英語ーレベル・アップ!

英語ーレベル・アップ!

Friday, January 22, 2016

真っ白 and 真っ黒 pure white and pitch black

Last week I bought a new pair of shoes. They are 真っ白. My shoes are PURE WHITE. (But they will get dirty soon I think!)



I was walking through the park one evening and it was very dark. I heard someone say 真っ黒です. In English we say it's PITCH BLACK. 



Why aren’t 真っ白 and 真っ黒 the same in English?

真っ is an adjective, it means totally or completely. We use PURE with colors in English. Pure red means completely red. But when we talk about how dark it is (闇) we use the expression PITCH BLACK.
You mean pitch?



No no. Pitch is a kind of tar used to fix roads or holes in a roof and it is very black. "Pitch black" means it's as dark as pitch.


"We lost power during the thunderstorm. My house was pitch black."

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Give a present - NOT (I present you...) INCORRECT!

We don't "present" someone a gift. We give them a gift. OR we give them a present.
あげる!
Present and gift are both nouns and they have the same meaning. Give needs an object, we have to give someone something. Study these examples:

“I gave my girlfriend a birthday present.”

“My brother gave me his old guitar.”

“Henry's company gave him a gold watch and a $5000 bonus after 25 years with the company."

This present is a noun (名詞) not a verb (動詞)!

Monday, January 18, 2016

English Idioms! 英語のイディオム ~ Nothing ventured, nothing gained


Nothing ventured, nothing gained

日本語のイディオム=虎穴に入らずんば虎子を得ず。
“If you do not enter the tiger’s cave, you will not catch its cub.”



 Bill: "Should I ask my boss for a promotion?" 

Jane: "Yes you should! Nothing ventured, nothing gained."


Friday, January 15, 2016

English Idiom ~ You reap what you sow - PART 2


You reap what you sow
...can also mean ~

日本語のイディオム=悪因悪果
"Evil cause, evil effect."

In English we often use the Sanskrit (梵語) word karma with the same meaning/feeling.
We sometimes "What goes around comes around."

Do you remember this song by Justin Timberlake?




Wednesday, January 13, 2016

English Idioms! 英語のイディオム ~ you reap what you sow


What you reap is what you sow

日本語のイディオム-自業自得
“One’s act, one’s profit.”



reap (something) ~ to cut and collect a crop 
(例えば wheat-小麦)from a field

sow ~ to plant or spread seeds 

" If you treat your friends like that, of course they drop you. You reap what you sow in this life."

Monday, January 11, 2016

phrasal verb 句動詞 Cut up

cut up = cut into smaller pieces
"We had to cut up an old wooden floor platform so the garbage men can collect it."
バラバラに切断する OR 細かく切り離され

We can separate this phrasal verb ~ cut something up
"After cutting the tree down, the logger cut it up into logs."

"He is cutting the paper up."
"If you have a large item to throw away you need to buy a special ticket and schedule a pick up. If you can cut it up it's cheaper."


Friday, January 8, 2016

Three ways to use 放題 in English

Do you like 食べ放題? How about 飲み放題? Me too! Here are 3 ways to us 放題 in English, they are all a little different!

食べ放題 ~All you can eat

やりたい放題 ~ Do whatever you want

海外パケットし放題 ~ Unlimited data usage (overseas)

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Like always/As usual ~ 相変わらず

Like always/As usual ~ 相変わらず

How was work today?
Boring, as usual. (相変わらずつまらないです。)

How do I look?
Beautiful as always! (相変わらずキレイよ!)

Monday, January 4, 2016

英語のイディオム - A walk in the park (中級)


Last week we learned how to use the word walk as a noun and a verb. Today let's learn the idiom 

A walk in the park


Look at the following example sentence:

"I was never very good at sports in high school but my brother played rugby and hockey and won many trophies. Athletics were hard for me but a walk in the park for my brother."

Can you guess the meaning? If something is a walk in the park is it difficult or easy?

So... a walk in the park means something is very easy, not difficult at all. I bet you figured that out!

"I aced the math exam, it was a walk in the park."
[ace verb ace something (informal) to be successful in something]

What is easy for you? What's a walk in the park? Did you have an experience once that was a walk in the park?


"Passed the test with an A+! It was a walk in the park..."




Friday, January 1, 2016