“韓民族の精気を断つために”高い山の頂上に鉄杭を打ち込んだという
http://ameblo.jp/maokapostamt/image-10014210253-10007785317.html


【イラクで呪いの杭を打つ日本軍】
http://ameblo.jp/maokapostamt/image-10014210253-10007786376.html

【呪いの杭を打ち込む日本軍】
http://ameblo.jp/maokapostamt/image-10014210253-10007786423.html

【「天皇陛下万歳！」　皇居に向かって万歳をする日本軍兵士（呪いの杭とともに）】
http://ameblo.jp/maokapostamt/image-10014210253-10007786446.html

>>274
It is an honor for my question to be answered.
(I wonder if the above sentence makes sensible sense.)

1. My impression is that the sentence concerned appears to be deviating
a little bit from the ideal "no more ~ than ... /not ~ any more than ..." construction,
which I have learned as a high school student. (Another name of the construction
is "Whale Construction" because, in Japan, it almost always appears in the sentence
'A whale is no more a fish than a horse is'.)

If there is no point in which the sentence concerned sounds grammatically unnatural
to the ears of a native speaker, then it's OK, because I can somehow grasp its meaning.

2. It is the same as 'because' as in 'Because he seldom writes you doesn't necessarily
mean he no longer loves you', isn't it? I now see the point. Thanks!

Not again retarded korean

>>275 >>278
I have to say that you if you are reading "A Semantic Approach to English
Grammar", then you are studying the English language on a level far beyond
that which most native English speakers experience.
We are taught just the basics of grammar, then we learn by reading and writing the language.
To be honest, I had to look up grammatical terms on the Internet to even understand
what you were asking.
Unfortunately, I can only get a partial preview of the book, so I can't find all of the
examples you cite. But I would agree with the author's explanations of what the sentences
mean.
Let me try one last time to explain why, without using the grammatical
terms that I am unfamiliar with:
(37) I admired Mary's singing of 'Salty Dog' in church
(38) I admired Mary's singing 'Salty Dog' in church
In (37) what you are admiring is her singing of a particular song. The "of" is important
here, since it signals "the way in which she sang it".
Without the "of", you are merely admiring the action of her singing the song (38),
and how she did it is unimportant.
"He thought of Mary's applying for the job."
Here, he is thinking of the action Mary is undertaking, in this case, applying for the job.
Actually, this sentence is a little ambiguous. It could mean either that he is thinking
about the fact of her applying for the job, and he is getting annoyed because he is also thinking
that it is a bad idea.
But it could also mean that he is imagining her as she is completing her application, or
in other words, the way in which she is doing it.
I think either interpretation would be okay. Notice that the author says "(17b) may be taken
to relate to how she would go about it", "may" indicating that this is one possible interpretation.

>>278
I am sorry that the English language is so muddled and confusing.
Much of the time, the only real explanation for something is simply
"because that's the way we do it".
And are they really teaching sentences like the "Whale construction" in English
classes in Japan? While it is grammatically correct, it's pretty obscure: not likely
to appear in writing, and not at all likely ever to be said by a native speaker.

>>280-281
>Actually, this sentence is a little ambiguous.
>I think either interpretation would be okay.
So, a gerund sometimes trespasses on the semantic sphere over which an Activity-nom
reigns, when words with which a gerund occurs are of the kind that can give sanction to
the encroachment, doesn't it? In short, the specific meaning of a gerund is dependent on
a context.

As Vyvyan Evans put it, "as such, utterance meaning does not reside in individual lexical
items, but rather results from their interaction, which serves to prompt for integration
at the conceptual level, guided by a range of inferencing strategies."

>the English language is so muddled and confusing
Every language, with the exceptions of artificially created languages, is sometimes opaque.

>"because that's the way we do it"
I can understand this.
I can't explain the grammar of Japanese,
despite the fact that I'm a native speaker of the language.

>And are they ... in Japan?
Yes. The English prose given in the university entrance exams of our country has
traditionally been from literary works and academic treatises, albeit with the trend
going towards journalistic articles, so that rather unfamiliar constructions such as
the "Whale construction" must be taught to high school students.

But it is doubtful how many of them can actually understand these mind-boggling
sentences.

The explanations you gave and the sentences you wrote is so lucid that I can unravel
despairing entangled knots of irritation. Thanks!

>>282
>unfamiliar constructions such as the "Whale construction" must be taught to high school students.
For homework, my Japanese host student had to copy some sort of article on microbiology. I'm not exactly sure what
the point of that exercise was considering she had no idea what she was writing. Maybe there was to more to it then just what I saw?

>>283
Maybe there was nothing more to it than just what you saw.
Most of the Japanese students (including myself) are not so intelligent
as to figure out such a hard discipline as microbiology, perhaps even in Japanese.

The point of the exercises of that sort is for teachers, most of them sadistic in their nature,
to gratify themselves by observing their students suffering from unbearably boring tasks,
I guess (the last phrase being the operative word).

happy new year!

(a). Can you see the hill? Down the hill may roll the baby carriage soon!

Is sentence (a) naturally sound?
If it is not natural, please show me
a sentence in which invertend sentence and "may" are properly used.

>>286
Can you see the hill? The baby carriage may roll down the hill soon!

'That' is probably better though, instead of 'the.'
Can you see THAT hill? THAT baby carriage.

>>287
thank you for your quick responce!

How about locative inversion, like "Down that hill may roll the baby carriage."
please refer to my post, >>257.

>>288
Um...noboy would ever say the inversion. Unless you were trying to write a fancy poem.

But...I guess "Down that hill may the baby carriage roll." or "Down that hill the baby carriage may roll."
But actually I don't think "Down that hill may roll the baby carriage." is really wrong either. I think when writing inversion you're allowed to be more flexible. Even though it sounds wrong no matter what...

>>289
Upon reflection "Down that hill the baby carriage may roll." is probably best.

>>289
Sorry for my poor explanation,
and I see.

But I found the locative inversion in some article...like this.
"Sitting next to you may be a fellow freshman who shares your interest."
from http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/v46pdf/990914/091499.pdf

and "In the caves on the snow-covered ridges may hide some top AlQaeda and Taliban leaders,..."
from http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1002006-1,00.html

So what on earth is the difference between these and a sentence in >>286 ?

>>291
Well, 'roll the baby carriage' is a bad example because it's like a command. Roll should just go after baby carriage in this case.
The AlQueda sentence is funny sounding to me. It's not WRONG, but still. I'm not sure why the author did that, really. Just to sound fancy I guess. Same thing with the other one.
It's not any different from "A fellow freshman who shares your interest may be sitting next you." but it just sounds weird. But actually, it sounds a little bit better than the AlQueda sentence.
I don't really know why though. Maybe it's because it sounds like it's trying to sound passive and nice and it's coming from an educational institute?

>>291
Locative inversion is not normally heard in conversation.
It is sometimes used in written English. I'm not sure why someone
would choose to write a sentence using LI; I think that the purpose
may be to make the writing more interesting and maybe add emphasis
because it's an unusual way of constructing a sentence. Perhaps LI even
adds a little feeling of suspense to the sentence because the subject
appears later than usual.
A sentence like "Down that hill may roll the baby carriage." is unlikely,
since why would you expect the baby carriage to roll down the hill as opposed
to a car or anything else on wheels?
So a more likely sentence might be:
"Down that hill may come Lance Armstrong, in his latest attempt to win
the Tour de France."

>>291
"In the caves on the snow-covered ridges may hide some top AlQaeda and Taliban leaders" sounds like a book title or something to me.
The "Sitting next to you" one is....um...it's kind of suppositional. It's like it's proposing a hypothetical situation to you. In that case it's okay to inverse it.

>>292-294
I'm grateful for your helps!
And would you help me with another question?

>> native speakers
I posted the sentense as follows;
"Sitting on the stump can be a great big toad."
But, this is not allowed to use, and requires anormous context.

I found in some book (a) and (b).
(a) Behind the delicate fan and enigmatic smile can also be found a darker side to the geisha story,
including treachery and suicide.
(b) From such a consensus and its method can come justifiable policies
for dealing with people within moral community.
(c) On any public beach can be found yuppie males, or even older stiff,
who devote long hours at the health club to developing their lats and pecs.

What is the difference between (a), (b) and (c), and "Sitting on the stump..."
Does the acceptance depend on whether "can" refers to the general possibility or specific possibility?

Native speakers, is the usge of *used *to here not permissible?

The　cat　[ that　had *used *to sleep outside in　the　basket　of　my　bicycle ]
came back ( yesterday )．
she　hadn't　returned　since　the　day before　yesterday.　
So　Ｉ　had been worrying　about　her．

Are those who are answering or commenting on the questions all native speakers of English?

Locative inversion is not normally heard in conversation.
It is sometimes used in [ written ] English.
I'm not sure [ why someone would choose [ to write a sentence [ using LI ];
I think [ that the purpose may be [ to make [ the writing ] more interesting and maybe [ (to) add emphasis ]
[because it's an unusual way of [ constructing a sentence ] ].
Perhaps LI even adds [ a little feeling ] of suspense to the sentence
[ because the subject appears later than usual ].
A sentence like "Down that hill may roll the baby carriage."
is unlikely,
[ since [ why would you expect [ the baby carriage to roll down the hill [ as opposed to a car or anything else on wheels ] ] ]?
So a more likely sentence might be:
"Down that hill may come Lance Armstrong, in his latest attempt
[ to win the Tour de France ]."

Doesn't [ bracketing sentences this way ] make it easy
[ to grasp the story ],
[ just as Chinese characters in Japanese sentences makes it eay
[ to grasp the story ] ]?

anchoring...>>295

I finished my graduation thesis!
...but, I'm not relieved...why?

>>296
That is a common usage of "used to". But the verb tense in the first sentence
should be the simple past (The cat that used to sleep...) rather than the past
perfect (The cat that had used to sleep...). In the second sentence, though,
you do need the past perfect (She hadn't returned since....).
"Used to" describes an action was continuous, but ended in the past, so it
is the same as using the past perfect.

>>299
The brackets probably help in sorting out the clauses and modifiers
from the main part of the sentence, but because I am a native speaker,
I do that automatically as I read. So I find that for me,
the brackets interrupt the flow of my reading and make it harder
to understand the sentence.

>>301
You must have worked hard on it. Sometimes, after I finish a major project
that took a lot of time and effort, I don't feel especially relieved.
Instead, I feel at loose ends because I don't know what to do with my time.

>>302
I'm not 301 but

>that took a lot of time and effort

"effort" can be plural so if "a lot of" is in front of the "effort,"
shouldn't it be effort"s"?

Maybe "time and effort" is a set phrase, you don't use the plural form?

Please Say Dokdo(tokdo) Instead Takeshima Or Liancourt Rocks!

Though the years have changed, Dokdo is still disputed between South Korea and Japan.
Japan has long insisted on a territorial claim to Dokdo, Korea.
But there are many facts in web sites which indicate this island belongs to Korea.

http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&...le&start=10

http://www.dokdocorea.com/dokdo.htm

http://www.dokdomuseum.go.kr/en/intro/intro_01_02.html

If I say liancourt rocks instead Dokdo, can you understand it easily?
Many people know Liancourt rocks or Takeshima..
But this island has a name which has been used for a long time, Dokdo.
In French Encyclopedia and Japanese legal statements, they declared that Dokdo is a Korean territory.
However, Japan did not acknowledge this truth and has still insisted that Dokdo belongs to Japan.

South Korea has controlled Dokdo since july 1954 and Two Korean citizens are living in there.
And also there are South Korean police officers who have taken residence for guard duty.

Dokdo is clearly a Korean territory.
Please say Dokdo(Dokto) instead takeshima or liancourt rocks.

>>303
If you're talking about one person (or one group of people) and one sustained amount of work, then
you would use the singular.
"Finishing his thesis before graduation required a superhuman effort."
(so the expression "time and effort" refers to one large endeavor)

If you're talking about more than one person/group, or repeated attempts by one person to do something,
then you should use the plural form:
"Efforts to solve the mortgage crisis have been largely unsuccessful to date."

>>305
Thank you. I think understand your explanation.

in >>302, the major project was done only by you, singular, so "effort"
is used in the sentense. But when "a lot of" is put before countable noun
the noun should be plural so I thought "efforts" is more appropriate.

-----------

Ask Oprah and the experts your questions live every night this week
at 9/8c!

What's this 9/8c?
I suspect c means "central time." Would you explain what 9/8c mean?

>>306
I see your point about "a lot of" but it can be used with a singular noun
in some cases.
"There is a lot of food on the table." would mean there is a huge amount of
food, perhaps a feast there.
"There are a lot of foods to choose from." emphasizes that there are many different
kinds of foods to choose from, like foods from different countries or prepared by different
chefs etc.
Do you see the difference?
"A lot of effort" means a huge amount of effort, like the first example above.
"A lot of efforts" doesn't sound quite right to me.

You are correct that 9/8c means 9 pm Eastern Standard Time; 8 pm Central Time.
Our country has four time zones for the lower 48 plus separate time zones
for Alaska and Hawaii. Too many to keep track of!

>>307
I understand your explanation very well.
Thank you very much for your detailed explanations.
I don't think even advanced learners here know what you have explained.
We Japanese English learners tend to make a noun plural without doubt
if it's a countable noun and "a lot of" is before it.
I never imagined there's such a difference you showed regarding "a lot
of food," "a lot of foods."

I understand what 9/8c means. Thank you. Do you have any ideas why
you write Central Time? Maybe writing both Eastern Standard Time and
Central Time slashed is just the way you write time, but I thought
only writing Eastern standard time is enough because all you have to
do is substract 1 hour from Eastern Standard time.

Maybe people living in Central Time aren't good at calculation and
people in the Mountain time and Pacific time are smart enough to
substract 2 and 3 hours respectively from Eastern Standard time?

>Our country has four time zones for the lower 48 plus separate time zones
for Alaska and Hawaii.

Would you explain what "for the lower 48 plus separate time zones" means?
Probably you mean Alaska and Hawaii aren't in the four time zones but
I don't understand the part "for the lower 48 plus separate time zones."

Ooops...

Probably if a program is aired at 9/8c, it doesn't mean it is aired
6 pm and 7pm in Pacific and Mountain Time respectively.
What time is it aired in each time zone? 9pm in Mountain time and
8pm in Pacific time?

>>308
Tricky sentence:
Our country has four time zones for the lower 48 (a way to refer to
the contiguous 48 states),

plus (could have used "and" here--it's a conjunction)

separate time zones for Alaska and Hawaii (they each have their own time zone.)

The major networks tape delay shows 1 hour for Mountain time and 3 hours Pacific time.
So a show airing at 9/8c would be on at 8 pm Mountain time and 9 pm Pacific time.

>>310
Thank you I undersrtand the sentense. I was new to "lower 48 states."
"Lower" is from the point of Alaska geographically because all mainland
states are lower in a map than Alaska.

>The major networks tape delay shows 1 hour for Mountain time and 3 hours Pacific time.

I don't understand the sentense above. Maybe I'm slow.
If you/other native speakers don't bother to explain or paraphrase the
sentense, thank you.

>>311
The problem is my sloppiness, not your slowness.
I made up a verb: "to tape delay" which was bad English (but common for Americans
when speaking or writing informally)

What I meant was that the major networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox) air tape
(record) their broadcasts, and then show them later for people in Mountain
and Pacific time zones. Because otherwise, shows airing at 9/8c (for example)
would be seen at 7 pm Mountain time and 6 pm Pacific time. That's too early; most
television stations air local news from 5-7 pm and game shows in the 7-8 pm time slot.
I hope that clears up the confusion.

More bad English in >>312:
...the major networks tape (record) their broadcasts....
please delete the word "air"
ごめんなさい！

>>312-313
Thank you for the detailed explanation!
I could guess what you meant by "tape delay." What I don't understand
is the latter part of the sentense:The major networks tape delay shows "1 hour for Mountain time
and 3 hours Pacific time."

What I don't understand is the part bracketed.
I mean what calculation did you use?
I don't understand how "1 hour for Mountain time and 3 hours Pacific time"
leads to the sentense below.
>So a show airing at 9/8c would be on at 8 pm Mountain time and 9 pm Pacific time.

One more question. Am I right about my understanding why the word "lower" is
used to describe contiguous states, which don't nclude Hawaii and Alaska?
My understanding is written in >311, which is:
>"Lower" is from the point of Alaska geographically because all mainland
states are lower in a map than Alaska.

>>314
It's confusing.
Let's consider a show shown at 9 pm Eastern time/8 pm Central.
So if that show was shown simultaneously across America (no delay), then it would be
on at 9 Eastern time, 8 Central time, 7 Mountain time and 6 Pacific time
(all time zones are one hour apart).
Which is too early for people in the western US.
So the networks tape the show and show it later in the west:
Mountain time: show will be on 1 hour later, at 8 pm Mountain time
(10 pm Eastern/9 pm Central)
Pacific time: show is on 3 hours later, at 9 pm Pacific time
(12 midnight Eastern time/11 pm Central time).
Dealing with time zones is confusing. Did you know China has only one
time zone even though it spans a greater longitude than the contiguous USA?
I think that the Chinese government didn't want to deal with all of the
problems of multiple time zones.
If you are Japanese, you are lucky your country is long rather than
wide--one time zone.

Yes, you are right that "lower" of "lower 48" is relative to Alaska.
Why Alaska (and not Hawaii)? Because Alaska is attached to the North
American continent. Hawaii is floating off by itself in the Pacific
somewhere, a lonely little state. Please visit it someday.

>>315
Thank you very much for the step by step explanation!
Now I understand completely.
ありがとう！
I didn't know China has only one time zone.
It was't until I entered university that I knew America has four time zones.
I learned that America has four time zones from a textbook then.
We Japanese take it for granted that we have only one time zone.

Although I haven't visited Hawaii, I know it is one of the most popular tourist
destinations among Japanese people. Maybe because you can communicate
in Japanese there. Lots of decendants of emigrants from Japan lived there.
I heard shop clerks speak decent Japanese to serve tourists from
Japan.

>>316
どういたしまして！
I went to Hawaii once, to see Kauai (the "Garden Island") and the
active volcanoes on the big island, Hawaii.
Kauai was gorgeous--it is the oldest of the islands, and the mountains
there were covered with tropical jungle-like plants (it is also very wet).
The northern coast (Na pali) was spectacular. Although maybe you are used to
such views in Japan--certainly there's nothing here in New England like it.

The big island of Hawaii was also spectacular, since in many places it is covered
with lava, and there is very little plant life. The people who live there make
designs out of white rocks along the side of the road. It has a very unusual
feeling to it. The active volcano in the National Park was a little big of a letdown;
it was just oozing lava into the sea, and you couldn't see much because of the steam.
If you ever get the chance, it is well worth seeing.
You are right about there being many Japanese speakers in Hawaii. There are also
many who speak Japanese in California too.

Hi!
I'm a beginner,I can't even tell everywhere from anywhere.

What is the defference between them？

>>318
Everywhere: all over the place, in all places at once
Anywhere: could be in any place; doesn't matter where

I looked everywhere for my lost car keys. (I searched in all possible
places.)
My lost car keys could be anywhere. (There are many possible places where they
could be found, so I have to look in any place I think of).
I have the opposite problem; I can't tell if どこでも should be translated
as "anywhere" or "everywhere". I guess you go by context.

>>317
Sounds like a good place to visit.
I like tropical climate and getting some suntan. Hawaii is a good
tropical resort. Thank you.

I have a question for Japanese native speakers.
It concerns how you read the kanji for people's names.
How do you know how to pronounce someone's name when it is written in
kanji? It seems that sometimes the pronunciation of a kanji in a name is
different than either the on or kun reading, so how do you know? Is it
just that most names are common enough that you learn the proper way
to say them? Do native speakers ever make mistakes reading people's names?
Even I can read simple names like 山田 or 田中, but many times I can't
figure it out.
Thank you for answering this question.

>>321
You've just thrown us a tough question.
This is just my observation, but names come first. Characters follow them.
Some names in Kanji are easy to pronounce. Some are so tough that there's a dictionary that covers them.

It's hard to tell how come "山田" is "yamada" not "yamata." (Theoretically both possible but somehow only the former is the right pronounciation. I should look into this further hitting some books.

In passing, I'd like to challenge you with this name.
Can you tell how to pronounce this name, "生天目." This one is a tough one.
This name actually got me. I had no clue how to pronounce this. Have some fun!

>>322
Thank you!
I don't think I can pass your challenge, even if I cheat.
For 生 alone, there are 21 readings in the 名づけ section.
6 for 天; 4 for 目. Around 500 possibilities!
Which one to choose?
If I cheat, and paste it into the on-line Japanese/English dictionary,
and search names, I find 11 possibilities listed. But two well known
people with that last name are listed, and both of them use "Nabatame".
"Nabatame", I choose you!

>>321
In case of common names, we know how they are written in kanji, so
it's easy to read these names written in Kanji.
But even as a native Japanese speaker, I sometimes encounter names written
in Kanji which I can't read. For example, I sometimes encounter names
written in kanji in newspaper and I can't read them. In most cases I don't even
bother to look the kanji up in my dictionary. I'm lazy. If the person commited
a serious crime, his name is mentioned in TV news, too, so I get to know
how to pronounce his name.

I think, as long as you live in Japan, you get familiar with names
by pronunciations first then you learn what kanji is used for the names.
Kindergarten kids can't write kanji(in most cases), but they know names of their friends.
That is, they first get familiar with their friends names by pronunciation/sound first.
As we grow up we remember more names and how they are written in kanji.

Yamada and Tanaka are very common name and everybody knows they are
names and everybody can write them in kanji. And nobody reads 山田 as
Yamata. Nobody reads 田中 as Danaka. Because we know Yama"d"a and "T"anaka
is common Japanese names. I guess there aren't people whose name is
"Yamata", "Danaka."

I think we Japanese remember common names and their equivelant Kanji
as we grow up in Japan. "Uemoto" is a pretty common name and there are
some kanji possibities, like "上本"、"上元", "植本" or "植元"
I think we remember one by one as we grow.

>>324
Thank you!
If I think about it, that is similar to the situation here.
Not that names are written in kanji, but that there are many surnames
that people have trouble pronouncing, because we are a nation of immigrants
whose names became messed up when they entered the country. The immigration
authorities used to write down what they thought they heard, so unless you came
from England, your name probably was changed from its original form.
Plus there are now lots of people who came from other parts of the world,
who have names that are difficult to pronounce correctly if you only know
English pronunciations. For example, I'm not sure how to pronounce "Ng"
(no vowels), although you see it here often enough. I think it's
Chinese in origin.

>>323
Here's an answer. We pronounce「生天目」"na-ma-ta-me".
This drives you crazy, doesn't it? There are some that go way beyond even the imagination of Japanese people. I will list some with their pronunciation

小鳥遊:ta-ka-na-shi
月見里:ya-ma-na-si
四月一日:wa-ta-nu-ki
八月一日:ho-zu-mi
目:sa-kka/sa-ka-n
私市:ki-sa-i-chi
九十九:tsu-ku-mo
注連本:shi-me-mo-to
薬袋:mi-na-i
白神:shi-ra-ga
釈迦牟尼仏:ni-ku-ru-be
天春:a-ma-ga-su
春夏秋冬:hi-to-to-se
七五三:na-go-mi
百目鬼:me-do-ki

Well, I believe they are all strange enough to drive you crazy, right?
By the way, Polish family names always give me a headache of this magetude. How do you handle thme? I'm just curious.

>>326
Those examples are extreme cases. No Japanese can't read them.
I never met people who has such names except　九十九.
There used to be a TV celebrity whose family name is　九十九.

I just wanted to mention that 米人 doesn't have to be disappointed even
she has no clues about names in >>326.

>>326
For some reason, there were a lot of people with Polish last names
where I grew up, so they aren't so bad for me. Although most of
them were probably "anglicized" so they would be easier than the names of
actual Polish nationals (as opposed to Polish-Americans).
That is some list of names that you have there. It's especially difficult
because many of those kanji are easily recognized! Even I know them
(as words).
>>327
But extreme cases can be interesting. I feel sorry for those people though.
It's kind of a pain to constantly have to explain how to pronounce or write
your name.

>>328 Ah, I know someone who's half Polish.
So her maiden name was written:
"Pietrzak"

But you pronounce it like this:
ピイェっチェック

Another test

>>321
To read someone's name whon we haven't known, we can read itbased on our experience.We know and expect one kanji would be connected other.We have met many cases and that moment we would memorize it.This kind of effor unable us to read them.
Names listed in >326 originated from Japanese history and Japanese event.
For example,八月一日 HOZUMI
八月一日 means 1st,August. Hozumi means 穂 を 摘む in Englshreap harvest,of course rice.In old Japanese calendor,Japanese reap rice in August.
So 八月一日 have to be read HOZUMI.
(Most japanese don't know this story.)

>>331
Interesting story!
So are most of those unusual names based on historical associations?

>>332
I don't know most of those are based on that way.But there are some names like that.

Some names in Christian countries are based on the name of Apostle in the Paper,aren't they?
But in Japan there's no overwhelming religion enough to influence names and the way of thinkig about human life.
And in Japanese history,ordinary people (except the people had the power in public) hadn't had their such family? name until goverment allow them to have own their name.

After goverment allow them to,finally we get our own family name.
And that moment when dicided their name, people used their clase or name of the place theylive or name whatever they want to use.
So there are many names.Most of our name are found in map.This means many people use the name of the place they lived as their name.
But others doesn't.and they have the unusual name.
If you know some japanese names, search their name in map.

>>333
My father's family originated in England, many years ago. So I am most
familiar with English names.
Many English first names come from the Bible, mine included.
In England, people adopted surnames when they started taxing everyone in
the Middle Ages. Last names are traditionally based on occupation (Smith, Wright, Taylor),
place of origin (Atwood, Hill) or family relationship (Johnson, Jackson).
My original last name was an English place name. It's much more common in
America than in England. When I went to London years ago, I couldn't find
it in the London phone book.
Now my last name is my husband's family's messed-up Belgian name, which
no one here seems to be able to pronounce or spell correctly. What a pain.
Of three Japanese people I've known pretty well, two have place names.
The third name I don't know the origin of; it isn't a place.
It is an adjective, but not a very flattering one.

I have a question about English grammar.
Please take a look at the sample sentence below first.

・We felt at home in this room thanks to the facilities you've provided for us here

This is an excerpt from a text book so it couldn't be wrong, but
the problem I'm stuck at is,
・"We felt at home" is the past tense
・"the facilities you've provided for us" is the present perfect tense.
If I take into consideration the order of which things happened,
"you" needed to provide the facilities before "we" felt at home.
In short, the sentence should be like
"We felt at home in this room thanks to the facilities you had provided for us here"
Or
"You provided the facilities for us, and so we felt at home (thanks to them).

Put me right if I'm mistaken, and if the original sentence is correct, I'd be really
grateful if you teach me why. Thanks.

Would anyone help me with the following question?

On that list, Iraq and Afghanistan figure prominently―but in these countries, arguably,
the problem is more one of national insurgencies than international terror.

Which is right for the word represented by "one" in "one of national insurgencies"?
a) a problem
b) an insurgency

In my opinion a) is right, but in that case what is the point of bothering to use a plural form?
Is the singular "one of national insurgency" not grammatically correct?
〔if b) is right, I don't need to be worried about this point, though.〕

>>335

Re: "We felt at home in this room thanks to the facilities you've provided for us here."
The example sentence sounds fine to me.
The first thing to remember is that the present perfect describes a continuous state that starts
in the past and continues up to the present.
The past perfect describes an event that was started and completed in the past.

I imagine that the context of this sentence is that the speaker has stayed in the room
with the good facilities for a period of time, and now that he is leaving, he is expressing
his gratitude to his host.
In this sentence, although the facilities were set up in the past (before the speaker arrived),
the action of providing them to the speaker started in the past (when the speaker arrived) and
presumably continued up to the present (when the speaker said the sentence). "Providing"
here is used in the sense of letting the speaker use the facilities for the period of time he was
in the room.
If you want to use the past perfect here, it would be better to describe an action completed in
the past. For example:
Because the room had been set up with such excellent facilities, we felt quite at home here.
Here the setting up of the room was completed prior to the arrival of the speaker.

>>336
You are correct in your interpretation that "one" refers to "problem" in the phrase
"the problem is more one of national insurgencies than international terror".
I think the plural was used for "insurgencies" because the speaker is talking about
more than one insurgency. Although from context, I'm not sure whether he's referring
to the separate insurgencies in the two countries, or whether he means multiple
insurgencies within both of the countries.
Checking the Economist now...wow, long article.
I think that he's referring to the insurgency in Iraq separately from the one in
Afghanistan. The argument seems to be whether failed states are sources of international
threats (terrorism, drugs, disease etc.), and the conclusion seems to be sometimes,
but not necessarily.
That's a pretty dense article, BTW. You are ambitious!

>>338
Thanks for answering my question!

I thought that in a phrase 'a problem of X' one must use in the slot 'X'
an NP in a singular form with no article, but there seems to be no such idiosyncratic rule.

I was an English major as an undergraduate, and my studying there will become futile
if a serious abatement occurs, as a result of laziness, in my knowledge of English.

Once one has started learning some foreign language, one must go on doing so,
or what one has acquired will be thrown into oblivion, drying out and blowing away
on a light breeze.

Learning a foreign language is like living as a large shark, which must keep swimming
to stay alive.

Anyway, thanks again!

When you say they commited suiside.
Does that mean they are all dead now?
Or does that just mean they tried but there's a possibility some of them
or all of them is still alive?

死んだ。If you say they commited suicide it means that they killed themselves。

>>341
Thank you for your answer. Then what would you say if some of them
failked to die?

>>339
I know exactly what you mean!
I am now on my 4th Japanese tutor, after a break of about a year. I just
keep going back.
I haven't been good about keeping up my skills on my own. I need someone
(a teacher) to answer to.

>>342
attempted suicide=tried to commit suicide and failed=still alive
committed suicide=successful suicide=dead

>>343
Ahh, "Attempted" suicide... I see. Thank you very much!

These are CMs of a car, TOYOTA IQ.

1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSAo8rEMC4E&hl=ja
2) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K35-JAbaV8k&feature=related

Regarding what the woman is saying in the videos, I think there're two possibilities,
which is, A "I know something you don't." and B "I know something. You don't"
In case of A, "you don't" modifies "something" and in case of B,
each of "I know something" and "You don't" are independent sentenses.

To me, while it sounds like the woman in video 1 is saying "I know something you don't."
it sounds like the woman in video 2 is saying "I know something" "You don't"

What do you think? Would you give me a reason why you think which of A
and B is right?

>>345
To me, commercial 1 sounded like it could be either. But, if watching casually, I'd probably assume it was A.
Commercial 2 did sound more like B, though.

If the woman intended A, I wonder why she put such a long pause after "something"?
Or, perhaps it was deliberate. I don't know.

>>346
Thank you for your response!
The answer from you, a native English speaker is really helpful.
So although only a person in charge who made the women's line(s)
knows what they meant to say, your opinion and my guess is
the same. I feel a little bit more confident in my listening skill.

>I wonder why she put such a long pause after "something"?
>Or, perhaps it was deliberate.

If the women in the second commercial intended A, maybe she paused before
"you know" to put a little bit impact on the fact that "you don't."

ex.)
A: I heard from Jim that you're going to get married next week.
Why didn't you tell me? Who is the lucky guy?

B: He is (---pause---) Steve.

The fact that she's getting married with Steve has more impact if
she says the line with the pause. Maybe I'm wrong, though.

This is a question posted by someone in a thread of 2ch's English board and
I thought it's better to ask a native English speaker. So I translated
it into English.
-------
There's a sentense in my textbook that goes, "It's about 50 kilometers south of here. "

1)Is it wrong to say "It's about 50 kilometers south from here." to mean
the same?

2)If the both two sentenses mean (almost) the same, is there any differeces
in terms of nuance if you use "from" instead of "of"? What's the difference?

I think that there's no difference.
I might be wrong, though...
Still, I'm pretty sure.

I would like an English native speaker's help with the following question.

(1a) Look at the girl playing in the yard.
(1b) Look at the playing girl in the yard.

(2a) Do you know the boy running over there?
(2b) Do you know the running boy over there?

(3a) I can hear the voices of people talking next door.
(3b) I can hear the voices of talking people next door.

Are the (b) sentences of each pair grammatically felicitous?

>>349
All right. Thank you for your answer.

>>350
seem the same to me

>>348
In the sentences you provided, there is no difference in meaning.
However, there are times where "south from" can be used incorrectly.

For example, "Kyoto is south from Tokyo" is incorrect.
"Kyoto is south of Tokyo" is correct.
In general, you should probably only use 'from' in this case when referring
to 'here,' 'there,' or some other vague location

>>350
The a choices are much better.
The reason is because they're not "running boys" as in a specific
type of boy, but rather "boys who are running."

>>353
I see. Thank you.
I'll keep in mind "of" covers in the both cases.
(By the way, Kyoto is west from Tokyo.)

Oooops... I mean Kyoto is west "of" tokyo.

>>352
>>353
Thanks for responding to my posting!

It seems that opinions differ even among English native speakers
about the syntactical and semantical role of Present Participle.

i love oppai

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhUXdmaJlWA&feature=related

Would you transcribe what the woman is saying at the beginning of
the movie? I tried and couldn't catch **** part. Tell me if the other parts
are wrong, too. Thank you.

"I would sacrifice myself for all **** pray."

The question above was originaly posted someone in another thread.
I post it here instead of him/her because I couldn't grab what she's
saying.

>>358
It's a bad audio and not synchronized with the video,
so I had a little trouble understanding her
even though I am a native speaker.

What I heard was:
"I will sacrifice myself, God (or perhaps Lord), while I can still pray."
Then a guy says:
"There is no chosen way."
I'm pretty sure that the woman says "while I can still pray."
It's the word before that which sounds garbled.

The other day I was listening to a ball game broadcast live on radio, and
this commentator guy shouted, "Whooooaaaa! Listeners, look at him go jump!"
I wondered how come the radio guy said "look at him go jump,"
when it was pretty darn obvious we couldn't look and see the event.
Any suggestion for the interpretation of this running commentary?

Anyone has not made any mistakes.
Is this way of saying unclear? That sounds very clear to me.

No one has made any mistakes.
This sounds unclear than the last one.
Please give me any comments.

>>361
That does sound strange. Maybe the commentator got a little
carried away in his excitement and said that without thinking.

>>362
"No one made any mistakes." sounds more natural to me (dropping the has
is okay here).
If you start a sentence with "Anyone" it usually means that either you
are talking about something that people generally do, or are asking
people in general about something.
Anyone could do it.
Does anyone have a pencil I could borrow?
But in this sentence it seems that you are talking about a
specific event (perhaps an exam) when there were no mistakes made,
so anyone wouldn't fit.

>>363
Just as I thought. Thx anyway.

>>360
Thank you very much.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_YOWAxG5z8

At 9：15

If we make a bunch of money in oil and all of the sudden over here

it's portberries??, we are going to go on portberries??

I couldnt get the word 'potberries??'
What did he say comparing oil with something?

>>360
Thanks.I am the original questioner. I appreciate your answer,
but in original thread, I have another answer, and I feel
that one is more accurate than yours.It's like this....

F: I would sacrifice my self. God,but I can still pray.
M: There is no chosen way.

I think this is suitable either grammatically and semantically.
(Although situation suggested by this interpretation is somewaht
subtle.)

What do you think about this one?

>>366
"If we make a bunch of money in oil, and then all of a sudden over here
it's pork bellies, we're going to go into pork bellies. We don't care; we're
agnostic."
Pork bellies are what bacon is made from. They are traded on the Chicago
Exchange. Pork belly futures are also traded there.

>>367
I listened to the other (cleaner) version of the video, and it still sounds
like "while" to me. I see that another person from that thread also heard
that word (787). It actually makes more sense grammatically to use "while"
rather than "but" there, but whatever...

(a) She married when she was young.
(b) She married young.

Is there any difference (however subtle) between these two sentences?

Someone says (a) covers a wider range of meaning than (b) does.
If, for instance, "she" is eighty now,
(a) indicates that "she" married at the age of anywhere between 16~35,
whereas (b) denotes that "she" married at the age of anywhere between 16~20.

Is this explanation right?

>>369
let me say

a.She died when she was young.
b.She died young.

Can you see what i mean?

>>367
I'm hearing, "I would sacrifice myself, lord, while I can still pray."
In this case, "I would" is a fancy archaic way of saying "I wish" or "I desire"
In other words, "I wish to sacrifice myself while I can still pray."
Granted, I'm not sure what the context is, so I don't know why she wants to sacrifice herself. :/
>>369
a. implies that she married when she was a young woman.
b. implies that she got married very early.
However "She married when she was very young." implies the same thing as b.

Basically, yes, the b. examples you and 370 gave tend to indicate the person
is younger than in the a. examples.

>>370
>>371
Thanks!

I wanted to have native speakers' opinions,
because the person who gave the explanation is Japanese.

test

This is an ecerpts from Economist, a British weekly magazine.
(It's publisher call it a newspaper but it looks like a weekly magazine, such as
TIME and NEWSWEEK.)

But the most dramatic example of the quantity theory at the moment
is anger. Many people hoped that Barack Obama would usher in an era
of good feeling after the foam-flecked Bush years. He talked endlessly
about bipartisanship and national unity. He was also a living symbol of
racial reconciliation. America greeted his inauguration with a frenzy
of flag-waving and well-wishing. But anger is back in a big way,
redistributed but also revitalised. John McCain is angry about earmarks
in the budget. ("If it seems like I'm angry, it's because I am.")
Ben Bernanke is angry about bailing out AIG. ("If there is a single
episode in this entire 18 months that has made me more angry, I can't
think of one.") And everybody is angry about the state of the economy.

Would you explain what "foam-flecked (Bush years)" means?
In an online dictionary, "gold-flecked glasses" and "sail-flecked bay"
are introduced as exapmles that are in the form of "***-flecked."
I understand what they mean but I don't understand what the writer means
by "foam-flecked" in the article.

By the way, this is a question posted by someone in another thread
and I thought it's better to ask a native English speaker, so I posted
here on behalf of him.

Every citizen is epual under the US constitution right？

>>374
I think this picture explains it best: http://i43.tinypic.com/110ip82.jpg
The expression refers to being in such a rage that foam spouts from your mouth.

>>375
はい，そうです.

>>376
Thank you for the link and your explanation!
Now I understand what the expression means.

Hello, all of native speakers of English!
Why are you fussy about the difference between singular and plural?
In Japanese we can communicate with no problem without them.

Hi,native speakers!

I have a question about proper use of "to + verb" and "for + verb with ING".

Is it correct to say "It will be good to learn English" instead of "It will be good for learning English"?
Are there any certain rules to use (for using) above concern?

>>378
Hello, native speaker of Japanese!
Why are you so fussy about the way your language is written?
In English we can communicate with only 26 characters and a few symbols.
:P

>>379
"It will be good to learn English" means learning English will be a good thing.
"It will be good for learning English" means "It" is something helpful in learning English,
like a dictionary.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (p.185)

"Yeah, but I was meanin' anythin' unusual a bit nearer home, said Hagrid. "So yeh haven't noticed anythin' strange?"
Yet again, Ronan took a while to answer. At last, he said, "The forest hides many secrets."
A movement in the trees behind Ronan made Hagrid raise his bow again, but it was only a second centaur, black-haired and -bodied and wilder-looking than Ronan.
"Hullo, Bane," said Hagrid. "All right?"
"Good evening, Hagrid, I hope you are well?"
"Well enough. Look, I've jus' bin askin' Ronan, you seen anythin' odd in here lately? There's a unicorn bin injured -- would yeh know anythin' about it?"
Bane walked over to stand next to Ronan. He looked skyward. "Mars is bright tonight," he said simply.
"We've heard," said Hagrid grumpily. "Well, if either of you do see anythin', let me know, won't yeh? We'll be off, then."
Harry and Hermione followed him out of the clearing, staring over their shoulders at Ronan and Bane until the trees blocked their view.
"Never," said Hagrid irritably, "try an' get a straight answer out of a centaur. Ruddy stargazers. Not interested in anythin' closer'n the moon."
"Are there many of them in here?" asked Hermione.
"Oh, a fair few... Keep themselves to themselves mostly, but they're good enough about turnin' up if ever I want a word. They're deep, mind, centaurs... they know things... jus' don' let on much."

↑”mind”---a verb or a noun? what use is it?

It's a shortened form of "mind you". I've found an explanation of what it does, in case you're not familiar with it:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/grammar/learnit/learnitv316.shtml
Another way to write the sentence would be "Centaurs are deep, mind you..."

"It's a very nice gift that Japan did for the United States. It is just very awesome."

Is it a correct way of saying to mean Japan gave a gift for the US?

I thought "gave" is better than "did."

>>382
oh, aigatou.
Centaurus are deep, mind you.
koreha wakariyasuiyo

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (p.44)
"He's not going," he said.
Hagrid grunted.
"I'd like ter see a great Muggle like you stop him," he said.
"A what?" said Harry, interested.
"A Muggle," said Hagrid, "it's what we call nonmagic folk like them.
An' it's your bad luck you grew up in a family o' the biggest Muggles I ever laid eyes on."
"We swore when we took him in we'd put a stop to that rubbish," said Uncle Vernon, "swore we'd stamp it out of him! Wizard indeed!"
"You knew?" said Harry. "You knew I'm a -- a wizard?"
"Knew!" shrieked Aunt Petunia suddenly. "Knew! Of course we knew! How could you not be, my
dratted sister being what she was? Oh, she got a letter just like that and disappeared off to that-that school
and came home every vacation with her pockets full of frog spawn, turning teacups into rats. I was the only one who saw her for what she was -- a freak!
But for my mother and father, oh no, it was Lily this and Lily that, they were proud of having a witch in the family!"
She stopped to draw a deep breath and then went ranting on. It seemed she had been wanting to say all this for years.
"Then she met that Potter at school and they left and got married and had you, and of course I knew
you'd be just the same, just as strange, just as -- as -- abnormal -- and then, if you please, she went and got herself blown up and we got landed with you!"

“it was Lily this and Lily that” --- ???
I don’t understand the use of “this” and “that”.　I can’t make out what this sentence mean.
Please help me. Thank you.

>>385
You know what? You're definitely in a wrong thread....
Go elsewhere, will you?

Gee, looks like I was in a wrong thred....

>>385
It means that they were talking about Lily all the time. So much that it was very annoying for Petunia.

>>388 is definitely correct.

The expression is in the form of "[blank] this and [blank] that".
However, this doesn't mean both "blanks" have to be the same word.
Here's some examples:
"Nowadays, they're always going on about terrorists this and terrorism that."
"They get all worked up in the beginning, all organize this and protest that, but then they run out of steam."
"I'm surrounded by Christians; all I hear all day is 'praise' this and 'thank the lord' that."

Hey, an English board. Cool. Reading those English textbook questions I seen posted...wow.. It's almost like they are trick questions..so particular. Some of them would even confuse a native speaker like me.

>>390
>It's almost like they are trick questions
They are. The authors try to make you feel depressed and helpless because
of your "bad English" and the supposed difficulty of the language.
They want to ingrain in you the belief that it would be impossible for you
to learn it on your own using only a dictionary and English-language media,
thus condemning you to pay for textbooks and classes for as long as you're
motivated to study the language. There's a whole industry behind this, after all.

btw, The Vampire Lestat was fucking awesome. I still sometimes think of that part
where Lestat decides to play the violin for the two ancient vampires and ends up
screaming for Marius to rescue him.

I have a beginner's level Japanese language instruction book that
I've been trying to learn from. Is that why it's so damned confusing?
Makes sense, though..seeing as how money seems to make the world
turn.Learning it on my own, I've been doing that with Japanese..using
mostly that book I spoke of earlier and online resources. Wish I had
the money for classes, or at least a college nearby that would teach
it..

Ah! The Vampire Lestat is sweet!! The Vampire Chronicles, the series
of Anne Rice's books that The Vampire Lestat is a part of, is my
favorite work of fiction. I remember that part you speak of, too.
Lestat getting chased around by the "King" because Akasha let him
feed from her. Jealous much? lol

Sage, are you a native speaker, too? If not, you're quite good!

>>392
I'm not 391. You can tell that from my English fluency but let me tell
you something. This is a thread for Q&A, not a place to chitchat, although
your post includes a question or two.

In case you don't know, this is a thread for chatting.
http://academy6.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/english/1236845508/l50
There we chat nonsence and some people there are pure pervert, but sometimes
interesting conversation is going on.
There are a few native English speakers there, too with a fixed handle name.

Maybe you are newbee in 2ch so I'll fill you in on something.
You don't have to type in your e-mail address. That's not required.
Most of 2channelers don't fill in the e-mail field. Most of us don't
fill in the name field, either and stay anonymous with an exception.
In the thread I linked, native speakers us a fixed HN for us English
learners to know whose posts are native English speakers'.
A few Japanese people use HN in the thread, too but as you can tell their
posts they are hybrids of pervert and faggot.

In the chat thread, there're only a few regulars of native English
speakers so if you're interested in joining, come ovet and have some fun.
The more native English speakers, the more fun and interesting.

ワァタシ、ニッホンゴ、シャアベレマッセン！

These aren't my questions but the ones of a poster in another thread.
I can't answer them so I posted them here instead.

She's not sure which is the right expression, "lots of feeding" or
"lots of feedings." She says she saw either of expression in the context of
a cat breast-feeding her babies. which sounds right?

"I have seen many babies born."
She's wondering what this sentense means. She says there're two possibilities.

1) I have seen many cats' delivery, meaning "I" have had lots of
occasions in which she saw baby cats come out of womb, helping
cats deliveries and all that.

2) I have seen lots of new born cat babies.

My translation of her post isn't good so neither 1) nor 2) is good.
Anyway, would you explain what the sentence mean? Thank you.

>>395

>"lots of feeding" or "lots of feedings"

You could theoretically have a sentence with either one. The former ("lots of feeding") would be more common.

>"I have seen many babies born."

The first explanation is correct. It means she has seen many babies *be born*. She has seen their birth.

>>396
Wow! Thank you very much for your quick response!
Your answer is very helpful.
I'll translate your answer and post it in the original thread so that
she can read your explanation. Thank you!

I have a question about an expression used in an article from CNN.COM.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/TECH/04/20/monitoring.kids.cellphones/

The article is about cell-phone monitoring software. Parents equip their kids' cell phone
with monitoring software so that they can protect their kids against sexual predators and
prevent their kids from sharing sexually explicit text messages and pictures.
Some parents fitted their kids' phone with the software without their kids' consent. At the
end of the article, a woman, who is one of those parents, says, "So to me it's not like
I'm wiretapping him. Besides, privacy in my house is earned."

Would you explain what "privacy in my house is earned" means?

>>398
to earn:
1. to gain or get in return for one's labor or service
2. to merit as compensation, as for service; deserve

The mother is saying that in *her* house (in other words, for *her* children), privacy must be earned.
Her son must earn = deserve his privacy first. She will not just automatically let him have it.
So she will monitor his phone for a while, and if she sees that he is a good kid and not doing anything bad,
maybe she will stop monitoring his phone and let him have his privacy.
By being a good kid and not doing anything bad, her son will have earned his privacy by showing his mom that he is trustworthy.

>>399
Thank you for the detailed explanation!
Now I understand completely her meaning.

I originally posted this question in another thread.
(http://academy6.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/english/1239464529/l50)

Then someone suggested that I should post the question in this thread.
Several people seem to be interested in this question, so I will post your
explanation in the original thread to share it.

Again, thank you very much.

This is not my question but let me ask you guys here instead of him.
What does the last sentense "And find new sunglasses" mean?
I know this phrase "look at --- through rose-colored glasses" and it means
to see ---- optimistic point of view.
So "find new sunglasses" means something like " find your new way of seeing
things"? I'd appreciate your answer.

"Whatever the status of your present relationships, partnerships and
interactions with others, it's time to consider new ways of relating
that include more Right Relations and Goodwill.
Having the intention to act with greater depth and love creates a new
appeal around you that attracts others for they will be seeking the
love you so potently (or potentially) emit.
Think on these things. And find new sunglasses."

Correction:
"Looking at --- through rose-TINTED glasses" does not mean an optimistic view. It
means your memory of something is better than it really is. For example, you
might think "final fantasy 7 was such a great game!" when you try to remember it, then
when you actually play it again, you see the graphics are garbage.

As for your question, the phrase "And find new sunglasses" makes no sense whatsoever.
I mean, from the context it's probably what you said, to find a new perspective, but
nobody says that phrase in real life, ever, unless they're literally telling you to find
new sunglasses.

>>402
Thank you for your response.
An online dictionary, which is popular with Japanese English learners has a sample sentense:

"He looked at life through rose-colored [rose-tinted] glasses and rarely worried about anything"

so I thought rose-colored is OK. rose-tinted is more common than rose-colored?
And reagarding its meaning, in the sentense above, "through rose-colored glasses"
means "with an optimistic view", doesn't it? What do you think?

And as for "And find new glasses," you mean it's very obscure and
awkward? I understand nobody uses it as a set phrase thanks to your
post.

Haha, I think >>402 is a little off the mark. "Rose tinted" and "rose coloured" are actually
two different phrases. The former means "to only remember good part of things" and the latter means "in
an optimistic/positive view". Here in canada we don't use the second one much, but it still exists.

He's right about the second part though. I've never heard of the phrase "find new glasses" use that way
and it just sounds weird to me. Hope this clears some things up, and good luck in your studies!!

>>404
Thank you for your response.
So 402 is right about "rose-tinted" part.
And you say rose-colored glasses sure means optimistic perspetive/view although
it's not used very much.

As for "find new sunglasses" both you and 402 have the same opinion in that
it's wierd.

Thank you very much for encouragement!

>>405
A few things.

Both "rose-tinted" and "rose-colored" may be used interchangeably. They have basically the same meaning:

"to only see the good parts of something" =
"to think things are/were better than they really are/were".

So whether that "something" is the past or the present, the meaning of the expression is the same. See:
ttp://www.englishclub.com/ref/esl/Idioms/S/see_through_rose-coloured_glasses_rose-colored_glasses_719.htm

I don't believe either one is necessarily more common than the other.

Finally, about the last sentence, please post context from now on. Where you got this paragraph, what came before/after it, etc. I googled to find it's the horoscope for Scorpio.

Given that, I'm still not entirely sure what was meant. In case you're interested, here's a couple of ideas that occurred to me as possible interpretations.

It seems pretty clear that the author was trying to make a joke, although it looks like none of us can figure it out. :P

1. She says earlier in the paragraph: "It's time to consider new ways of..."So the general gist of the paragraph is: do things in a new way, try new things, change how you do things.
So as an extension of that, she kids that, as a part of that change, you could go out and "find new sunglasses."

2. Celebrities or people that don't want to be recognized often wear sunglasses to hide their faces. She's saying, if you follow her advice, you'll start attracting people to you.
So you might want to find new sunglasses to counteract the potential "flood" of people who will be attracted to you. (Another joke.)

3. Right before it are the words, "the love you so potently (or potentially) emit." Maybe she's kidding that, you'll be so "bright" with all the love you emit, you'll have to wear sunglasses to avoid blinding yourself...

I admit, all of these are pretty flimsy. :P

>>406
Thank you very much for your detailed explanation.
Thank you for the link, too.

Well, that was all the original poster posted in another thread.
I didn't know that was just an exerpt of the whole, although I didn't
bother to check to see if that's an exerpt of the whole parts.
Thank you for going an extra mile and googling to see the context.

I can learn a lot from the all three of the possibilities you suggested.
It was fun to read your interpretation. Thank you very much sharing them!!!

Can anyone tell me what exactly "hassle" means?

Like in "I got a lot of hassle while I was in Japan."

A lot of arguments?

>>408
"Hassle" can be used as a noun, or a verb, such as in "I got hassled a
lot while I was in Japan".

As a noun, it can mean something like "dispute" or "problem".
"They got into a big hassle over who would do the chores."
"He lives a far distance away, so picking him up is always a hassle."

As a verb, it can mean something like "dispute" or "bother".
"The children hassled over who would sit in the front seat."
"Please don't hassle me while I'm working."

I wouldn't use hassle as a noun in your sentence, unless the person
got into a lot of arguments or was greatly inconvenienced.
Rather, I'd use it as a verb, meaning that while in Japan, that person
was bothered and harassed a lot by various people.

>>409
Thank you very much for the detailed and thorough explanation.
I really appreciate it. I think I came across the sentence on some forum
though my memory is sometimes unreliable.
Thanks again.
BTW "hassle," which made its way into the Japanese language, has a very different meaning from what you described, as it often happens when English words are introduced into
Japanese. "ハッスル”in Japanese means something like "being very energetic in doing something." It's also the name of a japanese pro wrestling organization.

Hustle?

This is the most embarrassing moment I've had online.

>>411
Yeah, you really sullied your online reputation there, Nanashi-san.

>>411
If you're talking about "hustle", that's something different.
"Hustle" definitely fits "being energetic".
It can mean something like "to proceed rapidly or energetically" or
"to act aggressively".

For example, a gym teacher might yell at his students to hustle.
Or, someone might hustle about his house, trying desperately to clean
up before his friends arrive.

But as soon as a bar patron becomes rowdy, it's the bouncer's job to
hustle him out of the establishment.
And a vendor can be very persistent in hustling customers into buying
his wares.
You can't be too naive, or some conman will easily hustle you out of
your savings!

There's also the phrase "hustle and bustle".
It means something like "busy and noisy activity".
A man might buy an isolated cottage because he's tired of the hustle
and bustle of city life.

>>413
Thanks once again. You explain so well.
The whole thing reminded me that I used to think "fast food" was "first food."
The thing is, English words can sometimes be quite confusing to the ears of Japanese, or it's just that I'm so stupid.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20090501x1.html

"Relief after second scare in as many days"

This is a sub-headline of an article.
Would you tell me what exactly it means?

I think "Relief" refers to the fact that both 25 year-old and 17 year-old
weren't infected with the new type flue.

"Second scare" means the case of 17 year-old boy, the first being the case
of the 25 year-old woman.

"in as many days" is what I don't understand well.

>>415
"in as many" means the same amount as the number mentioned before.
For example, "second scare in as many days" actually means the second scare in 2 days.
"The man farted ten times in as many minutes" means that he farted 10 times in 10 minutes.
It's usually used for time. I don't know why it's used because it's there are shorter and better ways to put it.

I'd never heard of that phrase before, so I had to look it up.

"The second scare in as many days" means that there were two
scares in two days.

If I were to say "I read four books in as many days", it would
be the same as saying "I read four books in four days".

>>416
Wow, thank you very much, both of you.
Reading your explanations and sample sentenses makes it easy for me
to understand the expression!

Thank you!

>>417
Just out of curiusity, how did you look it up?

You refere to "many" or "as many" in your dictionary?

>>418
No problem, babe!

>>419
I searched for "in as many days" with Google.
Among the results were online dictionaries.
The phrase was included under the entry for "many".

>>417
...you'd "never heard of that phrase"?

And you're American?

Could you help me to dictate the content of this video?(from 3:04~3:13)
After the narrator saying '...but the result was unfortunate'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUKQG7xv3I0&NR=1

>>423
"It wasn't in a divot, it was at my end of the divot, the T end of the divot. So it didn't really affect how i hit the ball. It might of just slown the ball down a bit because of the sand."

>>416
>It's usually used for time. I don't know why it's used because it's there are shorter and better ways to put it.

Do you mean the subtitle does not sound right to you? I'm just wondering, cause it's from Japan Times and the writer seems to be Japanese.
And what's your overall impression of Japan Times? I've read just recently that Japan Times is considered a joke among foreigners living in Japan, probably meaning none of them take it seriously.

>>424
really thank you

>>424
If you know, could you tell me the meaning of "the T end of the divot"?

>>421
Thank you. Goodle really works.

>>425
Why don't you make it clear first that you aren't the original poster
of the question.

>>428
Sorry I was being a bit thoughtless. I can relate to how you are feeling.
I was being intrusive.

I tried writing English. Can someone revise and continue this?

"Japan is right in the middle of the GW. Despite the economic downturn and the flu,
people seem to be ...."

>>430
Japan is right in the middle of the GW.
Despite the economic downfall and the flu,
people seem [ to be having as many and deep pleasures [ as (it is) possible ] ].

Now I am getting [ to sleep ].
After [ awaking ],
I shall go to a church.

>>427
Sorry, not familiar with Golf. Even I had to use a dictionary to look up what a divot is.
>>432
Now I am going [to sleep]
After [I wake up]
I shall go to a church <- This depends on if you are going to a church to visit, or to pray.
If you are going to pray then it is I will go to church. Also "shall" is a bit formal and "will" makes it more natural.

>>433
Now I am going [ to sleep ]
[ After I wake up ],
I shall go to a church

This depends on
[ if you are going to a church [ to visit ], or [ to pray ].
[ If you are going to pray ],
then it is [ I will go to church ]:
Also "shall" is a bit formal and "will" makes it more natural.

I am destined [ to go to church every Sunday,
[ when and where I shall be blessed and elevated higher up the sky
[ like a hawk sees more and more
[ as it rise farther from the ground ] ] ] ] ].

I go to a church
[ because I visit another church
[ to gather and pray and praise ] ] ].

>>434-436
what do you want? you crazy!

>>432

Thank you so much. "deep pleasures" what exactly is it?
Religous ecstasy? Or is it something that deep penetration brings?

It was >>431
By the way, what's the difference between economic downturn and economic downfall?

Thank you anyway. I really appreciate your help.

>>439
Economic downfall is more a permanent situation. Like the downfall of mankind. It is nearly impossible to reverse the situation. Where as downturn is a situation that is bad right now, but will eventually become well again.

>440
Thank you so much. Your explanation is great.

The reason I used “economic downturn” was because I thought
the expression often comes up in the news right now, without knowing exactly what it really means.
I thought it would mean a recession or something, but I wasn't
really sure. In fact I don't really understand the exact
meanings of most of the English words I know. I guess that's
part of the reason why I have a really hard time writing even very simple English every time i try.

>>441
That's the best way to really write "natural" English. Imitating and asking about what you don't know will help immensely.
Even native speakers don't know the exact meaning of many words. They figure out the meaning by context. That seems to be
what you're doing since your guess of recession was pretty accurate. Also from reading your writing it sounds very
natural, aside from a few things, but you're doing a really good job so far.

English might be hard for you now because (maybe) your not thinking in English. Language learners have this
problem a lot. They think in their native language and translate it to their target language. Once you can think in your
target language it should start to become easier.

英語のネイティヴさんに質問があります。
単語のスペルを憶える時はどのようにしていますか？
やはり単語一つづつを何度も書いて憶えるような方法をとっているのですか？
固有名詞などは独特のつづり方をしたものが無数にありますがその都度そのような
原始的な方法を用いるのではいくら時間があっても足りないような気もします。
発音から類推して書くようなこともあると思いますがもしそのスペルが間違っていた
場合、私たちが漢字を間違えて書いた時のような恥ずかしさを感じるものなんですか？
また私は英文を書く際、自然さもさることながら知性がにじみ出ているような文章をものしたいｗ
と思っていますがそのためにはどのようなことに心掛けたらいいのでしょうか？

>>443
Remembering spelling has always been hard for me.
Words that sound the same but have diffrent spellings for diffrent meanings always trip me up.
The best advice I can give is to write without concern for spelling.
Then go back over what you have written and look for errors.
Get some one else to look things over too.
Then retype what needs to be changed instead of using spell check.

>>444
Thanks a lot for answering my question.
I feel a bit relieved to know that even a native speaker has trouble remembering the spellings of English words.

Where is dangerous area in LA？

anywhere, everywhere

>>425
Oh, it does sound right. it is used by native speakers of English but I see it as a stupid phrase.

こんにちは。
お力をお借りしたく、スレッド立てるまでも〜スレから飛んできました。

ttp://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm1874210
上記URLの動画にて5分辺り〜解説者がどのような発言をしているのか
英文での書き出しをお願いできませんか？

私には
kiyo is compact one again.
having a lock.
yea you what you are doing behind ya because if you gona have stab soon if
really do wana offline　@21$%7*^1!
he didnt know he was there that why he's doing
he should make safe or you have a going to keen teammate kiyo.

こんな感じにしか聞き取れません。
全体的に間違っている気がしています。
ご助力の方、どうかよろしくお願いします。

>>449
...he seems to be--think that he's got a chance of attacking Kiyo.
He's come back on him again, and there, he's having a look.
Yeah, but you--what you do is you have a look behind ya,
because if you're gonna have a stab at somebody in front, ??? (ここはどうしても・・・)
you really don't wanna run offline and then get caught from somebody behind that you didn't know was there.
So that's why he's doing it, he's just making sure he's safe to have a go at his teammate Kiyo.

因みにわたしはｱﾒ人だけど、これは結構聞き取りにくいと思う。
10回くらい繰り返して聞いたｗ

>>448
Thank you.
The original question is not mine, so I'm afraid continuing with this might
hurt the original poster's feelings again, but i just wonder what you meant by "stupid."
Is it meaningless or is it inappropriate for a news title?

>>451
>Is it meaningless or is it inappropriate for a news title?
No.

I don't know why >>448 doesn't like it, but it's a common phrase found in books, newspapers, etc. There's nothing "stupid" about it.

>>450
元スレでレスがついた、という書き込みをみて飛んできました。
ありがとうございます！
なるほど、kiyoに向けてのコメントではなく、二番手を走行していたreaさんに向けてのコメントだったんですね。
疑問が晴れて、さっぱりしました。
多謝、本当にありがとうございます。

元スレで誘導かけてくださった方にも感謝してます。ｍｍ

Could you please help me?
Here is a story quoted from "My First Dictionary".
It should be a humor or an irony, I suppose. I, however, have no idea.
http://myfirstdictionary.blogspot.com/

>Ray will get carrots from his garden.
He will take the carrots and bring them home.
Maybe Father will notice him then.

How is this interesting?
Please tell me.

>>454
That site is pretty funny.
Perhaps the images are from real books, but the blogger seems to have
altered the text.
The results are darkly humorous, especially, when you imagine what
would result from a small child earnestly reading these...

>Louise is sad.
>She is unhappy.
>If Spot has really gone to live on a farm, why is his tail sticking
up out of the ground?

Incidentally, "Spot" is a generic name for a dog. Another name of that
sort is "Fido". I've heard before that a common name for dogs in Japan
is something like "Pochi", but I don't know if that's right or not.
Also, I don't know how to properly spell it...

As for the line about the dog having "gone to live on a farm"...
That's the generic explanation given to a child when his or her pet
has died and the parent doesn't want the child to become sad.

I have to wonder, though...children are more and more genre-savvy
these days. Are there kids out there who still believe that excuse?

>>456
Thank you for your answer, but I've not got the idea how humorous the carrots story yet.
Does the behavior of taking carrots home cause anything?

>>457
I've never heard anything about taking carrots home being funny

>>458
These are comments on the carrots story.
They laugh out loud.
Why?

>>457
The story is hinting that Roy is not liked by his father. His father does not notice Roy's presence.
By bringing carrots, Roy's father might finally notice him. So carrots are not the focus of the story,
but instead it is the relationship between Roy and his Father. Personally, it's not that humorous although
the other ones are quite enjoyable.

>>460
Oh, I got It. Thank you very much.

Please give me your hands to tell me what j-lo said!!! I won't be able to catch whole sentence with my bloody rubbish ears...

URL http://m.p2.ms/dzb51
(about 25 seconds)
J-LO『your --- is godame fuck.』
(This is from 『Border Town』.)

I know what this mean by the japanese subtitle. and i can imagine that must be a american slung.
but i do wanna know what she said.
(is that "louzy"？？)

Please please please...!

>>462
携帯からしか聴けないみたいだぞ。PCからのダウンロードを可にするか、
パソコンからアクセスできるところにアップしなおせよ。

>>463
すみません、ありがとうございます。どうにか、なんとなく変更しましたが、あれで果たして反映されているかどうか心配です…
ちなみに、あんなクソ英文を理解して下さりありがとうございます……！！

>>464
まだだめみたい。クリックすると、”動画は携帯からご覧下さい”と出る。
もし、設定に「保存許可」という項目があれば、そこにもチェックを入れないと
PCでは見れないのかもしれない。（自信はほとんどないけど）

英文自体は悪くはないと思うけど。slangね。slungじゃなくて。

>>465
すみません、重ね重ねありがとうございます。
保存OKにしてみました。初心者なのですが、グタグタで申し訳ないです…。
slang、あとから気付きました…感謝します！！

>>466
まだ駄目のようです。
「動画は携帯からご覧下さい」と表示されます。
設定をよく見るか、別のところにうｐがいいんじゃないかね。

>>467
そうですか…残念です。設定ページのどこを探しても指定を設定できる箇所見つかりません(分かりません)…。なんだか申し訳ないですが、仕方がないので諦めます…。とても親切にありがとうございました！

>>468
http://pita.st/use.html

ここは？

>>469
わー！ありがとうございます！！(多分)出来ました！感謝です！！

URL
http://p.pita.st/?m=65tlhrs7

>>470
Oh! And on top of everything else, you're a lousy god damn fuck!

>>470
Oh! And on top of everything else,
you're a non-japanese-reading
double cheese grilled chicken sandwitch eating
coke drinking marijuana smoking fat fuckin' retarded ass
redneck fuck!

Oooops! wrong number baby!
hire is the right number
read this shit!
You asshole!

>>471
Oh! And on top of everything else,
you're a non-japanese-reading
double cheese grilled chicken sandwitch eating
coke drinking marijuana smoking fat fuckin' retarded ass
redneck fuck!

Hey native American fuckers!

Is it true that all American male love to suck dick?

>>469
本当の本当に、ありがとうございました！感謝です！！

>>471
Thank you ever so much！ Bisous xxx

Hi, there.
Could you tell me what "a sleeping baby" means, please?
I thought "a sleeping baby" meant "a baby who sleeps/slept",
or "a baby who is/was sleeping", but I read "a sleeping baby"
meant "a baby who sleeps almost always" or
"a baby who does nothing but sleep" on the other thread in this board.
It is a new and confusing idea for me.
How should I think a present participle (-ing form)
before a noun used as a adjective?
Sorry for my broken English.

>>476
> "a sleeping baby" meant "a baby who sleeps almost always" or "a baby who does nothing but sleep"
That's not true. Whomever you heard that from was mistaken.

>>476
A sleeping baby is a baby who is sleeping. Not was sleeping or slept.
(-ing form)+noun= Always present tense.
Japanese equivalent: 寝ている赤ちゃん

Hi
i got a coment 'that one slick fucking guitar'on my you tube video.
is it a good meaning like 'that was so sick'?
or bad meaning?
please tell me.

Give me the URL!
I wanna hear your guitar!

>>479
Good meaning. "Slick" is positive and "fucking" is a multiplier.

>481
thanks a lot!!!
sometimes confused by language problem.

>480
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Sn5i01sN58
wish you enjoy it :D

>>482
Wow, cool!
I also think you must change the title.

>>477
Thank you for your kind response.
My translation might not be so good, and maybe
I should have written "a baby who sleeps for long time".
However, it is still funny for me...
I guess some Japanese misunderstand the meaning of "a baby who sleeps"
including me.

>>478
Thank you for your kind response.
I really thought the Japanese equivalent was 寝ている赤ちゃん.
寝てばかりいる赤ちゃん is rather odd, right?
Actually, I cheated other site when I wrote 476.
About "was sleeping", I think s/he thought the situation that the phrase
"a sleeping baby" was used in a past tense sentence.
But what does "a baby who sleeps" mean?
A baby who has a custom of sleeping?
A baby who sleeps regularly?
Or a baby who is said that they sleeps in general? I dunno.

Thanks again.

In another thread one poster asked this question.

"Mr. X came from Africa when African slaves came to this land
to work on sugar plantations.
At first he didn't want to come, because he heard
that they would CARRY them BEYOND and he was afraid."

He/she would like to know what this "CARRY them BEYOND" means.
He/she said this is a part of a story and he/she can't get any contexts
regarding to this part. I thought there are two possibilities.
One is that "they would make the slaves do other jobs besides the job
on sugar plantation. The other is "they would take the slaves to America
first and then to another place."

What do you think? What does this "CARRY them BEYOND" mean?

Ooops.
The person who ask this question in another thread said this is what
ordinary person, not a novelist wrote.
He/she doesn't mention where he/she find this part.

>>484
Really depends on the context of the sentence.It could mean various things.
Also "a baby who sleeps" by itself doesn't provide a correct sentence.
For example: "John is a baby who sleeps." That's wrong, you need something else there,
to describe the sleeping. So maybe "John is a baby who sleeps a lot/ a little."

>>486
This was kind of hard, had to reread it a bit. But the "carry them beyond"
means beyond the Atlantic Ocean. Since Africa and America are separated by it.
It isn't easy because unless you studied slavery, and the African slave trade
a lot it's not really noticeable.

>>487
>>But the "carry them beyond" means beyond the Atlantic Ocean

Hello, I am the original asker. Now I got it.
Thank you for your help.

>>487
Thank you for your answer. Maybe I read too much into the sentense.

>>488
おいらの回答は、深読みしすぎたというか間違いでした。
ただ単に、大西洋を越えてアメリカに連れていく、という
意味だったね。

>>489
>>ただ単に、大西洋を越えてアメリカに連れていく、という

なかなか気付かないですよね。
でも、このスレで質問していただいたおかげで解決しました。
感謝します。

How to forget a girl who I really like?
We can't meet anymore. So I think I should forget her. Otherwise, the memory of her will keep on hurting me forever.
But I don't want to forget her. I don't want to forget her smile. What shall I do?

Quite easy, hang yourself.

Life goes on and time will heal everything. Believe me.

>>491
You have answered to your own question.
ばーか。

Play your home.

I can not make my girlfriend cum with my finger.
please teach me how to do it right!

>>496
You must inflate her first.

One person recieved email from her friend after a while.

"Just passing it on...."

What does the sender of the email mean? I thought he forwarded some info
to her before the line but she says all he wrote is just one line above.
She says the email is the first email in a few months from him.
What does the line mean? If you aren't sure, just give your opinion.
Thank you.

>>498
"Just passing it on", if it was the only thing contained in the e-mail, would not mean much.
There is no context to lend meaning to the phrase.

>>499
Thank you for your response.
She says that's just it. Your answer help me understand the line means
nothing, but would you paraphrase it if you can?

I just guessed it can mean "Just to say hi," "Just to tell you I'm still
alive," or "How are you?"

Or he just sent to a wrong address? What do you think?

>>500
It is possible that it might mean something in some dialects of English (like American English) or slang, but to me it has no meaning.
I don't know why he sent it.

What does a "bottom feeder" mean?
Somebody's feeding somebody else's bottom?
I'm confused...

>>501
All right. Thank you again.

>>502

When you're talking about a person, a "bottom feeder" is usually an
opportunist who tries to profit on the misfortunes of others.

It comes from the term used for aquatic animals that feed at the
bottoms of bodies of water.

>>504
Hmm, that makes sense. Thanks for the clarification!

>>504
BTW, it's a great day, isn't it?
(I live in the Bay Area, too.)
Do you go to school here?

>>506
Actually, school is the only place I can post to these threads.
At home, my address is blocked.
What a pity.

>>507
If you are as addicted to 2ch as I am,
you have an option of getting a paid account.

http://p2.2ch.net/

All you need to do is to pay 100 yen for a one-year subscription.
My DSL provider is AT&T, and I can post to 2ch at home without problems

>>498 Was there an attachment or something? Maybe he forgot to attach the document,
I've done that before. >_<
The line really does make no sense completely on its own.

If there was something else, it would mean that he just wanted to spread the information to her,
like a rumor or message or something.

>>509
Thank you for your response.
As far as I know, no files were attached to this email but I hadn't noticed
the possibility you refered to until you mentined it.
Thank you very much.

please translate these Japanese into english !

その夢や意地がクラブ内で競争や緊張をもたらし、高い練習密度にもつながる。
まあ、所謂「切磋琢磨」ってやつだな。

>>496
you have to pay her more.

>>498
"Just passing it on" usually means she's telling you something
that someone else had told her to tell you.
その説明はちょっと解り難いかもｗｗ日本語で説明したら、
別の人が言ったことをあなたに伝えています
っということです。（＾＿＾）

>>511
その夢や意地がクラブ内で競争や緊張をもたらし、高い練習密度にもつながる。
In the club, that dream or intention seems to bring competitiveness and tension,
it also takes a lot of practice.

まあ、所謂「切磋琢磨」ってやつだな。
Well, that's what is generally known as "hard work".

そういう感じなんですけど。その先の部分がわからなくて、
完全にあなたの言いたい意味がわかりにくいですね。（＾＿＾；）

>>513
Thank you.
The problem is there's only the sentence. No attachment file.

You speak Japanese very well.

I love oppai

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIWh2_7EPHI

I tried to write down every lines of the characters but I couldn't
catch some parts and I'm not sure of the other parts. Would you correct
my transcription? It's a trailer of a video game, BioHazard.
It's about two and hald minute video. Thank you.

0:06 Come one... Let's get out of here.
0:14 It's all right. I don't see anything.
0:23 I think this'll take us somewhere.
0:27 Sh... Here's something.
0:37 Sherry, are you all right?
0:43 This got to be a bad dream.
0:52 Where're these coming from?
1:03 You hear that?
1:04 Uh-huh
1:11 I don't think it's the welcoming party.
1:13 That scream is enough to drive me insane.
1:19 This guy just refuses to go down.
1:24 I'm no rat. I'm gonna make that very clear.
1:31 Zombeis're popping out everywhere　******
1:40 Great. Another cheap scare.
1:46 It's coming this way.
1:54 How is that? /(What the) hell is that?
1:57 ??????
2:13 I'm Leon. This is Clare. And you are?

>>516
For the first line I heard "Oh god, let's get out of here."
However it might be 'come on'.

0:27 is "Shh, I hear something."

0:43 is "This has got to be a bad dream."

0:52 Where are these things coming from?

1:13 YOU, not ME

1:24 ... I'm gonna make that very clear to you

1:31 everywhere... these days huh?

1:54 What the hell is that?

1:57 Hey, (Crunchy?)!

2:13 Claire*
...
ada wong.

Everything else is correct

>>517
Thank you verrrrryyyy much.
You're a big help. I playback the video again and again and still
I couldn't catch some parts. My question is solved. Thank you!

(But at 1:24, he isn't saying "to you" at the end, is he? I listend to
the line a few times now but the sentense stops with the word "clear."
I don't hear "to you" part.)

0:06 [either "come on" or "Leon"]! Let's get out of here.
0:14 It's all right. I don't see anything.
0:23 I think this'll take us somewhere.
0:27 Sh... I hear something.
0:37 Sherry, are you all right?
0:43 This has got to be a bad dream!
0:52 Where're these things coming from?
1:03 You hear that?
1:04 Uh-huh.
1:11 I don't think it's the welcoming party.
1:13 That scream is enough to drive you insane.
1:19 This guy just refuses to go down!
1:24 I'm no rat. I'm gonna make that very clear.
1:31 Zombies are popping out everywhere these days, huh?
1:40 Great. Another cheap scare.
1:46 It's coming this way.
1:54 What the hell is that?
1:57 [??????]
2:13 I'm Leon. This is Clare. And you are?
2:17 Ada Wong.


Sorry I couldn't help more.

>>519
Thank you very much.
It takes many playbacks to transcribe each word for me.
I can't recognize some parts even if I listen to them many times.
Thank you!

This is a question from someone in a thread and I'll post it instead of him here to
ask native English speakers.

I answered him but I'm not sure if my answer is right.
The question is about what the musician is saying before a song.

My answer was:
"Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen.
I think we're gonna get a half way to end this album at this one, thanks to you."

You can download an audio file here.
http://www.dotup.org/uploda/www.dotup.org18043.mp3.html

Sorry but this is a Japanese uploader so let me explain how to download the file.
Go to a download page by following the link above.
You find a password field right above a banner ad.(A banner shown now is that
of Amazon's) Type "mc" without quotations and click on the ダウンロード　button next to it.
Automatically, you go to a new page. On the page, you click on ダウロード
which is right above a banner ad.

Thank you.

>>521
"Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen.
I think we're gonna get a half way tasty album out of this one, thanks to you."
"this one" probably means "this concert", because they may be recording the concert to sell as an album.

It took me a few listens to get this right, and I'm from the UK!

>>522
Thank you for your answer!

One more question.
What does "get a half way tasty album" mean?
I don't understand especially "half way" part.
Half way means "in the middle of something" or "something is incomplete."
The latter sounds it has a negative meaning.

Tasty would mean nice in this context. I think it can mean the same in Japanese also. オイシイ (I'm not sure if that's right)
I think "half way" means something like "not bad", I'm not so sure myself. It's not used like this often and doesn't really make any sense. I think it's just slang

I'd say "half way" here has a meaning similar to "somewhat" or
"more or less" and is used self-deprecatingly. Normally, the album would
end up being really bad, but "thanks to you" it will be decent enough.
If you want a deeper understanding of in which context it is used, you could
do a web search for it:
http://us.ask.com/web?qsrc=2417&o=312&l=dir&q=%22halfway+decent%22

>>524
Thank you very much again.
オイシイ and tasty are a little different in my opinion but I know what
you tried to mean. Anyway, your answers helped me a lot!

>>525
Thank you. Your answer does make sense.
Thank you for the link, too. Yeah, searching on web and reading many
samples can help. You don't use google, do you.
I heard "Ask.jp," which I think is affiliated company of "Ask.com" will or
already withdrew from Japan's search engine market. Here, Yahoo Japan is used
most widely follwed by Google.

I'll let the original poster of the question know your answers.
Thank you very much.

Let me ask you guys a question.

I've been reading "The adventures of Hackleberry Finn" recently.
Below is an excerpt from the first chapter of the book:

Well, then the old thing commenced again. The widow rung a bell
for supper, and you had to come to time. When you got to the table
you couldn't go right to eating, but you had to wait for the widow to
tuck down her head and grumble a little over the victuals, though
there warn't really anything the matter with them. That is, nothing
only everything was cooked by itself. In a barrel of odds and ends
it is different; things get mixed up, and the juice kind of swaps around,
and the things go better.

I can't understand the part, "That is, nothing only everything was cooked
by itself. In a barrel of..." What the heck does it mean?

>>527
"nothing only" has the same meaning as "except that" here. The only
thing wrong with her meal is that every part of it was cooked seperately
from the rest, instead of together in one big pot.

>>526
Oh, I do use Google, but ever since I switched my computer's langauge
to Japanese, it's been giving me Japanese results first, and I figure it's the
same for you. And obviously you want English results when you search for
English sentences.
I don't really like Yahoo, but the Japanese 国語 dictionary at dic.yahoo.co.jp
is the best one I could find, so I use it everyday, too.

>>528
Yeah, Google shows automatically Japanese websites as search results even if a search word
is English. I thought it's because my IP is from Japan. I didn't know
how Google show results depends on computer's language setting, if that's what you mean.

>>528
Thank you very much!

I posted a question and got an answer. (>>358 >>360)
I am very grateful. Thanks, 米人.

By the way I am having another question just like the previous one.
The following is the old cm which I can't fully grasp
what he is saying.
(Audios are of the same content,but quality may differ)

http://d.hatena.ne.jp/video/niconico/sm407438
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-Am5Z7K1Pc


I think he says ....

The memories of burned sky
The legend of Bahamut
***

I can't catch 3rd phrase. Could anyone teach me it?

>>531
This thread isn't busy so when you ask a question here, I'd recommend
you tell everybody in http://academy6.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/english/1249869281/l50
to come and check this thread.

It's just what I do when I post a question here. You can ignore my advice, though.

>>531
I posted that queston in another thread as recommended by >>532.
(http://academy6.2ch.net/test/read.cgi/english/1249869281/l50
Please don't feel ill if you don't like multiple posting.

>>532
Thank you. I am not bright in question thread thing. I
think your suggestion is rational. I will take it.

>>533
I didn't recommend you post the question there. I just said that it is
a good idea to ask native speakers there to come to this thread.
Anyway, I hope someone'll answer your question.

>>534
Sorry, I misread your post.

Native speakers of English,
could you tell me what a guy, presumably Quentin Crisp, is saying
at the very end of this tune by STING?
(Approx. at 4'15")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doYNBHE8Yes&feature=fvw
Thanx very much in advance!

He says ""If I have an ambition other than a desire to be a chronic invalid, it would be to meet everybody in the world before I die... and I'm not doing badly."
Even as a native speaker, I had to listen to it about 10 times to get it. Granted, Its a bit hard being American and transcribing from a relatively thick British accent.

>>537
Wow, thanx very much for such a quick response!
And thanx so much for taking the time to listen to it many times for me!
It's kind of a relief to konw that even for a native speaker of
English, different can be hard to understand sometimes.

oops,
X different can
O different accents can

"I'm already retired, I've already got a good income, and God has blessed me, so I won't do a bunch with it," Jackson said with a smile. "But somebody's going to be blessed."
Lottery officials say Jackson's chances of winning were one in 195 million.
"That's a lot of people," he said. "And yet, little ole me, of all the people."

This sentense is from the last part of an article featuring a man who became the Powerball winner on today's YAHOO news.
I don't understand what the "ole" means. My dictionary says it's another variation of "old". But it still seems to be an irregular sentense, so I can't figure out what on earth that line is saying.
Could anyone help me? Thank you.

ole -> old

That means「よりにもよって、自分(のような爺さん）が当てちゃうなんて」

>>541
Thank you very much for the quick reply! That cleared it up.

I've come accross an expression 'That's a 64 dollar (or 64,000 dollar)
question.'
Do people use it often? Or is it a thing of the past?

>>543
I have never heard of this expression. Usually I hear:
"That's the million dollar question."
Maybe it is a play on words to this expression.

>>543
I would guess that it's derived from this old game show:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_$64,000_Question
or perhaps from Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, another game show that is/was
very popular and offers $64000 for one of its more advanced questions.

I can't say that I've seen it being used very often.

>>544, 545
Thanx very much for the replies!

Hello, guys,

Would somebody please help me with an expression "I buy that for a dollar."?

It's been puzzling me since the first time I heard it in "Robocop."
I can't see what's so funny about it.

Thanks in advance.

>>547
You mean I'd buy that for a dollar.
It means I'm willing to accept it.

Right. See this.
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=I'll%20buy%20that%20for%20a%20dollar

>>547,548
Thank you both very much!

So it was a line from Kornbluth's short story. I read some sci-fi's, but Kornbluth's too much of an old-timer for me.

Anyway, thanks again, guys!

ps. Grrr, I should have tried Urban Dictionary first. I KNEW that place!

Oops, wrong anchors:

547,548 --> 548,549

"village far out on Long Island"

When you say, "village far out on Long Island," what does it mean?

What I'm not sure about is "far out." If I'm not mistaken, "far out"
indicates "distance away."

Is a speaker/writer who spoke/wrote "far out on the Long Island"
far away from Long Island itself or is it possible for a person to say this
phrase when they are on Long Island?

>>552
The village IS on long island.

>>552
The speaker might put it like that while he is in the village on Long Island himself,
for example when he's explaining his situation to someone on the mainland.
Normally though, using that expression would imply that Long Island is far away
from where the speaker is at the time.


I've got a question too: How is '1/4' usually read in Japanese?
しぶん　の　いち？　しぶいち？　しはんぶん？ Or something with よん perhaps?
In case it depends on context, I came across it while reading this article:
http://jp.rubyist.net/magazine/?0019-cairo

>>553
Thank you for your response. I know the villiage is on Long Island.
Kind of tough to explain but the point of my question is not whether
the village is on Long Island or not.

>>554
Thank you.
>>552 is a question asked in another thread. When I forwarded the question here, I didn't know that
the phrase are from the NY Times article. Later, someone in the thread googled the phrase and
found out where the phrase is originally from.

"Word had already spread across this sleepy bayside hamlet far out on Long Island that the strange, shaggy genius fancied himself a sailor and had rented a summer cottage overlooking Cutchogue Harbor."
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/22/sports/22iht-einstein.1.6765841.html?_r=1
"Hamlet" is used instead of "village" in the article.

Anyway, what I want to clarify is the nuance of "far out" in the phrase.
Some people in the thread say, Point A, in this case, the village on Long Island is far away from
point B on Long Island. (Both Point A and B are on the Long Island)

よんぶんのいち　is the one, as I can't think of any context to read it otherwise.

But I thought point A, in this case, the village on Long Island, is far away
from Point B which is not on Long Island.

Which interpretation is right regarding the usage of "far out"?

You do programming? It doesn't depend on the context. Whenever you see 1/4
you read 1/4, よんぶんのいち.
In Japanese there are many ways to pronounce numbers so I understand
how you feel about that but in case of 1/4, よんぶんのいち　is one and only
way to pronounce it.

>>555、557　と続いております。

代理投稿してくれた方、ありがとうございます。何分割にするかは問題ではないので。
書いた文はすべて投稿されていたので問題なしです。

ありがとうござます。助かりました。
-------
お礼のレスが遅くなってすいません。「連続投稿ですか？」というエラーメッセージが
出て、あっちでは書きこみできません。こっちを見てくれたらいいんですが。

あっちこっち、忙しそうでなにより。

Help me out please!
Does this sound Light or Right to you?

http://kissho.xii.jp/1/src/1jyou92368.mp3.html

>>561

こんなlightとrightの間を絶妙に狙った中間的な音、うまく出せましたね。。。

>>556-557
ありがとございます！

My understanding is that "far out" here means that 点 A, the hamlet, is located in
what is universally considered a remote part of Long Island. This is in line with the
actual location of Cutchogue, since I assume the main access to the island is from
the other side: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutchogue,_New_York
The author is in the hamlet at the time of writing (hence the use of "this"), but he
expects most of his readers not to be from Long Island and writes from the
perspective of a mainland-dweller (otherwise he wouldn't have to mention the
island's name).

And yeah, I do programming.

ttp://ppup.dip.jp/uploader/download/1254045738/attach/english.wma

What word in the bracket [ ] below did she say in the audio?
It sounds like she's saying a word that starts with "b" but I have no idea
what it is.

> All I cay say is, over the weekend my 13 year old son was complaining
> about video games and how they get scratched up and all that. He said,
> why can't we just download these etcetera. So, you know, people need
> to figure out the [ ] of the 13 years of the world...

This is how you download the audio if you help me figure it out.
Go to the page (It's a Japanese downloader.) In the middle of the page,
You see "Download" under a Japanese sentense written in red. Type "cba" without quotations
in the field next to it, and then check the box next to the filed.
Then, you click on the "Download."

Thank you.

One more thing. If you catch the word in the bracket, would you explain
the meaning of the word in this context?

>>563
Thank you for your detailed explanation!
You covered what I wanted to know most.

>>562は、英語のネイティブスピーカーとしての感想ですか？

>>564
Ah, how odd... I can't quite figure out definitively what she's saying either.

However, it sounds like "bottle" to me.
This might make sense in certain contexts, if "bottle" was used symbolically and represented something else, perhaps related to a previous discussion.
I suppose that's the only explanation. I keep listening to it over and over again and keep hearing "bottle".
Do you know what they were talking about before or is this just a random excerpt? If put in a broader context I could figure it out.

I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help.

>>568
Thank you for your response! This question is originally asked by
someone in another thread and I posted it here instead of him/her.
He said you can listen to the original audio here at http://twit.tv/twil1

The whole program lasts for 1:21:12 and the part is around 48:25.
There is a slider on the page but the problem is the time (how much
time has passed since the biginning of the show) isn't shown there.

I found the part relatively easy but didn't understand well what they are talking about
so I can't give you what's the context there.

>>569
Ah, okay, thank you.

After listening to the audio file I realize that it is definitely not "bottle".
I'm fairly certain that she's saying "motto".

"So, you know, people need to figure out the motto of the 13 year olds of the world, you know, they can't put up with packaged goods..."
>This would mean that 13 year olds in general have a dislike of packaged goods, in this case because they break easily.

It's still an odd thing to say, but it makes sense. It was hard to understand because the woman has a very nasally voice, like she has a cold.

I hope I helped!

>>570
Yes, you sure helped us a lot. Thank you very much!
I never thought it is "motto." Nobody in the thread where this question
was originally posted thought it is motto.

Bottle, bottom, battle, borders were the words people there guessed it can be.

>>571
You're welcome.
Although keep in mind I'm still not 100% sure, simply because the word "motto" is used in such a strange way.
I think she may have started a thought and then changed it mid-way through.

Borders would've actually been much more appropriate, but it doesn't sound like that to me.
Ah well, I'll stick with "motto".

>>572
All right. Thank you.

My 2 guesses for what she's saying would be either model or motto, yeah.
I can hear either one, though it is nasally and kind of a weird sentence.

>>574
Thank you for your response. So Model is another possibility...

I ask you a question about what he's saying in this audio file.
This question is posted in another thread and I'm asking here instead of him.
This is about car race and a driver is irritated because he can't pass
a car in front of him. (Sound quality isn't good.)

http://p.pita.st/?m=pzmtu4jt

I'd like you to transcribe what they're saying.
The latter part of the audio is Japanese so just ignore it. Thank you.

Hmmmmm...there's a lot of static, so I can't really understand most of
it.

The first person says something about "moving away to the" "side" of
some sort.

The second person says, "Roger that, we'll get" and then something,
and then "Charlie".

I'm sorry. I'm terrible at this. Also, I don't know anything about
racing.

>>577
Thank you very much. It was good to know even a native English speaker
found it hard to understand what they are saying.
Thank you for taking the time to listen to the audio.

I have a question. This time again, I'm asking it instead of someone
who posted it in another thread.

He uploaded Hiphop music of his favorate musician on a video or music sharing site
and got a comment from someone.

The comment is:omgsh dude ur songs are badass u know that? Lol well of course you would. it's sick. dopeee.

The question is whether he's praising the songs or insulting them.
I know "badass," "sick" and "dope" have both positive and negative meanings and that's
why I don't know whether he's prasing the songs or insulting them.

What do you think? Thank you.

>>579

＞ I have a question. This time again, I'm asking it instead of someone
＞ who posted it in another thread.
＞
＞ He uploaded Hiphop music of his favorate musician on a video or music sharing site
＞ and got a comment from someone.
＞
＞ The comment is:omgsh dude ur songs are badass u know that? Lol well of course you would. it's sick. dopeee.
＞
＞ The question is whether he's praising the songs or insulting them.
＞ I know "badass," "sick" and "dope" have both positive and negative meanings and that's
＞ why I don't know whether he's prasing the songs or insulting them.
＞
＞ What do you think? Thank you.

In this context, it's positive. Sick, dope, and badass are all positive words when used like that.

>>590
Thank you for your answer.
I thought "Lol" there is kind of like sneering but maybe I was wrong.

Here's a rough translation into "real" English:
"Oh my gosh, dude--your songs are badass, do you know that? Ha ha--well,
of course you would. It's sick. Dope."

Because I'm neurotic, I couldn't go without correcting it.
I apologize.

u r very funny...

>>582
Thank you.

Which is correct?
1 or 2?
3 or 4?

1. The average height of a high school boy is 170cm.
2. The average height of high school boys is 170cm.

3. There are 10 boys whose height is more than 170cm in our class.
4. There are 10 boys whose heights are more than 170cm in our class.

And, yeah, screw trying to get justice through the courts. ,

Among ICSE submissions, the most common kind of paper reports an improved method or means of developing software. ,

I'm always bothered by single and plural forms.
In addition to >>585, I have another similar question.
Please tell me which is correct.

5. A whore is a derogatory term used for a prostitute.
6. A whore is a derogatory term used for prostitutes

I am scared when a U.S. police offcer talks to me, because I somehow feel he
may point his gun at me.
Speaking of guns, are you good at shooting?
Do you
have shooting training in case a burglar breaks into your house?
´∀｀)

http://buy-soma.webgarden.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fZN5-kHETc

I transcribed this video but I'm not sure of some parts.
Would you correct any mistakes? Thank you.

Hey, Sara, instead of finding ??????.....
Wow... God.... Is it really necessary?
It's dead, right? or powered off, whatever.

Every component must be destroyed under pair of recovery.
Even a single ??? for piece ?? the skelton could alter the course of technological evolution.
And he's ??? the arrival of Judgement day.

Oh... Yeah. You know, little girl, You freak me the hell out.
On the outside, you're just as pretty as a picture. But on the inside, you're...

Hyper alloy combat ????

Is that a complicated way of saying robot?
Cybernetic organism. Living tissue over metal and skelton.　

OK. Scary robot. And here you are carving up this guy into chum.
He's not a guy. He's a scary robot.

OK. He's a scary robot. You? You're very scary robot.

You should go. It's not safe for you here.

>>591
Hey, Sarah said I might be able to find more gauze out back in...
Wow... [think this is just a random sound]... is that really necessary?
It's dead, right? or powered off... whatever...

Every component must be destroyed beyond repair or recovery
Even a single unaccounted for piece of the endoskeleton could alter the course of
technological evolution... and hasten the arrival of judgement day.

Uh... yeah. You know, little girl. You freak me the hell out.
On the outside, you're just as pretty as a picture. But on the inside, you're a...

Hyper-alloy combat chassis.

Is that a complicated way of saying "robot"?
Cybernetic organism. Living tissue over a metal endoskeleton.

Okay, scary robot. And here you are, carving up this guy... into chum.

He's not a guy. He's a scary robot.

Okay, he's a scary robot? You, you're a very scary robot.

You should go. It's not safe for you here.

>>592
Thank you very much!
They speak very fast and I couldn't catch what they're saying.

"Sarah said I might be able to find" part was the hardest for me, although
I'm familiar with each of the word.

I didn't know the term "unaccounted for piece of...." Combination of
unfamiliar term and the fast speed makes me hopeless but just complaining gets
me nowhere.

i have a difficult question for native english speakers.
please answer it if u can!

○　1. There is some way to earn money.
○　2. There are some ways for earning money.
×　3. There is some way for earning money.

my american friend said that No.3 sounds strange.
why No.3 sounds strange?
some way to earn money is ok
some ways for earning money is ok
some way for earning money ← why only this expression is not ok?
is there any rule for this grammar?
i hope someone helps me

>>594
What do you want to say?
What's the context of the phrase?
Just to say "There is some way to earn money" by itself is strange.
I would say "There are ways to earn money", unless there is a further context.

>>595
what i want to say doesn't matter.
im just asking about english grammar. Those sentences are nothing but examples.
my friend said " There is some way to go there " and "There are some ways for going there" are ok
but "There is some way for going there" is not ok. this doesn't sound natural to native english speakers.
so i just want to know why i cant say "some way for" even though i can say " some ways for" and " some way to".

>>596
I see what you want to say. You want to indicate that there are a few, or that there is more than one way to get there.
Some sounds a bit strange in this case.
Instead of "some" it would be much better to say "number" in this case.
Of course, this is not necessary if you are using the singular as the singular is used to indicate only one of X,Y,Z, or whatever you want to say.
"There are a number of ways to get there."
"There is a way to get there."

Just to add, some can only be used when referring to more than one.

Also when referring to a mass noun (a noun that can't be counted, that doesn't form plurals, or that refers to a mass entity, like oil, or sand, or milk).

So what is the difference between the situation you use "to" after "way" and the situation you use "for" after "way" in these sentences below?

"There is some way (to) go there"
"There is some way (for) going there"

Are they exactry the same meaning? or they sound different when you use "for" instead of "to" ?

Somebody please help me.

"I envy at another's success"

Is this sentence grammatically correct?

>>601
O "I envy another's success."
X "I envy at another's success."

>>597
so, when i want to say " There is a way to go there."
why cant i say " There is some way for going there"?
we can use "some " when we want to mean as "certain" like "a certain（= some） guy talked to me."
so i know i can use it before a singular noun as well.
however, why cant i say " There is some way for going there" even though i can say " There is a way to go there" ?
why it sounds not natural?
my friend also said that if the sentence is like "There must be some way for going there", it sounds natural.
so i can't figure out the rule of the grammar.
i want to know in what kind of case i can say "some way for going there" and in what kind of case i cant say "some way for going there"

"Some guy", "some girl", etc., is an idiom. It only means that in certain fixed phrases, like "some guy".

>>603
まずcertainの捉え方がおかしい
certainってのは基本的に確実って意味、certain guyの
場合は知ってるけどあえて言わないってニュアンス
certain≠some＝random

"There is a way to go there."は確実に行き方を知ってる
"There is some way for going there"はThere isで断定
してるのに、行き方を知らないニュアンスだからおかしい、
"There must be some way for going there"は
行き方があるに違いない、だから問題ない

I transcribed this video but I'm not sure of almost parts.
Would you correct any mistakes? Thank you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4i0KVjAqWM
It is between from 3:00 to 4:26.

john: scared feeled me. How many of you are sitting here?
cameron: ??? How was factive ??? many touch lips
john: factive.
cameron: I get ??? you like that.
john: What are you doing?
john: no, ??? What are you doing?
cameron: Just making conversation.
john: ???　Just making conversation.
cameron:I don't know. It seem something I should do.
john: ??? every　more first naming the cop all something I should do ???
cameron: Yes. But was no cop. He was Cromartie.
john: what? what?
cameron: He is going to school to school looking for you, tried match face.He is
moon done know. He all go back there. I won.
john: only wey, I'm issue but that ??? member ??? call love chip. is it like him.
??? self first you can tell her ok? promise me?

>>605
日本人になんか尋ねてねーよ。
お呼びじゃねーから引っ込んでろ。

>>607
But if I replied in English like this, you'd take it that I'm white
(not black, not brown or red, and DEFINITELY not yellow)
and would swallow any bullshit I throw at you amirite?

相手の人種によって態度変える自分を恥じた方がいいよ
Native speaker≠白人なんだからさｗ

相手の人種によって態度変える自分を恥じた方がいいよ

>>609
んじゃ、日本人のあなたは>>606みたいなのも理解できるの？

>>610
>>609じゃなくて>>608だけど、できるし
他にもできる日本人は大勢いると思う
とりあえず誘い受けみたいのはやめれ

>>606
John: You scared the hell out of me...How long have you been sitting there?
Cameron: A litte while.
Cameron: That was effective. What he did. When he touched her lips.
John: Effective...
Cameron: I could see that she liked that.
John: What are you doing?
（マニキュアを見せる）
John: No..when you say things like that, what are you doing?
Cameron: Just making conversation.
John: Since when, do you "just make conversation"?
Cameron: I don't know. It just seems like something I should do.
John: Well, was having Morris impersonate me with that cop also something you thought you should do? No matter what happened to him?
Cameron: Yes. But it wasn't a cop. It was Warren Cromartie.
John: What...What!?
Cameron: He's going school to school looking for you, trying to match your face.
Cameron: He's moved on though. He won't go back there. I wouldn't.
John: The only way..that I'm reassured by that, is if I remember that in the core of your chip..you're just like him.
John: Oh god she'll move us so fast...you cannot tell her okay? Promise me.

>>605
お前以外誰も日本語で答えてないだろ？それくらい分からないのか？

頭弱いのはしょうがないけど、空気ぐらい読めるようになれよ。

それと残念だけど、お前のしょぼい英語はどう見てもネイティブスピーカーじゃないから。

いいからさっさと消えて。ウザイ。

>>612
Thank you very much!
Are you Japanese?
You transcribed English conversation is excellent!
Maybe you are native speaker.

http://www.justsomelyrics.com/633780/Mo-Better-Blues-Harlem-Blues-Lyrics

I have some questions regarding this lyrics.
<The second stanza, the first line>
1) "he just turned me down" Does this mean he refused to go out with her?"
2) Does "Harlem brown" mean a colored man living in Halem?
<The second line>
3) What does "Oftimes" mean? Sometimes? What does the whole line mean?
Does it mean she wants to beried in Harlem when she dies?

<The third stanza, the third line>
4) Does "dandies" mean cool men?
<the fourth stanza>
5) What does the first line mean that starts with "You can have..."
6) Does the second line mean, "people should be thankful to the angels"?
<the third line>
7) What does the "pro-ro system" mean? "ro" seems to mean a "negro"
Negro friendly system? I have no clues.

<The fifth stanza>
8) What does this "sudden death" mean in this case? Does it mean "gorgeous"?
9) What does the whole second line mean? Does these spots are so good that
you can't help but catching your breath?"

<Sixth stanza>
10) what does "Diddy folks come and call them" mean? I don't know what
this "Diddy folks" mean, either.
11) Regarding "To put some music to my troubles," troubles can be blues and another meaning of
blues is a genra of music. So does this mean the friend of her could make a song based on her
troubles?

<The first stanza>
12) Regarding "Like March weather," does this mean the weather in March
in NY tend to change in the way it's hard for people to recognize?

I asked too many questions. If you have time, please answer them.
Answering some of them (not all of them) is greatly appreciated, too. Thank you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8Ouh1eNidw
This is a video of the song.

do you english speakers have any "girlish" usage?
i found some english speaking girl
use the word "really" repetively.
for example, "i really really really like the book".
does this sound girlish?
if so, is it strange for me(25years man)
to say like this?

>>615
1) It means he refused her advances. He doesn't like her.
2) I've never heard that before, it might mean a black man from Harlem.
3) "Oftimes" is a contraction of "often times", meaning "often".
4) A dandy is a man who dresses up and is vain and cares too much about his appearance.
5) Broadway is a district in New York City where there are lots of professional theatres and productions put on.
Lennox avenue is a street in harlem. It's saying you can have your big city, etc., I prefer my small town.
6) I don't know what this means.
7) No idea what this means either, sorry.
8) It means it's a dangerous area and it's dangerous to even stop to catch your breath.
9) It's just saying you have to have been in or lived in Harlem to appreciate the "Harlem blues".
10) This is old slang, I don't know what this means.
11) Yes.
12) Yes.

>>617
No, English doesn't have feminine and masculine modes of language like Japanese.
Those girls are just speaking informally, they're just emphasising that they like the book.
A man could say the same thing without it being strange.

>>1-1000
I hope you find 2ch to be both challenging and rewarding.

>>618

I'd say English doesn't have fixed forms of grammar that are masculine/feminine, but your tone of voice and word stress can certainly make you sound more masculine or feminine.

"I really, really like that book!" can sound "girly" if you come off sounding like a Valley Girl.

I want to speak English like foreigner.
Would you tell me how to study English?

>>617
I don't mean to discourage you, but you have better things to worry about.

>>618
Thank you very much for answering them. Your response was really helpful.
To understand lyrics isn't easy for English learners, especially when even English speakers don't know what
some of the phrases mean.

>>621
First of all, work on your grammar.

>>621

Live in an English speaking country like the US, Canada, Australia, etc. It's expensive, but total immersion in a foreign country really helps you learn faster.

i'm >>617.
thank you for replying me! you are so gentle. i plan to do my graduate study in U.S. from next summer.
i dont know if i can communicate with other students in my poor english.
but i want to get along with them...
anyway, i hope they are good people like you guys.

I have a puestion to Native spekers！
I am majoring in English at University！
↑
Is this sentence mistake grammar？

O question
X puestion

O a mistake in grammar
X mistake in grammar

Otherwise it's correct.

I think it should be "I major in English at university".
Plus if I were u,i would say:is there a grammar mistake in this sentence?
oh,and u spell the word "question" wrong.

>>605
sorry for my late reply.
i understand what you meant, but here is a big question.

"There is some way for going there."
↑ in your opinion, the reason this sentence is strange is because of the bad combination of "There is " which sounds assertive and "some way" which sounds obscure.
i understand ur explanation.
however, my friend say "There is some way to go there" ←　this sentence is fine(natural) to native english speakers.

"There is some way to go there" ← why this sentence sounds fine(natural) to native english speakers even though "There is some way for going there." sounds strange ?

If you or somebody can explain this, please teach me. (in english or in japanese doesn't matter to me.)

i dont think "there is some way to go there" is right,but it really sounds fine by me.
BUT "there is some way for going there" is 100% WRONG. we usually put"xxxing"before the word "for",not behind it~~
like "are u fighting for ur money?" " what is everyone doing for xmas"?
if u want use the word "going",i will proborly do:What are some way (an djective put here） for going there

>>631
>>we usually put"xxxing"before the word "for",not behind it~~

but if the sentence is like "there is a way for going there" or "there is some ways for going there", it sounds fine, doesn't it?

sorry
×　"there is some ways for going there"
↓
○　"there are some ways for going there"

there is a way for going there？...no...it doesn't sound right at all.
"there is some ways for going there" can be "there is some ways of going there.".....
OH~~~u make me feel dizzy now..o(╯□╰)o

>>634
sorry, "there is a way for going there" is strange. you are right.
but ""there is a way to go there" is right, isnt it?
so, why "there is a way for going there is strange even though "there are some ways for going there" and "there is a way to go there" are right ?

...well....i'm not an english teacher so i have no idea how to explain,sorry dude.
anyway,it just like u asking me why 1+1=2.why?because that just how it is..

>>39 40 Thank you so much

>>636
I just want to know the grammar rule so that i can use them correctly.
actually it's natural you don't know how to explain it because my american friend who is an english teacher in japan can't explain it either.

↓ I just want to know the grammar rule. why some of these are right and why some of these are strange.

×1. There is some way for earning money.
○2. There are some ways for earning money.
×3. There is a way for earning money.
○4. There is a way to earn money.
○5. Ive been thinking a way for ending violence.
○6. Ive been thinking a way for earning money.
×7. Ive been thinking some way for earning money.

↑sorry
○5. Ive been thinking a way for ending violence. →　Ive been thinking of a way for ending violence
○6. Ive been thinking a way for earning money. → Ive been thinking of a way for earning money.

>>638
...if it comes to grammar rules, i think u should ask a japanese english teacher maybe a good idea.
people like them know more about grammar rule than just a normal british/american person.
or an english grammar book which written in japanese.

>>640

Except sometimes Japanese grammar books have mistakes or old, out-of-date structures.

Native speakers can't always explain why it's right, but they know of it's wrong or not.

You speak English very well,dont you？
↑
Is there a mistake sentence？

Sorry
a mistake in glammar in English sentence？

つけだしです

>>642
I think there's no mistake in that sectence.
u can say: is there a grammar mistake in the/that sentence.

Is this mean u=you？

yes,u=you.

>>646 Thank you so much！
Why u wrote today and yesterday？
Where are you from？

>>647
??ah?what do u mean by "why u wrote today and yesterday?"?

Is not the "you"？
Is the "u" a contracted form?

“u” is just a logogram for "you",and yes,it is a contracted form.
sorry u may not get what i mean, but anyway,never mind.
(*^__^*)

>>650 Oh I see.
By the way please
answer last question.

New Zealand.

Hi! Would you help me, please!
Almost all learners of English might have learned the phrase
"look forward to."
And we have been taught that we should use "to 〜ing," not "to infinitive."

But I have seen sometimes people use "to infinitive."

What do you think of this?

>>653
I have never seen that. NEVER

"u" is internet slang for you.
It is not correct by any means.

I am looking forward to X and I look forward to X are both acceptable.

656 is right,both of them are acceptable,i,myself usually use "looking forward"

>>653

You're correct, "look forward to (v) ing" is right, and "look forward to (v. infinitive)" is wrong. But you can also use "look forward to (n)", which can sound like an infinitive verb sometimes.

ex. "I'm looking forward to running in the park."
<-- 'running' is an activity

ex.2 "I'm looking forward to the run in the park."
<-- 'the run' is an event

Can you think of an example you saw/heard of "to (infinitive)"? It's possible that somebody was just using bad grammar, if course.

>>643
glammar

ｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗ

ネイティブいるのかここw

He did kill a lot of people at university of verginia state，didnt he？
↑
Is there a mistake in sentence a glammar？

>>661

I smell a troll.

So do I.

>>661 Sorry grammar！
What do you mean that sentence？

>>664
he means :
He did kill a lot of people at the university of Virginia,didnt he?

i attribute his success to his great effort
i ascribe his success to his great effort.

↑these two sentences basically mean the same thing
but whats the actual difference between attribute and ascribe ?
How should i use them distinctively?

>>665 No！ >>662 What do you mean by I smell a troll

it means 荒らしくさい

I think we all should write a name,not just 名無しさん＠英語勉強中.
make me @_@

Put a space after every comma, please.

please tell me your favorite J-Pop music or singer and the reasons.
and how to know these muisc or singer ?

then it will be Fukuyama Masaharu, I watched the drama "water boys" on TV and its theme song "Rainbow"(虹）was sing by him.
and at that time I was crazy for this song(and also the show).
But in fact, the time when i really get into know him was when he was in the show "ガリレオ".man~~~that was so GOOD....
I watched it over and over again (i think about 10 times).
and for his new album 「殘響」I was also crazy about it.

>666
there is no difference, but attribute is a more common term than ascribe.
Even I had to look up ascribe so it must be really uncommon.

>>666
There is no difference in their meaning. Ascribe flows more easily off the tongue however.

>>673
>>674
thank you for ur answer
btw
can you answer the question of >>638-639 ?
this is my question too, but no one has answered yet.

My questions(>>585, >>588) are also left neglected...

>>676
They're all correct except for 4. Well, 4 is grammatically correct, but it sounds funny.

>>677
Thanks a lot.
I thought 3 sounds awkward.

I'd say there're ten boys over 170 cm tall.

>>671

It's not J-Pop, but I really like the Pillows. I first
heard them in the GAINAX anime "FLCL" (フリ
クリ), and became a fan ever since. I've bought
all their CDs, went to a concert, plan to go to
another, and I even sing their songs at karaoke
sometimes. "Instant Music" is a great song to
sing, especially since it's slow enough to follow
the lyrics on the screen.

>>675

What aren't you understanding? Just grammar rules? Word placement?

Anyone in Kyoto area btw? Stuck here for a week with family on vacation sigh!

Are you bored with old temples? You prefer Akihabara than Kyoto, I assume.

>>681
yes, grammar rules

I live in Kyoto.
It's not so cold here today.

Kyoto is not a city for young people.

Kyoto is for ossan and obasan. Better bail as soon as possible.

I actually kinda like it here. There's enough young people as it is, just hella bored!

Dead board...

>>684

Anyways, which one are you asking about?

I prefer the quiet Japanese cities that have a sort of lazy, nice feel to them, where the sun shines, than the fast, loud, bright cities like Tokyo.

>>688
all sentences

I'll give it a go but I'm not an English major and like what others have said, we really just half ass it by seeing if it looks right but sure.

1) It's wrong because "is" can't be followed by quantities, which in this case would be "some".

2) Like what I said before, "are" would be the appropriate substitute. Also, from the previous sentence, because "some" is a numerical amount, the following subject must be of the plural form, which would be "ways".

3) Sounds like an incomplete sentence as there isn't an expansion in the action which being stated in the sentence, which in this case, would be earning money. How are you earning money?

4) This sentence falls similarly to the previous one though it would be a complete one as it's setting up for another sentence to explain (hopefully) how you plan to earn money.

5) Meh

6) Meh

7) "Some" seems appropriate, it's the subject that's wrong, which would be "way". It's gotta be plural here (ways) since "some" is a quantity.

Feel comfortable to correct me but that's all I can see at face value at the moment.

"Some" is often used with singular nouns to refer to a person, place, thing or time that is not known or not identified.

ex. There is some mistake here.

>>692

I stand corrected. I was having an ass of a time trying to figure out if "some" could ever be incorporated with "is" alone. Guess I wasn't thinking hard enough!

Clarify perhaps on any other instances other than the one you just posted?

>>691
thank you for ur explanation anyway.

>>I'm not an English major
the problem is even one of my american friends who was an english major cant answer this question. lol

my question to your explanation is the same as >>692

but i found out that we japanese people think "Some" is often used with singular nouns, but actually the cases are confined more than we think.
like, >>ex. There is some mistake here.
my american friend says ↑this sentence is wrong. not natural.
we japanese people think we can use "some" with singular words in many cases, but actually it seems wrong. there should be a difficult grammar rule about "some" too.
anyway I still have been keeping asking many people about this question.
so I hope i can figure this out here or some other places

If anyone else needs help, I can also assist!

a british kid said this sentence↓
(he was asking his dad where his sister n mum were.)

'is mum and bella upstairs?'

i thought that he got a wrong grammar cuz it must've been,

'are mum and bella upstairs?'

isnt it?
but im not sure cuz im non-native n he is native
even though hi is a kid..
native speakers dont care about these grammar rules very much?
or.. im wrong maybe..?

plz sb tell me about this, thanks!
(sorry for such a simple question!!!)

No, you are right, the boy was using incorrect grammar.

"Are" is used for plural, and "is" for singular.

>>697
thanks a lot!!

Who needs some help, jap peeps?

Keep in mind to distinguish between which English dialect you're looking for...

I'm using American speech.

Them Aussies and British use slightly different slang/grammar/made up words compared to us (Americans).

Trying to incorporate their speech patterns with American ones are just asking for trouble because their standards are different than ours, no matter how minute they may seem.

For example, rarely do I ever hear of a mother being referred to as "mum" here in America. Regardless, we all use grammatically incorrect sentences when we're verbally speaking so don't bother correcting your friend. It'd be odd to.


To be honest though, here in America (at least here in California), we butcher the English language pretty badly anyway so hopefully my explanation was somewhat sufficient for your question. Ask away if you're still confused.

>>700
>>701

As one mega post.

Kyoto sure is lonely tonight though =(.

"I hope 2010 is a better year and I'll be back in Japan and making fun
videos."

I have a question about the sentense above. The writer of the sentense
will come back to Japan next year? Is it done deal? Or is he just hoping so?
I mean, what I'm not sure is whether "I'll be back in Japan blah blah..." is an idependent
statement or it's under the influence of "I hope" at the top of the sentense.

>>703
I happened to see your post while browsing around in English board.
I'm Japanese and I'm sure that you have a by far better command of English than me.
Still, I dare to say that you are so stupid as to ask such a silly question.
How can you think of the sentence including " I hope I will" as grammatically correct?

ええい、邪魔くさい。　あのさI hope you will とか　Ｉhope he will　とかは考えられるよ。
なぜかと言えば他人の意志なんてわからないからね。
でもI hope I will ってどういうこと？　「私は〜するつもりを望むって」どういうこと？
まさかwill を単純未来として捉えているとか？　？？？