Hi Everyone,
How is your weekend?

Hi David,

It's so nice to know that you could get a time to ride your bike today. Did you have a good time?
Thank you for explaining about like/hate! Example 1
is very tricky. If I forget to write "s", the meaning would be very different, right? As you said, the meaning of both words are simple, but we have to be careful to use them.

By for now,
Maki

•  Maki
• 2008年7月13日 20:58

Hi David,

Did you have a nice time around Yahagi dam with your bike? I hop you did!!

Here are what I thought after reading your entry.

1. 一般的な好き、嫌い、の意味でのdoｇｓは理解できますが、"I like a dog." とした場合は、「一匹の、ある、犬」となって不自然なのでしょうか?

4. 私のはるか大昔の記憶によれば、prefer (to)の前に、"Which do you like better, coffee or tea?"　を学校では覚えたような気がします。これはOKですか？もしＯＫであれば、どちらの表現をネイティブスピーカーは、より、使うのでしょう？

5. Ｉ　don't like~に比べて、Ｉ　dislike　はかたくて、やや否定の度合いが高い（きつい）イメージがありますが、dislikeは日常的によく使われるのでしょうか？（これは根拠のない、まったくのイメージです。）

6. I really like the expression using　'love'!

「大好き＝very much」－I learned this expression when I was in junior high school, but is using ' really' more natural?

Sorry, I might be away from your point, but　anyway these are the ones which came to my mind when I read your entry.

Bye for now,

Anne

•  Anne
• 2008年7月13日 21:01

少し訂正
Ｉ　hop→Ｉ　hope
(勿論!です＾＾；）

Hi everyone,
Last week's talks about"really" was interesting and was a good opportunity for me to think about it, so thank you Tomo and asahi for giving us a chance and thanks other members for useful ideas!

Speak to you soon,

Anne

•  Anne
• 2008年7月13日 21:09

Hi,David and everyone

Thank you for your new entry,David.
Your explanations are really easy to understand .
These English are simple, but we tend to make a mistake when we use them.

I had a chance to have my previous comment (July 4th)rewritten by an English native speaker.
I made a lot of miktakes.

→Reading David's entry is 《good→いらない/あるとDavidに失礼っぽくなる》 enough to learn English,but 《since→when》 you start to write your own comment here,I bet your English will 《be→いらない》 improve 《more》 because you'll get new aspects of English,
★知らぬが仏で、失礼な英語を使っちゃってるなぁっと思います。(^^;) I didn't mean it,David.

I' d like to know David's answers to Anne's qusetions.

•  Q chan
• 2008年7月13日 22:13

Hi David,

You are going to leave the new book's title to the ALK to decide? I look forward a fine naming.
You've been really busy and hard for a long time, so that take care with your body, please.
Enjoy your bike riding!
Your Japanese explanation about "like and hate" is easy to understand. Thanks a lot.
I sometimes hear "I like dog." Wow,it's amazing thing if someone says at the meal time, isn't it? I have to pronounce consciously "s".

Hi everyone,
Nobody was here when I opened the David's new entry, so I was surprised.
I was really midnight bloger before, but it was so bad for my body. So I'm cautious not to comment at midnight.

See you later,
Kiyoko

•  Kiyoko
• 2008年7月13日 22:25

Hi David and Everyone,

David, did you have a good time with your bike? I hope you feel refreshed and will get back to a normal lifestyle soon!

About the topic ‘like/hate’, as Anne said, I also learned the expression ‘Which do you like better, coffee or tea?’when I was in junior high school, and so did my son.(He learned it last year.) Actually, I didn't know the expression ‘Which do you prefer?’ before joining this blog.(I think I learned it at school, but I had forgotten about it.)

Anne, it was good study for me as well!
About your question no.1, I think your idea is right.　何かを好き(or 嫌い)と言うときは、何か一つを思い浮かべるわけじゃなくて、そのもの全体のことを思い浮かべるわけだから‘a’を付けると不自然なんじゃないかな・・と思います。

Good night,

Tomo

•  Tomo
• 2008年7月13日 23:00

Hi David,

Did you have a lovely time with your bike?
Thank you for explaining about like/hate. As Qchan said, your explanation are really easy to understand. I didn't know about them much.

Hi Qchan,
私も「知らぬが仏」英語、たくさんやっちゃってるんだろうなって思います。でも、外国の人のカタコトの日本語の中に失礼な部分があっても、気分を害することはほとんどないので、（むしろ、ああ、間違えながらも頑張って喋ってるんだなって尊敬してしまいます。）そこらへんは大目に見てもらえるかな…。見てもらいたいな（笑）

Hi Anne and Tomo,
"I like the dog" という言い方はOkなんですよね？たとえば、普段は犬は嫌いなんだけど、目の前にすごく小さな可愛い犬がいて、「この犬なら好きだな」という風に言いたいとき。なんか変な質問ですみません。

Hi Everyone,

The weather has been sultry. When the weather is hot, don't you want to eat curry? Yesterday, I went to a Indian restaurant to eat spiced curry with my friend. We ate it with naan. Actually, I don't like spiced food much, but I like curry! I　ordered mild curry (It was delicious!), so my friend laughed and said "You look like a child"....

See you soon,

Amica

•  Amica
• 2008年7月13日 23:11

"I don't like spiced food."は"I don't like spiced foods."ですか？この場合も、foodは複数形にした方がいいのかしら？

Amica

•  Amica
• 2008年7月13日 23:26

Hi David,
Did you have a good time?
I'd just interested in havind driving license of mortor bycycle. I'm looking forward to hearing your story.

Hi everyone,
It was humid in June but has been clear day these days though the rainy season has not finished yet. Apparently, it was 34 degrees in my hometown last week. It has been getting hotter and hotter, so I always turn on the air conditioner. ダメだこりゃ。

Hi, Amica
Dont't you ～の場合、否定の答えが返ってくると予想される時に使うと言うのを聞いた事があるような気がします。
この場合、「カレー食べる気起こらないよね。」「No（うん。暑いしね。）」的な流れになるのかなと…?
If I were in your situation, I would say as follows.
I feel like eating curry such a hot day. How about you?

I'm not sure about this, though...
A person who knows this matter, please give me an advice.

•  ikura
• 2008年7月14日 12:21

Hi Amica,

‘food’は｢食べ物｣という意味の時は数えられない名詞なので(｢食品｣という意味の時は数えられる名詞)、‘s’は付けずに‘spicy food’でいいんじゃないかな。
ただボーダーラインが曖昧なときってあるよね。　‘spicy food’と‘spicy foods’を英辞朗とGoogleで調べてみたんだけど、両方ともヒットしました。　でもどちらで調べても‘spicy food’の方が多かったです。　あと、‘Learning English Vocabulary’の本に例文が載ってるから(P47/378)見てみて＾＾

•  Tomo
• 2008年7月14日 12:33

Hi,Amica

Your comment made me feel better. Thanks !

　私もＴｏｍｏと同じで、spicy food　だと思う。foodsって使われてるのあんまり見たことないなぁ。
　こういうたぐいのって、文にする時迷うよねぇ。単数形か複数形か、それから、a なのかtheなのか。。。とかね。

•  Q chan
• 2008年7月14日 14:31

Hi Ikura,
Thanks for your advice.
実は、「否定疑問文」がまだあまりよくわかってないんです^^;
使ってみないと覚えられないけど、自信がない、でも間違っていれば誰かが指摘してくれるだろう…と思って、文にしてみました。以前Davidがこのブログに彼の甥の写真を載せて、"Isn't he cute!"と書いたことがあったんです。（私は「なぜ否定？」と疑問に思って、このブログで質問した記憶があります。）このDavidの言葉に対して、ほとんどのメンバーは"Yes, he is so cute!"と肯定でコメントしていました。
そこで、上記の私の文ですが、「暑くなるとカレーが食べたくならない？」という意味のつもりで書いたんです。でも"Don't you　～?"の場合はIkuraの言うとおりのニュアンスになっちゃうのかな？なんだか頭がこんがらがってきました**;

Hi Tomo and Qchan,
Thanks! やはり"food"でいいですよね♪ 単数、複数、a、theはいつも迷いってしまいます。

Amica

•  匿名
• 2008年7月14日 15:02

Hi again Amica,

‘Isn't he cute!’　これは日本語の｢かわいくない？!｣に似てる表現だよね。　｢かわいいよね、ね、ね♪｣みたいな(笑)　‘Is he cute?’だとこのニュアンスは出せないし、これは相手に問いかけてるわけじゃないから、最後も‘？’じゃなくて‘！’になってるちょっと特別な形だね。
「否定疑問文」は Ikura の言うように否定の答えが返ってきそうな時にも使うと思うけど、肯定の返事を期待してる時にも使うと思います。　なので、私は特に気にしないで使ってます。　例えば、Don't you think so?(そう思わない？)って聞くときは｢そう思うよね。｣っていう気持ちが入ってると思うし、そうすると期待してるのは肯定の返事ですよね。　食が進んでない人には Don't you eat?(食べないの？)って聞いたほうが自然だと思うし。　そのあたりは日本語の感覚と似てるんじゃないかな。　Don't you ～? って聞くと、色々な取り方ができると思います。　ただ聞いてる時もあれば、｢どうして？｣っていう気持ちが入ってる時もあるし、｢そうじゃない？｣って同意を求める時もあるし、｢何で？!｣ってちょっと怒ってる時も使うと思うし。　普通の形じゃないから、ちょっとした効果があったり、気持ちを表してるような気がするんだけど。。(う～ん、ごめんね。　うまく説明できない・・。)

PS ‘目の前にすごく小さな可愛い犬がいて、「この犬なら好きだな」という風に言いたいとき’は　I like the/(thisの方が自然かな？) dog. はOKだと思います。

•  Tomo
• 2008年7月14日 21:08

Hi Everyone,

David, Thanks for telling about your father. I think that the eldest people like to talk about the weather. They told me we can talk about the weather for ever. I will be a hearer then. (lol)

In fact the eldest people's accent was difficult for me. They live around my house. so I want to get use to their accent.

About Amica's question:

I think that 'I like the dog.' is good. but 'the dog' is also a part of dogs. so you better say ' I like that dog.' in your case?

and ' fish 'and 'sheep' don't have plural. so I could say ' I like fish.' I like sheep.' right?

Don't you want to eat curry？ これも興味深いですよね。
日本語でも、これ食べたくない。と、これ食べたくない？と語尾を変えただけでニュアンスが違いますよね。こんな違いなのかしら？

Riko

•  Rico
• 2008年7月14日 23:00

Hi Amica and Tomo,
Thank you for your answer.

何でも一様にはいかないって事ですね！やはり会話の中での適切な使い方というか…いらん事いってごめんなさい。

•  ikura
• 2008年7月14日 23:12

Hi David and everyone,
These days have been scorching hot, and the temperature around here went over thirty five degrees. I’m not accustomed to this heat, so don’t you want to eat spicy hot curry on such a day? ( Amica, I got it!)
Negative, interrogative sentences imply a lot of meaning, right?
否定疑問文については、皆さんが、答えられているので、同じような事ですが、「～じゃない？」の日本語の感覚は、’ Do～?’,’Is（Be)～？’伝わらない事もありますよね。”Is he cute?”では、「かわいい！！」の生き生き感がわからない！
．Didn’t you see her yesterday?(昨日彼女に会ったのでしょう？)
．Did you see her yesterday?(昨日彼女に会いましたか?)
この感覚ではないかしら？Ikuraが言うように否定の答えも期待しての否定疑問文もありますよね。
ちなみに”Why don’t you～?” 「～したらいかが?」の提案を表します。
Ikura,いらん事、じゃないと思いますよ。ここから、「発見」が生まれる！
＊ food について。
Ｉthink ‘spicy food’without 's' is right as other members said.
Amica, as Tomo said, examples of ‘Learning English vocabulary’ are easy to catch the usage and meaning.
‘beef’, ‘chicken’ and ‘pork’ are also used without an article when each one means ‘meat’, right?
冠詞の使い方は難しい！'a'なのか’the'なのかいらないのか、自分でも適当に（！！＾＾；）しているな～と思う事がよくあります。

一昨日のvery much について少し補足。
David explained the usage of ‘very’ here, but I mentioned ‘very much’, and it’s confusing a little bit. I mean ‘I like…very much.’

Hi Qchan,
私も’I didn’t mean it’な事たくさんしているんだろうな～と思いました。

Bye for now,

Anne,

•  Anne
• 2008年7月15日 08:03

Hi everyone,

Good morning!!
To say this, I feel something a kind of fresh in this blog site.

By the way, I'm just now wondering about Riko's sentence, ' fish 'and 'sheep' don't have plural.
I'm not sure but, perhaps 'fish' and 'sheep' doesn't have plural. I mean fish and sheep is different each individual. Is it right or not?
Anyway, I'm reduced to confuse like this case.

Bye for now,
Kiyoko

•  Kiyoko
• 2008年7月15日 08:45

Hi everyone,
My idea about “fish or fishes”;
If you're talking about a general category of all fishes, you might say fish. But if you want to discuss species of fish, then it is appropriate to say "fishes.", like “There are several fishes in the lake.”
Likewise, when you say, “I like spicy food.”, that means you like spicy food as a whole. But you can also say, “In that restaurant you can enjoy lots of spicy foods, such as 白胡麻坦々麺, 麻婆豆腐, 棒棒鶏, and etc.

•  Jazmin
• 2008年7月15日 10:05

Hi Ikura,
Please don't apologize. The interesting thing about this blog is that people are not afraid to say their ideas. We can learn from each other, so there is no いらん事. Don't you think so?＾＾

昨日の付け足しです。　ちょっと　‘Aren't you～?’で考えてみました。
例えば、冬の寒い日に、ブルブル震えてる人には「寒い？」 (Are you cold?)って聞いた方が自然で、そこにはきっと寒いんだろうって根拠がありますよね。　でも根拠がなくてただ聞くときは、「寒くない？」(Aren't you cold?) の方が自然だし、多分大丈夫かなって気持ちもあるかもしれないですよね。　これが Ikura が聞いたことのある‘否定の答えが返ってくると予想される時に使う’ってことかな、と思うんです。　でも否定の答えを予想してなくても、否定形で聞くときがあると思うんです。　例えば真冬にTシャツ１枚の人には「寒くないの？」(Aren't you cold?)って聞いたりしますよね。　この時は否定の答えを予想してるわけじゃなくて、ただビックリして聞いてるだけですよね。　なので、普通の形で聞くときと、否定の形で聞くときは日本語と同じように自分の気持ちに合った方を選べばいいんじゃないかな・・と思います。

Hi Anne,
I think the expression ‘I like ○○ very much.’ is also natural.
・I really like you.
・I like you a lot.
・I like you very much.
言われて一番うれしいのはどれだろう？　やっぱり‘I love you.’かな・・？(笑)

About 'fish' and 'sheep'、
Davidの本(Learning English vocabulary)によると、｢生きている魚｣は数えられる、｢食べる魚｣は数えられない、ということです。(Jazmin, thanks for the examples! They are easy to understand including the one about 'spicy foods'.)
sheep はただ単に単数形と複数形が同じというだけなんじゃないかな・・と思うのですが、どうでしょう？　羊肉・子羊(lamb)は fish や Anneが書いてくれたお肉の例と同じように考えればいいんじゃないかな。。

Hi David,
How's your work? As you said, sometimes we don't really need you to answer questions, but we really need you here!

See you all soon,

Tomo

•  Tomo
• 2008年7月15日 11:06

Hi Tomo, Rico, Anne, Jazmin,
Thanks for your comments! When I have a question, I can get lots of advices from you, so I love this blog! Don't you think what a wonderful blog?

Hi ikura,
You don't have to say sorry. You pointed out it, so I could get lots of advice about "否定疑問文". Thanks!

単数になるのか複数になるのかは難しいですね。日本語では、それが単数なのか複数なのかは、あまり重要視しないですものね。というより、そんなこと考えもしないし（笑）これが語学の面白いところでもあるのでしょうが、やはり日本人的考えで、「なぜ単数・複数にこだわらなければいけないのか」と思ってしまうときもあります。前にDavidが言っていたように、外国の人は日本語を学ぶとき、「なんで数える物によっていちいち数え方を変えなきゃいけないんだ！」って思ってるんでしょうね＾＾；

Amica

•  Amica
• 2008年7月15日 11:38

Hi Everyone,

Sheep does not have a plural even though it is a countable noun. Other examples of words like this are 'salmon' and 'deer'. Fish is usually used as both the singular and the plural. 'Fishes' is not very common, but if you used it, it would mean 'different types of'.

Here are my answers to Anne's questions:

1. 一般的な好き、嫌い、の意味でのdoｇｓは理解できますが、"I like a dog." とした場合は、「一匹の、ある、犬」となって不自然なのでしょうか?

'I like a dog' is possible grammatically, but I cannot think of a situation where anyone would ever say that. If you are talking about one particular dog, you would say 'that dog' or 'my dog'.

4. 私のはるか大昔の記憶によれば、prefer (to)の前に、"Which do you like better, coffee or tea?"　を学校では覚えたような気がします。これはOKですか？もしＯＫであれば、どちらの表現をネイティブスピーカーは、より、使うのでしょう？

'Prefer' means the same as 'like better'. I think I would normally use 'prefer'.

5. Ｉ　don't like~に比べて、Ｉ　dislike　はかたくて、やや否定の度合いが高い（きつい）イメージがありますが、dislikeは日常的によく使われるのでしょうか？（これは根拠のない、まったくのイメージです。）

'Dislike' is a bit stronger than 'don't like' (although it depends on the context), but 'dislike' is not a very common word.

6. I really like the expression using　'love'!

「大好き＝very much」－I learned this expression when I was in junior high school, but is using ' really' more natural?

'Really' is probably used more often.

Hope that helps,

David

•  David
• 2008年7月15日 12:38

Hi David,
Did you have a good time riding your bike after a long time? Thank you for the excerpt about like /hate from your book.　I think these words like /hate are essential to express yourself.
Those additional comments you've just written are helpful to understand them better.
You might have naturally witten this without intention,but thank you for using the phrase" I don't really 〜" ,which we were discussing last week, this time:) Could you tell me whether the example(the dialogue about Harry Potter) I wrote in the last comment was acceptable or not if you have time ?
By the way,I didn't know you are volunteering to do this blog.( Thank you for telling us ,Tomo!) I really really appreciate it. Have a good day!

Hi everyone,
This topic　' singular ,plural and uncountable' is difficult for us Japanese, but very interesting, isn't it?
I didn't know exactly when I could use the plural form of fish and food. Now i've learnt new syuff. Thank you ,Amica, Tomo ,everyone, and Jazmin, your explanations are very easy to understand.
As Amica said, Everyone helps each other when the one has a question,so I love this blog,too. I agree with you, Amica, What a wonderful blog it is!

So,you don't have to say 'sorry'! Ikura.
I already did the "いらんこと" twice! and actually got depressed and embarrassed at that morment, but as Anne, Tomo and Amica said, we learn from each one's idea.
So,, Thank you for telling us your idea.
As for " Don't you 〜", I think we can use it in the both sense.
For example,
"Don't you want to eat the curry anymore?"「もうカレー食べたくないの？」
これはもうお腹一杯で食べたくなさそうにしている人に否定の答えを予想して言えるのではないかと思います。それに対して話の中で
"Don't you feel like eating curry when it's hot?" 「暑いとカレー食べたくならない？」
とも言える気がします。
やっぱりみなさんが言うように、会話の内容や言い方によるのかな？と思います。

See you later.

Asahi

•  Asahi
• 2008年7月15日 15:15

lon'g　time　no　see！

困ってます・・・。英語の先生(日本人）よく大学の教諭なども
彼女の家に滞在していますが・・せっかくdavidの本を読んで
よし解った！と思ったのですが、又レッスンで・・・
大学教授やもっと上のクラスの人はwill’しか’使わない
be　going　toは一般市民が使うといってました。
何でこうなんでしょう。もー段々嫌になってきました~（＞＜）

•  mi
• 2008年7月15日 15:39

Hi Anne, Tomo, Amica, Asahi,

I took a sigh of relief for hearing that. And thank you a lot for thinking about my question in earnest.また一つ勉強になりました！

I can't give some advice like Tomo, Ann and other members, I'll keep trying to be able to do so.

See you later,

•  ikura
• 2008年7月15日 17:14

訂正

I can't ~→　Though I can't ~

•  ikura
• 2008年7月15日 17:17

Hi Anne,

Davidがもう答えてくれていますが。。。
今日、私の町のALTに会う機会があったので、reallyとvery muchについて聞いてみました。（ちなみに彼女はAmericanです。）
I like it very much.とI really like it.　印象を比べるとvery muchを使った方はどちらかというと感情を抑えた感じで、
reallyを使った方がそこにアクセントを置いて話すことにもなるのでより感情がこもった感じ、と言っていました。でも言葉なので、ひとそれぞれ感じ方や使い方は違ったりするのでしょうね。
少しでもお役に立てたら嬉しいです。:-)

By for now,
Maki

•  Maki
• 2008年7月15日 22:04

Hi David,
Thank you for answering my questions. Yes, thanks to your explanations, I could catch the nuances more clearly. The more I read the excerpt from your book, the more I am curious to know the rest of your book!
By the way, this week, we are talking about an article, I (Tomo,Amica and Maki are sure to have the same feeling, I think.)checked your book 'Learning English vocabulary' for college students, and noticed the mark 'C' or 'U' at the top of each noun was so helpful to catch the concept of an article.

Hi everyone,

I was so surprised to know that there were a lot of comments since this morning; it's really lively here.
About the difference between 'food' and 'foods', I couldn't explain it clearly, so thanks members for explanations, and Jazmin, your explanation are easy to understand.

Hi Maki,
Thanks for sharing your ideas! 色々な知識が頭の中で少しずつ形作られていくようでうれしいですね。

Bye for now,

Anne

•  Anne
• 2008年7月15日 22:45

Hi every,

I have been seing the soccer boy's practicing every day from　my apartment balcony. Though there are river, walking road, bicycle road and roadway between ground and my room. So I can't see them clearly, but can hear their lively voice.
They have been doing since two years ago, even bad weather day, from five o'clock to seven oc'loc over. They seem divide into several groups of their ages or skills.
The other day, I met their football game, when I went to prefectual park. I could ask a few of them in a rest time.
At that day, they are all elementary school pupils. According to their answer, the far-off boy seems back home at nine. Ofcause they do homework, watch TV, game and one boy opens PC while really early in the morning.

Wow, I was admired for their powers.!
Meanwhile, I'll say "Thanks a lot David and Everyone"

See you later,
Kiyoko

•  Kiyoko
• 2008年7月15日 23:00

Correction : Hi every,-----Hi everyone,

•  Kiyoko
• 2008年7月15日 23:09

Hi David

This is the first time I`ve been here. I`ve bought your English book called "英語と仲直りできる本”　recently. I have one question to you. May I ask you a question ? For example, ○　I`ve gone to school.　○ I went to school yesterday. P87. Last night was the first time I had been to the cinema in ages,but last night means past words. I`m not sure that we don`t use it in the present perfect ,or past perfect sentences. please tell me your answer if you have time.
I also like learning English .

•  Ken
• 2008年7月16日 11:19

Hi David

This is the first time I`ve been here. I`ve bought your English book called "英語と仲直りできる本”　recently. I have one question to you. May I ask you a question ? For example, ○　I`ve gone to school.　○ I went to school yesterday. P87. Last night was the first time I had been to the cinema in ages,but last night means past words. I`m not sure that we don`t use it in the present perfect ,or past perfect sentences. please tell me your answer if you have time.
I also like learning English .

•  Ken
• 2008年7月16日 11:20

Hi Ken,

Welcome to the blog!
As for your question, I think that you can use "last night" not only for the past tense. How about these examples?

I didn't have a call from my friend, though I'd been waiting for it since last night.

I've had a headache since last night.

Hope they help you, even a little.
Talk to you later,

Maki

•  Maki
• 2008年7月16日 22:48

Hi mi,
う～ん、それは困ったね。。　私からは何とも言えないです。　でもDavidも大学の先生だし、教えるプロだし、それに英語は母国語なので、I trust him.　そのレッスンは英会話のレッスンなのかな？　困った状況だけど、嫌にならないでね～＾＾

Hi Maki,
Thanks for the explanation!　何となく分かる気がします。　確かに‘really’って強めに言う言葉だよね。　そういう言葉の後ろにある気持ちっておもしろいね！

Hi Ken,
Nice to have you with us!
私はKenの質問の意味がよく分かっていませんでした。。　Sorry!
Maki が答えてくれたように、完了形では「いつ」ということは指定できないけれど、「いつから（現在 or ある時点まで)」は指定できますよね。　あと、この文‘Last night was the first time I had been to the cinema in ages.’は後半は過去完了形の文が付いてますが、もともとの文は‘Last night was the first time’という過去形の文だと思うのですが・・どうでしょう？

•  Tomo
• 2008年7月17日 00:01

Hi Ken,

Nice to have you here!
Here is my idea about your question.
I guess you think the present (or past) perfect can't be used together with expressions of showing the exact time( here, 'last night' ), but I think this is not the case.
e.g.
O I saw him yesterday.
X I have seen him yesterday.
O I have not seen him since yesterday.

It was the first time I had seen him for [in]　four years.( p 87 in the same page from 「英語と仲直りできる本」
)

The sentence above can be taken as the same style, I think.
＊過去形で表したら、過去の1時点のその前の時からの時間の経過で「久しぶり」の気持ちが表れないと思うし、文法的にもおかしいのでは？少し考えてみました。
Does this make sense?

Bye for now,

Anne

•  Anne
• 2008年7月17日 00:15

大学の教諭→教授　すいません。
Of　COURESE！　tomo　もちろんです。
Davidの本を信じていますよ：）
ただとっても尊敬してた先生
（生涯を英語教育に捧げた名物先生です）
の発言に・・・悲しかったのです。　
もちろん勉強は続けます！お騒がせしました＾＾；

•  mi
• 2008年7月17日 03:13

Hi mi,
I’m not so sure, but he or she may be right. Things might be changing now, but still that may be the case in the UK.
If you’re a British national, the English you speak tells the social class you belong to. Recently I’ve read somewhere that that’s how British people measure which class the other people belong to.
I think it’s fare to say that the English the Queen speaks and the one David Beckham speaks sound two different languages. But since we’re not British nationals, we don't need to worry so much about it.

•  Jazmin
• 2008年7月17日 10:53

Hi mi,

I'm glad to see you again. I was surprised really. Because your commented time of past 3:00 is record-breaking, isn't it?

By the way, it was often that I became half in doubt, whenever I heard the story of the lecturer, whenever I read a book about English studying.
Then I used to correct my knowledge each time and I was lost a lot of times. And then I'm still in the same situation, too.
However, I recently choose an author, David, explaining the general expression that seems to be usuful easily.
I changed my way of English learning to easily. In result, I'm a little bit relaxing.
Anyway, the choice is very difficult in too much information of English.

See you later,

Kiyoko

•  Kiyoko
• 2008年7月17日 13:04

Hi David and Everyone

How do you do?
My name is Yasu.
I'm a officer at a college...
I like to ride a bike too.(recentry, I can't...)

I love to communicate anybody who live in another country, but I'm not good at english, so now I'm practicing to speak English and to think in English....

Anyway, I've enjoyed to read this blog, and I'm looking forward to read next blog...

I'll try to comment next time....
Could you advice me for my comment if you see any mistakes on it...?

see you next

（変な文章でごめんなさい。）

Yasu

•  Yasu
• 2008年7月17日 13:22

Hi David and Everyone

How do you do?
My name is Yasu.
I'm a officer at a college...
I like to ride a bike too.(recentry, I can't...)

I love to communicate anybody who live in another country, but I'm not good at english, so now I'm practicing to speak English and to think in English....

Anyway, I've enjoyed to read this blog, and I'm looking forward to read next blog...

I'll try to comment next time....
Could you advice me for my comment if you see any mistakes on it...?

I'm glad to meet you...

see you next

（変な文章でごめんなさい。）

Yasu

•  Yasu
• 2008年7月17日 13:23

Hi everyone!

It’s been a long time since I posted my last comment.
While the summer heat has got me down(先は長いのに、もう夏バテ・・・), I never imagined the heat-up discussion about things, such as, dog-dogs, food-foods and 付加疑問のニュアンス, 時制問題。
I spent over one hour to read all comments and understand them. I’m tired out now.
Needless to say, it was enormously helpful to my English.

From Tomo’s comment, “I like you very much” より”I love you” に笑っちゃいました。
I completely agree with you. I’ve been starving that praise, because I’ve never ever heard that in my long life!

By the way, I went to see the Hanshin Tigers baseball game the other day.　You know Tigers fan are extremely enthusiastic and energetic. Especially, in 7th inning, the sky is covered with ten of thousands of colorful balloon. That’s magnificent！ I’m not a Tigers fan, thou.
As soon as the game started, by chance, I spotted a young couple in front of my line. She was wearing a sleeveless, a short length dress (ミニワンピ). It was so elegant that it didn’t match to the stadium.
Generally, fan’s fashion is a towel hung the neck, a cap and a uniform with the number of their favorite player. She seemed not to be interested in the game at all.

Hi mi
The time your comment arrived shows 03:13. さ、3時？？　　A special day or something?
何だか、モヤモヤしているようですね。　 Don’t be seriously. Let’s relax and take it easy!
According to Jazmin’s advice, judging from English we use, it’s clear which class we belong to. That’s news to me. Very interesting!

Hi Ken and Yasu
Welcome to this blog!
I suppose Ken is also a fan of “英語と仲直りできる本”.
Yasu, you like a bike. Because of weather, it’s getting hard to enjoy riding a bike, isn’t it?
I’m expecting your next comment and questions.

By for now.
Masa

•  Masa
• 2008年7月17日 14:18

Hi！　Everyon
Thank　you for　answering　my　complaint．
I　am　happy　to　hear　good　advices！

Hi！Jazmin
>But since we’re not British nationals,
>we don't need to worry so much about it.

本当ですね！心配というより、真実を知りたい..
そんな気持ちでした。それになるべくそう使った
方がいいみたいな言い方するんで（＾＾；；
Ｉ　wanted the truth.
Last　time，she　told　us　about　Beckham！
（だいたい想像できると思いますが・・。）

Hi　kyoko　nice　to　see　you，too！

I　didn't　sleep　deeply　last　night.
It's　getting　hotter　and　hotter everyday．　
It　really　makes　me　tired．
And　my　air　conditioner　have　been　acting　
up　since　last　week．I'm sighing．..anyway

Oh！You　made a better choice.
Relaxing　is　important　to　learn　English　
for　a　long　time.
私も今は少しづつ気楽に勉強してるのですが、、
どうも今回の件はひっかかってしまいました。
自分ではamerica英語を勉強中なのですけどね^^;

Masa．yes！Ｉ'll　take　it　easy．
まだまだ言い方がどうとかいう前に単語を覚えなきゃ
って感じなんですけどね☆thank　you！
I am relieved　to　hear　that．

確かにその先生はイギリス上流社会が使うような
（私は知らないのですが・・話の流れから察すると）
上品な言葉遣いが好きみたいです。

一緒に習ってる人は、じゃあエレガントに見られたい
し、間違えも少なそうだからwillだけを使おうなんて
いってました（＾＾；wow

私はAmerica英語を勉強してたので、最初あまりこの
話に興味がなかったんだけど・・・。
あんまり何度もいうから、どうなの？って愚痴ってしま
いました。うるくさてすいません。

Hi！　Yasu　nice　to　meet　you！

•  mi
• 2008年7月17日 16:08

Hi everyone

I thank you for telling me various sampling.
I have done short cut. As I reviewed these sentences, I`ve got it. I love English.
I can barely keep up. Thanks a lots for your time.

•  Ken
• 2008年7月17日 18:02

Ｈｉ　ken　
nice　to　meet　you！

Ｉ　have　been　reading　the　book，too．
Ｉt's very helpful and good for us!
But　Ｉ　am　so　forgetful　that　Ｉ　have
to　read　again　　and　make　a　note　of
sentence.　It's　fun　for　me．
Ｈave　a　good　chat！

•  ｍｉ
• 2008年7月17日 19:18

↑sentences　いつも忘れてしまう・・すいません。

•  mi
• 2008年7月17日 19:22

Hi Yasu,
Welcome to the blog! You like bikes? I think you can be good friends with David and my husband. Look forward to reading your next comment!

Hi Jazmin,
Thanks for the information! I have heard that there used to be social classes in the UK like duke, earl, or baron, but I didn't know that British people measure which class people belong to from the English they speak.

Hi Masa,
Did my comment make you laugh? Your expression ‘ I've been starving that praise’ made me laugh!　ここで‘starving’を使うなんてうまいな～と思いました(笑)　座布団2枚！

Talk to you later,

Tomo

PS mi, you should get to bed early tonight;-) Sleep tight!

•  Tomo
• 2008年7月17日 21:26

Hi　tomo

It's　　very　kind　of　you♪Thank　you！　
I　am　VERY　　sleepy　now.
Yes，Ｉ　should　go　to　bed　right　now.
well..Ｉ　got　an　electric　fan　today：）

Pleasant dreams

•  mi
• 2008年7月17日 22:21

Hi Everyone,

Sounds like it is humid in Japan. Take care everyone.
It is miserable sky here and I feel cold now.

I was reading everyone comments with interested. Everyone all of clear your question? I was reading my text books again, so I think that I will improve my skill.

Hi Mi,

I don't understand why your teacher use only 'will'. My teacher taught us what were different 'will' and 'be going to'.
Maybe you already know.

As Jazmin said I don't know what the Queens phrase. I heard before about accent, Another part of cities people said we are Queens English. I didn't even know what is different each cities accent.

I will try to hear carefully next time if I have a chance to hear her speech.

About Ken's question:
' the first time in ages'で、久々に〜した。という意味になるので、以前シネマには行った事になります。なので、それ以来という意味で、過去完了が使われるのではないでしょうか？

speak soon
Riko

•  Riko
• 2008年7月17日 22:55

Hi Yasu,
Nice to have you here with us! Riding bike under the hot weather seems to be hard, so you can't ride it? I'm looking forward to your next comment!

Hi Masa,
I also give you 座布団2枚! ;-)

By for now,
Maki

•  Maki
• 2008年7月17日 23:06

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for any comments to me!
I'm glad to hear that... :)
I'll improve my english more and more!!

Hi Masa and Maki
I think so for your comment...
It's tough weather for me raiding bike, but
It is not correct reason that I couldn't riding bike.
( 本当の理由　って言いたかったんですが．．．＾＾； ）

My wife said "It's dangeruos for me to riding bike, so please don't ride it...", so I couldn't ride ... :(
あまり，心配させられないので．．．

そういえば，ちょうどBecause, since, for, as について説明がありましたよね ＾＾；
うまく使えてるかどうか，自信はありませんが＾＾；

Speak to you soon,

Yasu

•  Yasu
• 2008年7月18日 13:16

Hi Riko

一応誤解のないように説明しますと、もちろん先生は
きちんと両方の使い方を教えてくれますよ！willだけ
を使うようにと強制的な教え方をしてるわけではありません。

しかし彼女の周りの外国の人達は誰もbe　going　to
を使わない、一度も聞いたことがないって話をして、
やはり上品な言葉遣いはいいんですよね~・・
って遠回りにに言っています。（どうしてもその方が
よりいいという風なニュウアンスに聞こえました＾＾；）
しかし私は日本の一般市民でございますので、
しっかり両方学ばねばです(笑）

Thank　you　for　your　comment！

•  mi
• 2008年7月18日 17:31

Hi Yasu and Ken,

Welcome to our blog! Nice to meet you.

Yasu, you seem very kind husband. I knew the real reason that you couldn' ride a bike. Um, let me see, the best way is well talk and think about your riding each other, anyway, I think.
I might have said "it's danderous to ride a bike, so please don'~" or "you're my VIP, aren't you?" if I were a young wife.
By the way, I remembered that Tomo made a comment about her husband 's riding a bike. Then I recommend you to ask her. She may have some good ideas.

Ken, you love English! Me, too. Come on together!

Hi mi,
Did you have a good sleep last night? I'm very confident of your well sleep.

Bye for now,

Kiyoko

•  Kiyoko
• 2008年7月18日 17:37

hi kiyoko !

thank you for　asking.
Yes,I did. I slept　for　８　hours.
I slept like a log until morning^^
I 　am　 refreshed.

Good night!

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