2007年10月19日
A few language points
Hi Everyone,
I was very interested to read your discussion about 'at' and 'in'. Actually, prepositions like this are one of the most difficult things to learn in a language. I am still not sure about when to use へ and when to use に in Japanese. I think that there are three key points that learners of English need to understand about prepositions:
1. There are general rules for their use, but there are many exceptions.
2. There are many situations there is more than one correct answer.
3. Mistakes with prepositions do not usually cause serious misunderstandings, so learners shouldn't worry about them too much.
Here are the rules I found in 'Collins Cobuild Elementary English Grammar'.
'At' is used to talk about:
a. a specific place (at my friend's house, at the bus stop, at work, at home)
b. an exact address (my parents live at 29 Bryn Celyn, Nannerch)
c. public places or institutions (at the station, at the museum, at university)
d. shops or workplaces (at the office, at the department store)
e. organized social events (at my brother's birthday party, at the graduation ceremony, at the school sports day)
f. a stopping point on a journey (We will soon be making a stop at Nagoya. We called in at Jack's on the way home.)
g. parts of a place, with words like 'back', 'front', 'top', 'bottom', and 'end'
(at the end of the road, at the top of the building, at the back of the house, at the end of the movie)
'In' is used to talk about:
a. a country or geographical region (in Hokkaido, in China)
b. a city, town, village, or large space (in Seto, in the park)
c. a road or street (The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom lives in Downing Street)
d. being inside a room or a building (It was cold in the classroom. I heard a noise in the kitchen.)
Some of you will have noticed that there are a few examples where both could be used. (making a stop in/at Nagoya, in/at the park). These are just things you have to get used to. You may also wonder why I wrote 'at university', and not 'at the university'. In English, there are a small number of places which are okay with or without 'the'. These include: school, hospital, university, prison, church
If you don't use 'the', it means you are going there to do whatever the purpose of that place is. If you use 'the', it means you are just going to the building for some other reason.
For example, 'go to prison' means going there as a prisoner because you have done something wrong, but 'go to the prison' means visiting the building, maybe as part of your job, or maybe to visit someone who is already there.
Since we are talking about language today, here are two other expressions that have come up in my classes this week. Some of you may know them, but some of you may not.
1. on my way - there are three patterns for this expression, and many Japanese people use the wrong one. Here are some correct examples:
on my way (back) home
on my way here/there (e.g. My car broke down on the way here.)
on my way to school/work
on my way to the shop/park/library
You can also change 'my' to 'his', 'her', 'our' or 'their'.
2. end up doing sth (This means 結局～をすることになった）
We were planning to go camping on Saturday, but it rained, so we ended up staying at home.
We ended up going to Nagano for our holidays because it was too expensive to fly anywhere.
You can also use it without the verb.
Where did you end up on Saturday night?
This weekend, I will be out playing on my bikes again, but not at Suzuka, so hopefully it won't be too dangerous! Next week I want to introduce you to a new trend that is making big news in Britain and America.
Have a great weekend,
David
Comments
Yes. That would be okay.
- David
- 2007年10月19日 14:37
Thanks David.
Hi Tomo,
Yes, the accident was "不幸中の幸い".
Actually, I have experienced another "不幸中の幸い".
A few years ago, my car was hit by other car.
I was OK, but the car put a big dent in my car.
The man who was driving the car was owner of a fish shop.
He paid for the repair of my car, and a few days after, he brought lots of seafood as a token of his apology to my house.
On the night, I enjoyed a dinner of seafood with my family.
It was "不幸中の幸い", wasn't it?
Hi むらさき,
I have seen terrible "縦列駐車" in Italy and Paris.
なるほど、そうやって車を出すんですね。
バンパー大活躍ですね。
私の運転は「欧米風」なのかしら！？
"Bumper to bumper, or rather, a bumper for a bumper?"
↑これ最高！！大爆笑しました。
I have to go to my work now.
See you soon,
Amica
- Amica
- 2007年10月19日 14:59
Hi Amica,
Did you know that there is an expression for what you are talking about in English?
Every cloud has a silver lining.
- David
- 2007年10月19日 15:47
Hi David,
Thanks for your explanation! I didn't know the general rules for 'at' and 'in'. It is very helpful. It's difficult to remember them all at once, but I'll learn them little by little by doing(using?), not by studying.(勉強するとこんがらがるので。。(笑))
About the expression 'on my way', I didn't know that I can say 'on my way here/there'. (It's simple!)
I understand 'end up doing sth' when I read it, but I can't produce it myself, and I didn't know that I can use it without the verb. (まだ仲良くできない表現です）
Anyway, your explanation is really helpful for me. Thank you!
Have a great weekend,
Tomo
PS You are going to be out playing on your bikes this weekend too? I hope the weather will be nice. Take care and have fun!
PPS Amica, thanks for sharing your 'Every cloud has a silver lining' story again! それはおいしいラッキーでしたね＾＾
- Tomo
- 2007年10月19日 18:09
Hi David,
Thank you for explaining about the usage of 'in' and 'at' , and thank you ,Amica and Tomo, mentioning.
When writing sentences, it is sometimes difficult to decide which preposition I should use. As Tomo said, we need to get used to usages by using. and your explanation reminded me of your former entry about "New Car Phenomenon(June 12,2006). I will notice the usage of them when I read articles next time, and I'm glad I can make it clear little by little what was vague. ( なかなか覚えられないし、すぐに忘れてしまうのですが．．．．！）
The difference between "got to prison" and "go to the prison" was new and impressive to me . With or without "the" is rather difficult point when we make sentences, isn't it?
Hi Amica,
You experienced many"Evey cloud has a silver lining"things. 私は運転に自信がないので遠出もしません！
Bumper to bumper(むらさき、これ笑えますね！）ということはしませんが．．．
Hi Tomo,
中学一年でもうそのような作文ですか。なかなか難しいですね。
I'm looking forward to "a new trend" story.
Have a great weekend,
Anne
- Anne
- 2007年10月19日 23:09
少し訂正；
got to prison→go to prison
- 匿名
- 2007年10月19日 23:13
Hi David,
I didn't know "Every cloud has a silver lining".
When I read it, I thought "What does that mean!?", so I consulted a dictionary, and I understood!
This sentence is a proverb, isn't it?
Thanks for telling me the nice proverb!
I hope you have a nice weekend.
Hi Anne,
I have confidence in my driving.
そう思ってるのは私だけかもしれませんが（＾＾；）
Hi Tomo,
You are a great mother because you can teach English to your son.
If my mother had been able to teach English to me, I would have been good at English!
See you soon,
Amica
- Amica
- 2007年10月19日 23:52
Hi, David
The explaining of 'the' is very VERY useful. Thanks! I liked the expression,"Every cloud has a silver lining", too.
- panda
- 2007年10月21日 21:46
Hi, panda, and maybe everyone;
“Every cloud has a silver lining” is my favorite line. But to be honest, I think it’s a little bit different from Japanese 「不幸中の幸い」 ”Every cloud ～” means that even in an unfortunate situation there’s a happy aspect kind of thing, right? And it is often used to cheer someone up when he/she feels unhappy, right? Japanese expression 「不幸中の幸い」means rather “It could’ve been worse” or “You’re lucky it wasn’t worse.” Maybe I’m wrong?
- むらさき
- 2007年10月21日 23:23
↑
I made a mistake;
there is a happy aspect → there is always hope
Sorry.
- むらさき
- 2007年10月22日 00:27
Hi むらさき and everyone,
Thanks for explaining, and as you said "You're lucky it wasn't worse" would fit this situation. By the way, I didn't know the line"Every cloud has a silver lining" ,and it's beautiful one, isn't it? Actually this winter my husband was in a serious situation and hospitalized for 2 months, so this line seems to be just like for my husband and me!
See you soon,
Anne
- Anne
- 2007年10月22日 09:53
少し訂正；
hospitalized →was hospitalized
Sorry,
Anne
- Anne
- 2007年10月22日 10:08
Hi むらさき,
Thanks for explaining.
確かに少し違うかもしれませんね。
But I like both expressions.
By the way, you wrote "my favorite line".
こういう時は"line"を使えばいいんですね！
私はどう書いたらいいかわからなくて"sentence"と書いたのですが、どうもしっくりこないな…と思っていたんです。
Hi Anne,
Your husband is all right now?
My mother was hospitalized for 2 weeks this June.
入院すると本人も家族も大変ですよね。
Amica
- Amica
- 2007年10月22日 21:56
Hi Team,
Sorry I didn't write an entry yesterday, but I was teaching all morning, and then in a meeting all afternoon. At the weekend, I went for a ride up to Gifu on my new bike on Saturday. I had a great time, but I realized on Saturday night that I was starting to get a cold. On Sunday, I went for a ride on my Suzuki in the morning, and then took my off-road bike up to the mountains in the afternoon, so I rode three of my bikes in two days! Anyway, my cold has got worse, so I have to take things easy for the next few days, but I will try to do a new entry later today or maybe tomorrow morning.
Speak to you soon
David
- David
- 2007年10月23日 08:48
Hi むらさき,
そうですね、私もこの言葉は落ち込んでる相手を励ましてるシーンで聞いたことがあります。 確か｢悪いことばっかりじゃないさ｣みたいな感じだったかな。
Hi Anne,
あの問題は穴埋め、並べ替えの次の発展問題みたいなものです。 こんな作文ばかりじゃ難しすぎですよね～。（しかも変な日本語だし）
Hi Amica,
ハハハ、教えられるのは英語だけ。 数学とかはもう聞かないで～って感じです(笑) I think you are already good at English;-)
Hi David,
You have a cold? Are you all right? Don't work too hard and take a good rest!
Hope you get better soon.
Tomo
- Tomo
- 2007年10月23日 16:55
Hi, Anne;
So your husband was in hospital? Oh, that must have been hard. Yes, you’re right. The power of words can inspire strong emotions – happiness, joy, comfort, sadness, hate, etc. Sometimes you can be saved by just one phrase. I wish you and your husband health and happiness and many more!
Hi, Amica;
Actually, I’m not sure if ‘line’ is appropriate for that or not. Sorry. BTW, your mother was in hospital, too? That’s too bad! I wish you and your family health and happiness and many more!
Hi, Tomo;
私は数学だけじゃなく、数字そのものも苦手です．．．。本とか読んでいても、４ケタ以上の数字が出てくると、その数字が金額であれ、年号であれ、無意識のうちに、脳がその部分を「ほにゃらら」としか認識してくれないのです。どっか欠けてるな、脳 (*_*;
- むらさき
- 2007年10月23日 22:53
Hi Amica,
Thanks, my husband is almost all right now.
I hope your mother is all right , too!
Hi Tomo,
私も数学は苦手、子供にも教えられるの小学生（それも無理？）まで、と言うわけで、高校の数学なんぞはるか彼方、なに？と言う具合です!!
Hi むらさき、
Thanks! And I've learned a lot from those days and sometimes got the energy even from a single line.
Hi David,
Take good rest and I hope you would be better soon.
See you soon,
Anne
- Anne
- 2007年10月24日 00:04
Hi Team,
My meeting today went on much longer than I expected, so I didn't go back to my office. I'm feeling a bit better today, but I still don't have much energy, so I'm going to go to bed early. I'll write another entry tomorrow morning.
See you soon,
David
- David
- 2007年10月24日 21:57
Hi David
Take care and take a good rest.
Hi Tomo, むらさき, Anne,
私も数学は大の苦手です！
XやYが出てくる数式を見て、なぜ文字と文字を足したり引いたりしなきゃいけないのか…とそこからつまずいていました。
This summer, my sister's son stayed at my house.
One day, he asked me about his arithmetic homework. (He is 10)
He didn't understand 四捨五入, so I explained it.
I gave to him a lot of examples.
He seemed to understand it, so I said to him "Make an example".
He was thinking a bit, and he said "If your age(this case is my age)is 四捨五入, you are about 40!".
He could understand perfectly about it...(--;)
PS. My mother is all right now. Thanks!
See you soon,
Amica
- Amica
- 2007年10月24日 22:55
Bull's Eye!
Amica, you must be an excelent teacher.
- むらさき
- 2007年10月24日 23:07
↑
I mean 'excellent', of course!
- むらさき
- 2007年10月24日 23:10
nytmzk umxtsa bhgdrnp qoguri opqwcxv vxkawqbom oswfyc
- ednbsy ypwcz
- 2008年8月28日 05:08
nytmzk umxtsa bhgdrnp qoguri opqwcxv vxkawqbom oswfyc
- ednbsy ypwcz
- 2008年8月28日 05:09
Hi David,
Thanks for your explanation about prepositions.
It is very difficult for me, but I try to use over and over.
I have a question.
You said "at the station", if I want to say "駅の中の売店で", can I say "at the shop in the station"?
Amica