Hi Nami,
Nice to have you back! How's your life? Hope you join us again soon;-)

Hi Maki,
I was writing my comments with the mail function by my cell phone. ずっと i-mode につないでいると料金がすごいことになるので、普通にメールを書いて、‘本文をコピー&貼り付け’でポストしてました＾＾

Hi David,
I said I learned the difference between 'a' and 'an' like this, ‘母音で始まる単語の前の 'a' は 'an' になる’, but my teacher said ‘母音 = アイウエオの音’. I think the explanation you heard is probably common knowledge among Japanese people because it is easy to explain about ‘母音’ if you use katakana.
It is difficult for us Japanese people to forget about katakana when we learn English because we learn ローマ字(which is the same as katakana, but the letters are alphabet) before we learn English. We were not told how to read English ‘phonics’, but we had to read it, so we couldn't help using ローマ字読み. I think phonics is really helpful for learners of English(especially beginners) when they learn how to read and write English, but they are not told about phonics in school. That's why I taught my son about it.

Goodnight and see you soon,

Tomo

•  Tomo
• 2008年2月12日 00:19

HI David,

I'm reading your new entory and feeling more attachment to you.
Because you talk about snowy Saturday that people in Nagoya are paniking and driving very slowly.

Ten years ago I stayed in Hokkaido for a while, I was really really surprised to see everyone was walking in a hurry.
Young women all put on their high heels and walk with a quick step.

At the time, I wore anorak, a pair of warm gloves, hat and pocket body warmer and also moved very carefully.

Maybe I was included in quite strange,Ha,ha,ha.
Later, I enjoyed skiing in there, so I love Hokkaido.

On the 1st Sunday in the morning, I went to prefectual park near my house and took many nice pictures.

As David said, we have to attend the melting snow, when we walk under the trees or roof.
If we had a mass of snow from high position it is dangerous.

Indefinite article, a&an, I'm going to use ｋａｔａｋａｎａ way.
In fact, we have many problems for pronunciation, writing and listening in sound, but it isn't all bad.

You're overworking, are't you?
Take care,

Kiyoko

•  Kiyoko
• 2008年2月12日 01:49

Hi David,

We Japanese surely imagine 'アイウエオ' in Japanese, when we hear vowel 'a e i o u' in English.
When I was a junior high school student, my teacher told us you close your eyes and pronounce the word, if it starts with 'a i u e o (アイウエオ), then you should use 'an'. Yes, I think this is common knowledge among us, like David told.
However my friend asked the teacher 'I don't know why 'a year' is correct instead of 'an year'. Because we Japanese pronounces year is イヤー(母音のイから始まってる). So my friend thought that 'an' is correct. But the teacher only said to us 'The policy has an exception.'

I was very confused. How many words in English has an exception about 'a' and 'an'? I did not know how I should judge a word if it is 'a' or 'an'.
・women→ウーマン
・Yellow→イエロー
・Year→イヤー

David taught me the importance of the pronunciation in English in Singapore. For example, SHE is a pronunciation near not スィー but シュィー. David told us it was very strange when we pronounced SHE IS （スィーイズ）, and I understood it was important to pronounce a word correctly.
This is a sentence David gave us.
SHE SELLS SEASHELLS BY THE SEASHORE
This is difficult pronunciation for us.

In my memory, it was not so important for us to study pronunciation at junior high school. Actually, I did not know the pronunciation sign well at that time.
Of course I don't know how student study about pronunciation sign now, so I can't say for certain, but I don't think it is good way that students change the English word into Katakana, then they chose 'a' or 'an'.

What do you think?

•  ayako
• 2008年2月12日 01:59

Hi Ayako,
Glad to hear from you! How have you been?

As you said, if students use katakana when they learn the difference between 'a' and 'an', it causes some problems, and sometimes they need to know about pronunciation symbols when they judge a word if it start with a vowel or not.
I think you already know why you don't use 'an' for these words 'woman', 'yellow' and 'year', but can I explain about it for the other regulars and readers of this blog?
Those words sound like to start with a vowel, but they actually don't.

・woman→ウーマン 〔wu'm∂n〕
・yellow→イエロー 〔je'lou〕
・year→イヤー 〔ji'∂(r)〕
*〔 ' 〕はアクセントで、手前の母音の上に付きます。〔∂〕 は 他に表示の仕方が分からなかったので数学の記号を使いましたが、e が逆さまになったような記号です。

〔 w 〕 and 〔 j 〕 are not vowels, so those words are not exceptions, they simply don't start with a vowel. If students know about pronunciation symbols, they don't have to get confused, but unfortunately, junior high school students now don't study it in school.(My son goes to a public junior high school.) They don't know pronunciation symbols, so I think English teachers have to use katakana to explain about vowels. Students don't study how to read English(phonics or pronunciation symbols), but they have to read it. That's a fact, unfortunately.
When I was in junior high, I don't study pronunciation symbol in my school, but there were pronunciation symbols on my textbook just next to new English words. I didn't know about phonics at that time, but I read pronunciation symbols, so it was really helpful when I pronounced English. I only know my son's junior high school, but there are no pronunciation symbols on his textbook. If students don't know about phonics or pronunciation symbols, they can't forget katakana because they don't have any other way to read English.
As Ayako said, it was not so important for us to study pronunciation at junior high school, it was important for us to read(translate) and write English. Now, English classes in junior high school have changed, students study English for listening and speaking. I think they study it for communication, but when they take an exam or a test, they have to read and write English, even though they don't learn and practice enough.

David told me a long time ago that native speakers didn't study pronunciation symbols, only some people like English teachers learned it, but most of native speakers didn't even know about it. I wonder how they choose 'a' or 'an' when they are not sure.

By the way, Ayako, you were up late last night! Aren't you sleepy today? I tried ‘SHE SELLS SEASHELLS BY THE SEASHORE’, and I almost bit my tongue!(笑) Anyway, I'm happy to see you. Look forward to hearing from you again soon;-)

Tomo

•  Tomo
• 2008年2月12日 09:46

Hi again,

Sorry, I told a lie. I said, ‘When I was in junior high school, there were pronunciation symbols on my textbook just next to new English words.’, but my memory was wrong. There were no pronunciation symbols on my textbook. I used to use my dictionary to find out how to pronounce English words and copied them onto my textbook.

Have a nice day!

Tomo

•  Tomo
• 2008年2月12日 10:47

Hi David and Everyone,
If I remember correctly, I didn't learn phonetic symbols when I was a student.(a junior high school and high school)
I memorized English words with Katakana.
Now, I know that is not good way to learn English, but I didn't know other ways that time.
When I was a college student, I learned Italian and German, and I realized for the first time it is very important to know phonetic symbols when we learn a foreign language.
As you know, I sing a song in Italian or German, and one of the important thing for singer is that we sing the song with correct pronunciation.
However, I still have lots of phonetic symbols I don't know how to pronounce.　
「これどう読むの！？」という記号を見ると、"発音記号を読むための発音記号"が欲しいと思うのは私だけでしょうか＾＾；

Hi Tomo,
My grandfather didn't teach me how to make 焼きりんご.
なんとなくは覚えているのでたまに作ってみるんですが、やっぱり同じ味にななりません。
習っておけばよかったなあ。

Hi Nami and Ayako,
I'm glad to see you again!

See you soon,

Amica

•  Amica
• 2008年2月12日 15:06

Hi everyone!!
thank you for your welcome!
I'm glad to be back, too ;-))
これからはちょこちょこ顔を出したいと、、今度こそ思うのでまたよろしくお願いしますね♪

Hi David,
お久しぶりです。
I've lived in Fukuoka since I was born. The temperature of next month? I think there is no much difference between temperature of Nagoya and one of Fukuoka (,Oita, Saga, and Nagasaki). Kumamoto, Miyazaki, Kagoshima are warmer, of course.
せっかくなので、名所紹介を。
"Dazaifu Tenmangu" is one of the most famous shrine in Japan. It's placed at(in?) Dazaifu-shi Fukuoka-ken. It's famous for its origine, "Gakumon no Kamisama" and Japanese plum trees. AND If you'll go there before the end of March, you'll be able to see and enjoy many many plum trees with pretty flower!! I think the best season of "Dazaifu-Tenmangu" is early spring. あ、でも3月中旬過ぎるとお花が少なくなってしまうかもしれません。
If you're interested in old Japanese culture, you should go to Kyushu National Museum, which is near "Dazaifu Tenmangu".

Anyway, I want to go to "石岳展望台(Ishidake observatory)" in Nagasaki. Have you ever seen "Last Samurai"?? The opening scene was shot the film at(from?) this observation deck. It's so beautiful.

•  nami
• 2008年2月12日 18:53

Hi everyone,

I was a little worried about that David said 'you should change the English word into katakana.' 私の中学の英語の先生が、「yearとかwomanは例外でan」と説明したのは、発音記号を説明するのが面倒だったからだと思うのです。
If David told us 'First of all, please change the English word into katakana.', I feel that your words is the same thing as my junior high school teacher. However, this is just my opinion. 日本語の母音（アイウエオ）で覚えることは、それはそれで問題ないのかもしれません。Davidは日本人の発音の問題を知った上で、そう言っているのですものね。ごめんなさい。
Please throw away my opinion as unique one.

Hi Tomo,
発音記号の説明、どうもありがとう！！！正直、私は今でもあまりよく分かってないよ・・・。日本人はカタカナ英語で入ってしまうから、難しいんだよね。
An appleだって、アンアップルなんて言わないし。正確にカタカナで書くと「ェンナプォー」（私のイメージ）じゃない？？教科書に、そう言う表記はないよね（笑）。

Hi amica,
いつもamicaのコメントも読んでま〜す。「発音記号を読むための発音記号」←コレ、すっごく分かる！

•  ayako
• 2008年2月12日 22:40

Hi Ayako,

Your comment was very interesting. I was trying to think of some exceptions to the アイウエオ rule over the weekend, but I couldn't. Thanks for helping me out! The examples you mentioned are special cases because /w/ and /j/ in English are actually 'semi-vowels'. They are not consonants because the flow of air from the lungs is not really blocked or stopped as it is with real consonants, but they are not pure vowels either because the flow of air changes a bit from the beginning of the sound to the end. Native speakers don't have to think about whether to use 'a' or 'an' because it is a simple matter of which is easier to say. In English, we do not like to start words with a vowel sound, so if there is a consonant sound at the beginning of the previous word, we move it in front of the vowel.
For example, 'road accident' is usually pronounced 'roa daccident'. Putting an 'n' after 'a' when the next word starts with a vowel just makes it easier for us to say. Incidentally, 'y' is a vowel sound in Welsh. It is funny to hear English people try to pronounce it!

•  David
• 2008年2月12日 23:11

Hi Ayako,
Happy to hear from you! How have you been?
I enjoyed "tongue twister", thanks! Almost I bit my tongue, as well as Tomo did.

Hi Tomo,
Now I understand that writing a comment directly made a mess. Thank you!

Hi Everyone,
As Ayako said, I think that it wasn’t so important to study pronunciation at schools when I was a student. I remember that I wrote Katakana next to every English word in my test book, when I learned new words! 今では信じられないけれど、本当にそうしていた記憶が。。。I didn’t know any pronunciation symbols at that time, though I still don’t know them well.
I also learned the way to choose that most Japanese students learned at that time. (母音･子音・
カタカナ）But I don't know why I didn't confused about choosing "a" and "an".
I agree with Ayako. I don’t think that it is a good way to change English words into Katakana, too. Maybe it gets off the track a bit, but if you memorize “カタカナ発音”, sometimes you can’t catch an English word in a conversation, even you know the word. 最近、英単語をカタカナ読みで日本語として使っている言葉が多いですよね？その言葉の意味を知っていても、英語発音で言われると??、という状況ってないですか？

It's time to sleep for me.

Good night!

Maki

•  Maki
• 2008年2月12日 23:16

Hi Everyone,

David, I didn't know that /w/ and /j/ are 'semi-vowels'. ‘Native speakers don't have to think about whether to use 'a' or 'an' because it is a simple matter of which is easier to say.’, I see, but it's not a simple matter for us because in Japanese, we don't mind to start words with a vowel sound. 'a' なら 'a' で統一してくれた方が分かりやすいんですけどね～・・。 I wish I could have your sense.(その感覚が私も欲しいです。)　

Ayako, 説明を書いておきながら私も良く分かってなかったみたい(笑) 発音記号の読み方はとりあえず知ってるけど、でもその通りに発音できるかっていうのはまた別の話で、頭で分かっても口は思うようにいかないのよね～。　日本語にはない音がたくさんあるし、微妙な音の違いは頭で(耳も)理解するのさえ難しい。。　日本語の母音は｢アイウエオ｣しかないから分かりやすいよね。
「ェンナプォー」、分かる！　同じカタカナ表記ならこっちの方が絶対通じそうだよね(笑)

Maki, あるある～！カタカナ発音の方がなじみがあって、本物の英語の方が聞き取れないことってありますね。　今でも覚えているのは｢ボキャブラリー｣。　変な風に聞こえて恥ずかしい思いをしました・・(笑)

ところで、誰か円グラフの作り方を知ってますか？（パソコンで）　とりあえずエクセルのヘルプを読んでみたのですが、書いてある日本語が理解できず。。　エクセルも使ったことがないので格闘中です～。。

Tomo

•  Tomo
• 2008年2月13日 12:00

Uergent business has prevented me from lurking this blog and writing a comment until now.

I am at work right now, but I just want to speak a word as for the exception about 'a' and 'an' in front of the words ウーマン, イエロー and イヤー. I believe that we have similar sounds in Japanese. Why don't you use わ行 or や行 instead of あ行 in these cases?

As an example;

You can distinguish the pronnciation between ear and year in Japanese using あ行(i) and や行(yi), can you?

I am not for Katakana English by any means, but I sometimes find it useful in a sense.

What do you think of this?

•  Yokohama
• 2008年2月13日 12:56

Hi David and Everyone,
David said "Native speakers don't have to think about whether to use 'a' or 'an' because it is a simple matter of which is easier to say".
Tomoの言う通り、全部"a"に統一してくれればいいのに...
でも、"an"にしなければいけないところを"a"にしてしまったとしても、あまり気にしなくてもいいってことなのかしら？
（都合のいい解釈ですね＾＾；）
The other day, I watched the TV program "日本語講座".　（題名は少し違ってたかも）
It was the program for a foreigner who learn Japanese. 　
A foreigner in it asked her teacher "Can I say 「私は本を読みます」?", the teacher said "Yes, you can".
Then she asked him "Can I say 「私は本を読みとき」?", he said "No, you can't. You have to say 「私は本を読むとき」".
And she asked him "Can I say 「私は本を読むたら」?", he said "No, you can't. You have to say 「私は本を読んだら」".
How difficult to learn Japanese!
Of course, it is very easy for us (Japanese) to have a good command of it, but if a foreigner ask me "Why can't I say it?", I'm not sure if I
can explain about it.
Because I use it by my feeling.
In the same way, sometimes I can't understand the feeling of English when I learn English.
David said "we do not like to start words with a vowel sound".
Why don't they like to do it? Is it a feeling of English?
あー、外国語って難しい！！

Hi Tomo,
I don't have knowledge about エクセル because I have never used it.
You are going to make a circle graph?
You are great!
I use ワード, but I'm not good at using it.
My friend is good at using computer, so I ask for help her, but I often can't understand her explanation because it has too technical terms.
ヘルプを読んでも同じです。
その説明を誰か説明して！って言いたくなりますよね＾＾；

Hi Maki,
カタカナ発音と本物の発音は違いますよね。
養殖物と天然物の違いって感じ。（全然違う？）
でも私は逆に、自信を持って発音した英語が通じず、カタカナ発音にしたら通じたという経験があります。何でだろう？？？

Hi Ayako,
I'm good at saying the tongue twister in Japanese, but the tongue twister you wrote was hard!
I tried to say it, but I couldn't say well.

Amica

•  Amica
• 2008年2月13日 15:21

Hi Amica,
養殖物と天然物？！That's a good expression! I love it! ;-) When I read David's commnet, I think so, too. Why they don't like to do it?? But when we speak Japanese, as your examples, we feel uncomfortable to say, "私は本を読みとき" like that. うん、外国語は難しい～、でもみんなで学んでいると楽しみもあるね！Amicaは、ドイツ語とイタリア語もでしょ？"a", "an"より、女性名詞、男性名詞のほうが難しそう。。。

Hi Tomo,
Excelのグラフは時々使うことがあるけれど、決してＰＣは得意ではないの。。。すごくラフな説明だけれどＴｒｙしてみるね。

①グラフにしたい表などの範囲を確定する。
　例えば、大人10人、学生15人、子供25人　のような表があっ　たとすると、その割合を円グラフにするなら、そのすべてを選ぶ　（確定する）・・・この説明ＯＫ？？
②ツールバーにある棒グラフの絵をさわると、グラフウィザードが　　表示されるので、円グラフを選ぶ。
③あとは、「次へ」「完了」を押していくとグラフが出来上がる。

表などの範囲を確定する時に、間違いがなければ取りあえずグラフはできあがるのだけれど。。。数値を表示したり、表題をつけたりは、作成途中でも後からでもできます。
I hope I don't make you confused...

By for now,

Maki

•  Maki
• 2008年2月13日 22:33

Hi Maki,
Thank you～!! できたよ、できた！　私は①を飛ばしてた(笑)　いきなりグラフウィザードっていうのを開いてグラフを作ろうとしてました。。　数値を先に入れないとダメなのね。　ありがとう！　やっと先に進めます＾＾

Hi Amica,
｢その説明を誰か説明して！｣(笑)　ほんと、ほんと。　もうちょっと万人が分かるように噛み砕いて説明して欲しいのよね～。
By the way, the TV program you watched was interesting!　逆の立場で苦労してるのを聞くと、外国語の｢なんで？どうして？｣も、｢仕方ない、そういうもんなんだ｣って受け入れられるね。　考えてみると、日本語もかなりややこしいしね～。

Goodnight,

Tomo

•  Tomo
• 2008年2月13日 23:28

Hi Everyone! It is always nice to come back here and read all the comments that cheer me up somehow!

The discussion about "an" and "a" sounds quite interesting!!! And thanks to super understandable explanation from everyone, it is now much easier for me to figure out which one to choose!

Hi Tomo,
I have a question to you. When I was reading through this blog in 2006, I happend to find "話し手に委ねられる時制の一致."

1．I heard there is a party tonight.
（今晩、パーティーがあるって聞いたけど。）―これからの事実

2．I knew they have a sale here.
（ここでセールがあると思ってたわ。）－話者の現時点での喜び

私も時制の一致のルーツ、Tomoさんが考えていた通りに覚えていたから、いま、頭でたくさん？？がまわっています。Did you already get the answer to the quetion you brought to this blog?　Is everything is clearer now?? I really appreciate your help.

Tomorrow is St. Valentine's day! Everyone, Happy Valentine's Day! (なんか、映画でこんなこといっていた気がするけど、でも、まちがっているかも！？　もし、間違えていたら、皆さん、教えてくださいね！）

•  White green
• 2008年2月14日 00:29

Hello again, I noticed that I forgot to mentioned tomo's pc!!

Tomo, I am soooooo happy for you that you've finally fixed your computer. I cannot imagine how hard it must have been to type all the letters with those tiny bottons on the cell-phone!!! おめでとうございます！もう指がいたくならなくて本当によかった！

All right, everyone, it is sitll cold outside. Please take care!

•  White green
• 2008年2月14日 00:38

Hi everyone,

Good morning!
It's so beautiful today. I like sunlight in winter, because it change my room warmer, and it make me eager and happy mind.

I've been continuewing to make a comment on and off. I started commenting on the second Tuesday in January. Meanwhile, I tried 15 times using my poor English. It was like a challenge for me.

I never forget David, Tomo, Amica, Maki, Lily,and and sorry, I can not to name names another, I forget.

Everyone gave　ｍｅ　ｍａｎｙ　ｕｓｕｆｕｌ　ａｄｖｉｃｅｓ．
Ｔｈａｎｋｓ　ｆｏｒ　ｋｉｎｄ　ａｎｄ　ｈａｒｔｆｕｌ　ｃｏｍｍｅｎｔｓ．

Ｉ　ｌｅａｖｅ　ｎｏｗ　ｆｏｒ　ｇｏｉｎｇ．
Ｋｉｙｏｋｏ

•  Kiyoko
• 2008年2月14日 10:28

Hi White green,

Thanks for your message! Now, I can make a comment easily;-)

Did you read all the old entries? Wow, great!(昔の自分のコメントを読まれるのはちょっと恥ずかしいけど(笑))
As for your question, I'm afraid I don't have a clear answer, sorry. ただ、時制は合わせるほうが圧倒的に多いんだな・・と思います。　１．の例文はどちら（ is / was )もOKだけど、2．の例文は、普通は‘I knew they were having a sale here.’ なると思う、というのがDavidからもらった答えです。　これまでにたくさんDavidの英語を読んできましたが、時制を合わせてないものを見たのはほんの数回です。(見落としているのもあるかもしれないけど)　だから学校では傾向の強い方を教えたんだな、と思っています。　いくつかDavidが時制を合わせなかったものを書いてみると・・

I went out with Tonari san on Saturday night and tried to persuade him to write a comment here. He said that he checks the blog sometimes, but he doesn't know what to write. I hope he will post a comment sometime soon.

となりさんというのはDavidの友達(バイク仲間)です。　学校で習った｢時制の一致｣なら、２つ目の文は‘He said that he checked the blog sometimes, but he didn't know what to write.’ になるはずですよね？　私はDavidが現在形を使ったのは、‘今現在そういう状況である’ことを言いたかったからかな・・という風に受け取りました。

もうひとつは、私がとなりさんに向けてブログに参加してください、とメッセージを書いた後のDavidの返事です。

Tonari san didn't finish work until 11.30 last night. He said he will try to find time to have a look at the blog today.

これも２つ目の文は‘He said he would try to find time to have a look at the blog today.’ になるはずですよね？　でも'would' は過去のことではなくても、可能性を下げたい時、控えめな表現にしたい時にも使うので、私はDavidは可能性を下げない為に、つまり、となりさんは｢今日ブログを見てくれる意思がある｣ということを強調したくて時制を合わせなかったのかな・・と思いました。(David, if I'm wrong, please help me!)

今の私の理解は、｢基本は時制を合わせるけど、誤解を招きそうな時、事実を強調したい時は時制を合わせない事もある｣です。　ただ私には、まだ時制を操作して言いたいことのニュアンスを変えるのは難しいので、いまはいつも時制を合わせることにしています。　よく間違えてるけどね(笑)

Hope that helps.

Tomo

PS You can call me Tomo if you write your comment in Japanese. That makes me happy;-)

•  Tomo
• 2008年2月14日 10:44

Hi Kiyoko,
Are you leaving us? I'm sorry to hear that.., but I hope you will join us again sometime . Thank you too!

Tomo

•  Tomo
• 2008年2月14日 11:26

Hi Maki,
Yes, I learned Italian and German when I was a college student, but now, I can only pronounce them, and I can't understand at all them without dictionary.
I can't make a sentence in Italy and German like I write English on this blog.
I didn't learn them hard because I thought the knowledge of them I need is only pronunciation.
今思うと、あさはかな考えです。
男性名詞や女性名詞は日本人には理解しがたい感覚ですよね。
単語とワンセットにして覚えなさいと言われた記憶があります。
例えば、"月"は"Luna"と言うのですが、女性名詞なので"La luna"、太陽は"Sole"ですが、男性名詞なので"Il sole"という風に…。
「どうしてこれが男性で、これが女性なの！？」といちいち考えてたらダメだそうです（笑）
英語にはこれがないのがせめてもの（？）救いです！

Hi White green and Tomo,
時制の一致…私はまだよくわかっていません。
↑で私が書いた文章 "I thought the knowledge of them I need is only pronunciation." は "I thought the knowledge of them I need was only pronunciation." とするべきだったのでしょうか？
考えれば考えるほどわからなくなります（涙）
どう書くのが正しいんでしょう？

Hi Kiyoko,
As Tomo said, I hope you will join us again.
I'm looking forward to seeing you again here.

Amica

•  Amica
• 2008年2月14日 11:42

Hi Amica,

混乱させちゃったかな？　‘考えれば考えるほどわからなくなるとき’は、私は考えるのを止めます(笑)　それで、色々なパターンに出会って、自分の中のもやもやが少しずつ形になっていくのを待ちます。　時制の一致は、最初の動詞が過去形なら過去形で合わせる(場合によっては過去完了ってこともあるけど)でいいと思います。　ただ、‘普遍の事実’(これまでも、これからも変わらない事実)は現在形です。　例えば「太陽は東から昇って西へ沈むと学んだ。」‘I learned the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.’とか。　Amica が書いた文は最初の動詞が‘thought’と過去形だから、私なら時制を合わせて 'was' にします。

時制の一致で、昔よく書き換えをやらされた覚えがない？　例えば・・

・He said, “I　want a new car.”　→　He said that he wanted a new car. / He told me that he wanted a new car.

・My sister said, “I'm going out with your friend.”　→　My sister said that she was going out with my friend. / My sister told me that she was going out with my friend.

・I think he is a nice guy.　→　I thought he was a nice guy. (最初の動詞が過去形なら、後のbe動詞も過去形にする)

・I know who she is.　→　I knew who she was.

混乱しちゃう時はあんまり考えない方がいいと思うよ。 時制が合ってなくてもちゃんと通じるし＾＾

Tomo

•  Tomo
• 2008年2月14日 19:54

Hi Tomo,
よかった～！（＾＾）I'm so happy to hear it!
うん、うん、「時制の一致」よく書き換えをさせられたね。必ず一致なのだと信じていたら、ある日何かを読んだ時に、あれれ？？と。私の理解もTomoと同じ感じです。はっきりしたルール、あるのかな？？

Amica, Tomoの言うとおり、混乱しちゃう時はあんまり考えないほうがいいよ～。:-)
It's so nice that you can pronounce Italian and German. When you start studying them again, it helps very much, I believe!
女性名詞とか男性名詞は、セット覚えが有効なのかぁ。。。学生の時、ちょっとだけフランス語をやって頭がクラクラ（笑）・・・Give up!でした。(><)

Hi White green,
Thank you for giving me a chance to reconsider ｢時制の一致」!

Hi Kiyoko,
I hope you will join us again sometime soon!

It's cold and snowing here. Take care, everyone!

Maki

•  Maki
• 2008年2月14日 22:00

Hi everyone,
Happy Valentine's Day! I hope everyone had a sweet day today. Ah, before I forget, let me metion some of the mistakes I made in other comments.

1) botton →button
2) 時制のルーツ（いったい、ルーツって何！？すみません！）
　　→時制のルール

Hi Tomo,
Thank you sooooooooooo much for such an understandable explanation! I am so impressed!
I think I am kind of getting its idea. たぶん、「時制」は、話している内容との距離感がキーポイントになるのではないかなぁと思います。

1．I heard there is[was] a party tonight.
（今晩、パーティーがあるって聞いたけど。）―

これは、いま、まだパーティーが開かれている状態であれば、もちろん、「今」の話なので、現在形isを使えばいいし、もし、パーティーがもう終わった夜遅くに、この発言がされれば、もう終わったことで、「今」とは距離感があるから、「過去形was」を使うのだと思います。

2．I knew they were having a sale here.
（ここでセールがあると思ってたわ。）

「ここでセールがある」と話している時点で、セールの準備は着々をお店でされていていたので、物事の進行を表す「進行形」を使い、また、「ここでセールがある」と「think」したのは、今よりも前の「過去」のことで距離感あるので、進行形のbe動詞を「過去形」にしたのでしょう。

３．‘He said that he checks the blog sometimes, but he doesn't know what to write.’

これも、Ｔomoのすばらしい説明通り、「Davidが現在形を使ったのは、‘今現在そういう状況である’ことを言いたかったからかな」だと思うのですが！？　

もし、He said tha the checked the blog sometimes, but he didnt know what to write.　にしてしまうと、「過去のある時期に時々このブログをチェックしてたけど、何を書いていいかわからなかった」ということしか、読み手に伝わらなくて、「今」、となりさんがブログをチェックしてくれているかどうか、この発言からはわからなくなってしまうのでは！？

うーーーでも、あんまり自信がありません。

4. He said he will try to find time to have a look at the blog today.

Tomoの書いてくれた通り、「'would' は過去のことではなくても、可能性を下げたい時、控えめな表現にしたい時にも使うので、私はDavidは可能性を下げない為に、つまり、となりさんは｢今日ブログを見てくれる意思がある｣ということを強調したくて時制を合わせなかったのかな・」だと思うのですか、What do you think, David?

Hi Amica,
Wow, can you speak German and Italian in addition to English??!! How wonderful! I am so impressed!!

Hi Kiyoko,
I am really really looking forward to seeing you here again soon!! Till then take care!

It is about time to go to bed! Good night, everyone!

•  White green
• 2008年2月14日 23:45

Hi everyone,
Happy Valentine's Day! I hope everyone had a sweet day today. Ah, before I forget, let me metion some of the mistakes I made in other comments.

1) botton →button
2) 時制のルーツ（いったい、ルーツって何！？すみません！）
　　→時制のルール

Hi Tomo,
Thank you sooooooooooo much for such an understandable explanation! I am so impressed!
I think I am kind of getting its idea. たぶん、「時制」は、話している内容との距離感がキーポイントになるのではないかなぁと思います。

1．I heard there is[was] a party tonight.
（今晩、パーティーがあるって聞いたけど。）―

これは、いま、まだパーティーが開かれている状態であれば、もちろん、「今」の話なので、現在形isを使えばいいし、もし、パーティーがもう終わった夜遅くに、この発言がされれば、もう終わったことで、「今」とは距離感があるから、「過去形was」を使うのだと思います。

2．I knew they were having a sale here.
（ここでセールがあると思ってたわ。）

「ここでセールがある」と話している時点で、セールの準備は着々をお店でされていていたので、物事の進行を表す「進行形」を使い、また、「ここでセールがある」と「think」したのは、今よりも前の「過去」のことで距離感あるので、進行形のbe動詞を「過去形」にしたのでしょう。

３．‘He said that he checks the blog sometimes, but he doesn't know what to write.’

これも、Ｔomoのすばらしい説明通り、「Davidが現在形を使ったのは、‘今現在そういう状況である’ことを言いたかったからかな」だと思うのですが！？　

もし、He said tha the checked the blog sometimes, but he didnt know what to write.　にしてしまうと、「過去のある時期に時々このブログをチェックしてたけど、何を書いていいかわからなかった」ということしか、読み手に伝わらなくて、「今」、となりさんがブログをチェックしてくれているかどうか、この発言からはわからなくなってしまうのでは！？

うーーーでも、あんまり自信がありません。

4. He said he will try to find time to have a look at the blog today.

Tomoの書いてくれた通り、「'would' は過去のことではなくても、可能性を下げたい時、控えめな表現にしたい時にも使うので、私はDavidは可能性を下げない為に、つまり、となりさんは｢今日ブログを見てくれる意思がある｣ということを強調したくて時制を合わせなかったのかな・」だと思うのですか、What do you think, David?

Hi Amica,
Wow, can you speak German and Italian in addition to English??!! How wonderful! I am so impressed!!

Hi Kiyoko,
I am really really looking forward to seeing you here again soon!! Till then take care!

It is about time to go to bed! Good night, everyone!

•  White green
• 2008年2月14日 23:46

Hi everyone,
Happy Valentine's Day! I hope everyone had a sweet day today. Ah, before I forget, let me metion some of the mistakes I made in other comments.

1) botton →button
2) 時制のルーツ（いったい、ルーツって何！？すみません！）
　　→時制のルール

Hi Tomo,
Thank you sooooooooooo much for such an understandable explanation! I am so impressed!
I think I am kind of getting its idea. たぶん、「時制」は、話している内容との距離感がキーポイントになるのではないかなぁと思います。

1．I heard there is[was] a party tonight.
（今晩、パーティーがあるって聞いたけど。）―

これは、いま、まだパーティーが開かれている状態であれば、もちろん、「今」の話なので、現在形isを使えばいいし、もし、パーティーがもう終わった夜遅くに、この発言がされれば、もう終わったことで、「今」とは距離感があるから、「過去形was」を使うのだと思います。

2．I knew they were having a sale here.
（ここでセールがあると思ってたわ。）

「ここでセールがある」と話している時点で、セールの準備は着々をお店でされていていたので、物事の進行を表す「進行形」を使い、また、「ここでセールがある」と「think」したのは、今よりも前の「過去」のことで距離感あるので、進行形のbe動詞を「過去形」にしたのでしょう。

３．‘He said that he checks the blog sometimes, but he doesn't know what to write.’

これも、Ｔomoのすばらしい説明通り、「Davidが現在形を使ったのは、‘今現在そういう状況である’ことを言いたかったからかな」だと思うのですが！？　

もし、He said tha the checked the blog sometimes, but he didnt know what to write.　にしてしまうと、「過去のある時期に時々このブログをチェックしてたけど、何を書いていいかわからなかった」ということしか、読み手に伝わらなくて、「今」、となりさんがブログをチェックしてくれているかどうか、この発言からはわからなくなってしまうのでは！？

うーーーでも、あんまり自信がありません。

4. He said he will try to find time to have a look at the blog today.

Tomoの書いてくれた通り、「'would' は過去のことではなくても、可能性を下げたい時、控えめな表現にしたい時にも使うので、私はDavidは可能性を下げない為に、つまり、となりさんは｢今日ブログを見てくれる意思がある｣ということを強調したくて時制を合わせなかったのかな・」だと思うのですか、What do you think, David?

Hi Amica,
Wow, can you speak German and Italian in addition to English??!! How wonderful! I am so impressed!!

Hi Kiyoko,
I am really really looking forward to seeing you here again soon!! Till then take care!

It is about time to go to bed! Good night, everyone!

•  White green
• 2008年2月14日 23:54

Hi Tomo,
Thanks for explaining!
「時制の一致で、昔よく書き換えをやらされた覚えがない？」
…覚えがないです。私は授業中何をしていたんでしょう！？
でもTomoの説明で少し理解できたように思います。
ここは私にとって、「英語と仲直りするブログ」と言うより、「英語を一からやり直すブログ」です＾＾；

Hi Maki,
When I was a college student, I learned French a little, too.
I had to sing a song of French, so my teacher said to me "Learn pronunciation of French during your summer holiday."
I took the private French lesson during my summer holiday, but it was very difficult to do it, so I gave up it.
結局めちゃめちゃな発音で歌うハメに。
それ以来、フランス語の辞書は埃をかぶったままです。

…と書いててふと思いました。時制は一致させた方がいいから、"it was very difficult to do it" は "it was very difficult to did it"　にした方がいいのかしら？
日本語で考えると「それをすることは難しかった」だから "to do it" と書きたくなってしまうのだけど。
日本語で考えるからダメなのかな…。
やっぱり考えるほどわからなくなります--；

Hi White green,
No, no! I can't speak Italian and German!
それらしく発音できるだけですよ！
歌えるんだから喋れるんでしょ？とよく言われますが、全くダメです。イタリアへ行った時もドイツへ行った時も、私から出る言葉はカタカナ英語と日本語のみでした…。

Good night☆

Amica

•  Amica
• 2008年2月15日 00:38

Hi Maki,
‘外国語’として学ぶ側からすれば、はっきりとしたルールがあると楽なんだけどね～。　でも言葉だから、その中には気持ちがあるし、人それぞれの好みや個性もあるから、線を引くのは難しいよね。

Hi White green,
You are welcome!　でも100%は信じないでね(笑)　私もまだまだ探り中です。　

Hi Amica,
‘It was very difficult to do it.’　この 'to' の後は動詞の原型が来るから、過去形になっても 'to do' です。　例えば・・

・She said, “I want to be a singer.”　→　She said that she wanted to be a singer. / She told me that she wanted to be a singer.

・He said, “I want to ask her to go out on a date.”　→　He said that he wanted to ask her to go out on a date. / He told me that he wanted to ask her to go out on a date.

時制を合わせても 'to' の後ろの動詞は影響を受けません。

今は混乱してるかもしれないけど、これでAmicaの脳に引っ掛かりが出来たから、これから英語を見るたびに気になってくると思います。　そうやっていろんなパターンのピースを集めていくと、だんだん形になってくるよ＾＾

See you soon,

Tomo

•  Tomo
• 2008年2月15日 13:40

Hi Tomo,
そうだよね～。私たちが日本語を話す時も、その通りだものね。英語でも無意識に使い分けができるようになりた～い。がんばろ！ねっ！;-)

The moon and stars are so beautiful tonight! :-)
But that means...it's COLD! Take care, everyone.
Have a lovely weekend!

Maki

•  Maki
• 2008年2月15日 22:37

Hi Tomo,
なるほど、toの後ろの動詞は時制の影響を受けないんですね。いつもわかりやすい説明、ありがとうございます！

Hi Everyone,
It has been snowing since last night, so everything in my town is covered with snow.
How about your town?
Take care, and have a nice weekend.

Amica

•  Amica
• 2008年2月15日 23:27

Hi Tomo, Amica, Maki, White green,

It is really difficult to express situation in English.
I made a comment yesterday in a very short time before going out.
It was like a memorial day for me, because my English blog has been posting during a month constantly.
Then I was very inpressed by myself, so I was thankful to cheer me up member.

I leave now for going, I mean to say, I go out see you later.
After back, I was so surprised to read your comment.
I'll never give up,yet.
Tomo, help me!

Kiyoko

•  Kiyoko
• 2008年2月16日 01:15

correction inpressed →impressed
Kiyoko

•  Kiyoko
• 2008年2月16日 01:23

Hi Kiyoko!
I'm so sorry, I misunderstood your comment. I'm glad to hear you are not leaving us!　ごめんなさい、誤解しました・・申し訳ない(>_<)　でも、誤解で良かったです。　改めまして、これからもよろしくお願いします＾＾

Everyone, ごめんなさい、私の誤解でした・・！

Good morning, David. How's your work? Are you finished, or are you still busy? I hope everything is going well for you.

Have a great weekend,

Tomo

•  Tomo
• 2008年2月16日 08:29

Hi Everyone,

Sorry I didn't do a new entry yesterday, but I am rushing to meet a deadline. I was working until 11 again last night. I have to go to the dentist again today, but after that, it's...back to work again. I hope next week will be the last week of this crazy work schedule. Once this is over, I want to get back to a normal life! Anyway, I will do a new entry on Monday.

Have a great weekend,

David

•  David
• 2008年2月16日 08:43

Hi Kiyoko,
I'm so sorry that I misunderstood you, too. Now I'm relieve to hear that you don't leave us. :-)

Tomo, Please don't say,"Sorry". I thought so, too.

Hi David,
I hope that you will get a time to enjoy riding your bike tomorrow. How's the weather there?

Hi Amica,
I'm just wondering where you live in...Sorry, I' don't remember, even you mentioned it before...You have snow, don't you?

I will go skiing tomorrow.

Have a good Sunday!

Maki

•  Maki
• 2008年2月16日 23:26

Hi Everyone,
I have to go to work early tomorrow.
It is snowing all day in my town, so the road will be icy condition.
When I think to drive on that road, I feel down.
I want to stay in warm room!

Hi Kiyoko,
早とちりしてしまってごめんなさい！
でもTomoの言う通り、誤解でよかったです＾＾

Good night.

Amica

•  Amica
• 2008年2月16日 23:29

Hi everyone,

Tomo, Maki, Amica,
Thank you so much for your messages.
I'm very happy to get these reactions.
Because I like the quick exchange of views between each other.
However, I have no company to talk with in English.
The other hand, keeping the diary is terrible hard to me, besides bore me.
When I was no way at continuous English learning, I found this English blog site out.

Now, I'm fine such as a today's weather.
The sunlight is getting bright more and more, and spring is smelling somewhere around me, so I feel something a happy happenings.

Because on the surface of river near my house, a lot of tiny bubbles are moving actively.
It will be coming back to life soon.
I'm looking forward to coming up their opening ceremony in the river side.

By the way, I wonder why that is no latest blog from last Saturday midnight for a long time.
Perhaps everyone will wait for David's new entry?

Amica,
How was your skiing?
I haven't been skiing for several years.
Now,my ski jacket has changed to town wear in winter and its memory can be fresh in my mind.
I like this one.

Bye for now,
Kiyoko

•  Kiyoko
• 2008年2月18日 12:48

Hi everyone,

Tomo, Maki, Amica,
Thank you so much for your messages.
I'm very happy to get these reactions.
Because I like the quick exchange of views between each other.
However, I have no company to talk with in English.
The other hand, keeping the diary is terrible hard to me, besides bore me.
When I was no way at continuous English learning, I found this English blog site out.

Now, I'm fine such as a today's weather.
The sunlight is getting bright more and more, and spring is smelling somewhere around me, so I feel something a happy happenings.

Because on the surface of river near my house, a lot of tiny bubbles are moving actively.
It will be coming back to life soon.
I'm looking forward to coming up their opening ceremony in the river side.

By the way, I wonder why that is no latest blog from last Saturday midnight for a long time.
Perhaps everyone will wait for David's new entry?

Amica,
How was your skiing?
I haven't been skiing for several years.
Now,my ski jacket has changed to town wear in winter and its memory can be fresh in my mind.
I like this one.

Bye for now,
Kiyoko

•  Kiyoko
• 2008年2月18日 12:50

I knew the sound /r/ in North Amerian English is a semi-vowel, but I have never noticed about /w/ and /j/.

I also knew there were the differences of the pronunciation of vowels amongst regions such as the East, West and South in the US.

How about the liaison like 'Waddayasay'? I wonder there is a difference of the ways to link words between regions, or they are always the same regardless of countries such as Britain, Canada and the US.

I am pretty eager to know of this thing.

•  Yokohama
• 2008年2月18日 14:31

Hi Maki,
You don't have to say "sorry" because I have never written about where I live.
I live in Kanazawa.
In the winter, the weather mostly is bad.
This morning, my car was covered with snow!

Hi Kiyoko,
I didn't go skiing.
It's Maki who went skiing yesterday.

See you soon,

Amica

•  Amica
• 2008年2月18日 23:31

Hi Everyone,
I had a looong day and now have no energy to write anything today, but just wanted to say hi to you all. hope you had a great weekend.

Speak to you soon.

P.S.
Hi Kiyoko! I am so happy to have you here again this often! Thank you very much!

•  White green
• 2008年2月19日 01:07

Hi Amica,
Oh, very sorry, I had a mistake.
You didn't go skiing. because you had to go to work early.

You live in Kanazawa?
I visited twice Kenrokuen Park.
First time was by the long distance bus tour in three nights.
Secondly, it was in winter which of plants were covered with fresh snow.
Especilly pine trees were very beautiful and white snow was shining on its branches in the morning.

Jibuni was very famous local food of Ishikawa prefecture, and I tasted its delicious meal.
There were boiled duck, a lot of local wild vegetables in a bowl with wasabi.
That was healthy and let warm in my cold body.

Hi White green,
Thanks for your message.
I'm going to make a comment for a long time as well as possibl.

Kiyoko

•  Kiyoko
• 2008年2月19日 14:08

eaqrcx oluvrtai qpgur ahsou txnpmflqz zxvcthsb utkaz

•  dbuptonr xtcnhirk
• 2008年5月 3日 02:02

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•  dbuptonr xtcnhirk
• 2008年5月 3日 02:04

eaqrcx oluvrtai qpgur ahsou txnpmflqz zxvcthsb utkaz

•  dbuptonr xtcnhirk
• 2008年5月 3日 02:07

so informative, thanks to tell us.

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•  bilete avion
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