Hi David and everyone,
As for your question about"雨注意”, at least in my case, I make sure AGAIN" I must take care" and it never means I haven't noticed the situation.

"thing to say when.." well.... it is really difficult to say a proper wording for each situation. I tried thinking a few "things to say when..."
Here are my questions.
*situation1.
Your friend or colleague are going to take a test or exam, so you want to encourage him/her.
*situation2.
Your friend or colleague are going to move to another place and you can't see him/her so often.
*situation 3.
Your friend had a mishap and you want to encourage him/her.

I read all the sentences David had picked up as mistakes and I tried to think what the correct version should be.

Actually I'm going to Shikoku from tomorrow morning and will be back on Sunday night, so I'd like to share what I found in the book on Sunday night or on Monday morning.

Hi Nao,
You have booked the hotel? That's great!
Yes, I did have a great time in England including in London.

See you on Monday,

Anne

•  Anne
• 2010年1月15日 23:38

Hi Tomo,

I'm very sorry to hear about the death of your father-in-law. I thought he was getting better. He must have been happy to be able to spend his last New Year’s Days with your family.

Hi David and everyone,

About words for someone whose family passed away, it is always difficult to write/say something. I remember they use “condolence”, but I don’t know it exactly and never used yet. When my sister died in Sydney, her friends and people from work sent cards and letters to her husband and daughter. I also read all of them. Most people used quite similar phrases, but some people used their own words. I used be asked by students how to say in Japanese in this case. I’d tell them not to say clearly or not to say in a long phrase and just to say “とても残念ですね” or something like from the heart, because I think it is good enough for Japanese learners, although there is a fixed phrase “このたびはご愁傷様です” or something like. Even Japanese sometimes say it unfinished.
I will think about other situations later.

> I hope you won't mind waiting until then.

Not at all! Take your time, please.

Thank you for pointing out wrong sentences and giving us an opportunity to rewrite them. I’ve opened the red book and found out that I had read all the items at least once, and “enjoy” in particular 3 or 4 times.

> I always feel sorry for their staffs. (夫の大好きな阪神デパートではエスカレーターでの乗り降りについて「危ないですからお気をつけください」という意味のもっともっと丁寧な口調のアナウンスがひっきりなしにされているので一日中働いている)従業員はお気の毒だなあといつも思います。
【”staff” - p.210 】
1) “staff” means 従業員, but it doesn’t mean スタッフ(プロジェクトや組織の一員) that is Japanese English. I meant the shop people, so “staff” can be used in my sentence, but “staffs” (the form) was no good.
2) “staff” is plural(more than 2 employees) in itself (same as “fish” group). It is OK to say “a member of staff”, but it sounds quite formal and usually not used in daily conversation.
------>I always feel sorry for the staff. /I always feel sorry for the sales clerks.

> My family also enjoyed.　私の家族も(Naoと運転手さんとの会話を)楽しみました。
【”enjoy” - p.230】
First, “enjoy” is in the same group as “eat”, so always together with friends like “enjoy the party” or “enjoy the movie”. If you can’t find any friend, “myself/yourself/herself/himself/ourselves/themselves etc. should be added.

Second, in English “enjoy” alone cannot express the same meaning as “楽しんだ(=～をして楽しかった)” in Japanese. It gets into 2 sentences: You did something. + It was fun or not. You can say “I enjoyed dinner with my friends last night.”, but it might say that there is sometimes not fun with them or it was funner than you expected, so it would be better to say “I had dinner with my friends last night. + We had a nice time.” If you want to say “楽しかった” strongly, you can say “We had a lot of fun.”
-----> My family also had a fun./ My family enjoyed themselves.

I hope new sentences are all right.

Hi Anne,

Have a good time in Shikoku! Never catch a cold!

•  tsuneko
• 2010年1月16日 00:55

Hi David and everyone,

As for the sign of 雨注意, you feel it directly when it is raining, but many drivers inside cars might not feel it directly especially when it starts raining or it rains a little.

Hi Maki,

Guess what? I’ve got something like an eyeball (a web camera set). I bought the second cheapest one for 1,480yen. I liked the simple one. It’s still in the box. I imagine when I talk with someone via Skype. I will be wearing a knitted cap, glasses and a mask.
p.s. I left the 2’nd feedback of ムッキー for you on Anne’s.

•  tsuneko
• 2010年1月16日 08:20

Hi David

Thank you for pointing my wrong sentences.
I have not had '英語じょうずになる事典' yet,but I try to rewrite my sentences.

Hi everyone

I tried to rewrite next sentences.
Please check them.

I woud like help you as possible as I can.
⇒I would like to help you as much as possible.

I belive that your happning in Guam is goin to become one of nice memory someday!
⇒I believe that your happening in Guam turn into good memory someday!

How about these sentences?
I think they are not enough・・・

Green

•  Green
• 2010年1月16日 13:16

Hi David and everyone,

Guess what? It's a surprise! I just found out a comment from David's mother on the entry "Seminars" in December, so I'll post it here. She greeted to us in Welsh. This is the first time for me to see Welsh.

【blwyddyn newydd dda to all who are on davids blog from wales - that is happy new year in welsh

hope ypou are well and enjoying snow

Delyth ( davids mum)

davids mum delyth 2010年01月15日 23:21 】

•  tsuneko
• 2010年1月16日 15:40

Hi tsuneko,
This is from my cellphone, as I'm staying at Mom's place without a PC. So I'll talk to you more tomorrow.;-) Thanks for letting us know about the comment from David's mother!

Dear Delyth,
Happy New Year!
Thank you so much for your message for all of us here. Hope everything is very well with you throughout the year.

Bye for now,
Maki

•  Maki
• 2010年1月16日 17:02

Hi Delyth,

Thank you for your message for us. Blowyddyn Newydd Dda to you too! Are you enjoying snow? The floor heating of my house was suddenly broken yesterday. We are shivering now. Iechyd da I chwi yn awr ac yn oesoedd!

One of members
tsuneko

•  tsuneko
• 2010年1月16日 17:16

List of things to do in 2010: Number 1 - teach mother how to use blog!

•  David
• 2010年1月16日 17:31

Hi everyone
It seems like I caught a cold. I stayed in bed all day today. sorry, I have not read your comments all yet. hope I will be get well and will post a comment for the topic tomorrow.
bye for now,

•  amo
• 2010年1月17日 00:16

Hi Maki,

(Here goes a comment which was rejected last night.)
Thank you for your message from your cellphone that made me pleased, because I feel lonely while Tomo is absent and Anne is in Shikoku and David is being snowed under snow with work and writing.;p

Hi Green,

>I tried to rewrite next sentences. Please check them.
Let me try!

>I woud like help you as possible as I can. =>I would like to help you as much as possible.

I cannot think of any better one than yours.

>I belive that your happning in Guam is goin to become one of nice memory someday!
=>I believe that your happening in Guam turn into good memory someday!

Umm, it’s a difficult one for me. I’m still thinking. I might say “I believe that your happening in Guam becomes a good memory some day.” or “I believe that your happening in Guam is going to be one of the nicest memories some day!” Let’s wait for others’ help.

Bye for now.

•  tsuneko
• 2010年1月17日 07:11

Hi amo,

Have warm food and drinks and make yourself warm, and take a good rest. Hope your quick recovery.

>David is being snowed under snow with work and writing. (It's wrong!)

---->David is snowed under with work and writing.

•  tsuneko
• 2010年1月17日 07:19

> amo
Take good care of yourself and get well soon!

•  Lily
• 2010年1月17日 09:04

Dear Delyth

Happy New Year and How do you do?
I am a member of this blog.
I enjoy studying English on this blog!
I hope that 2010 brings you happiness and good health.

Hi amo

How about your condition?
Maybe you shoud take a lot of liquids.
Take care of your self.

Hi tuneko

Thank you for your comment.
I order '英語じょうずになる事典' from a bookshop today.
I can not wait to watch it!

Hi Anne

Are you in Sikoku now?
How is the weather?

Green

•  Green
• 2010年1月17日 13:12

Hi David,

Thank you for your pointing me out.

You have had tough time in the bus, hadn't you?
↓
You have spent tough time in the bus,haven't you?

過去完了型は二つ以上の過去の出来事を時間的に区別するために
用いられる用法でしたね。

ご指摘をありがとうございます。

•  Kazu
• 2010年1月17日 20:47

Hi Kazu,

That should be "You had a tough time in the bus, didn't you?"

•  David
• 2010年1月17日 22:28

Hi David,

Thank you very much.
単に過去形でいいのですね〜

過去形を使うか、現在完了形を使うか、悩むところです。

I drank
I've drunk.

現在完了形は過去の出来事と現在が繋がっている時に使うという
事ですが、それはあくまでも自分の出来事のみ、なのですね？
Naoさんが感じたグアムでの楽しい出来事を現在の視点で手に取る
ように感じているその気持ちを受けて、こちらも現在完了で受けて
みようとして間違ったのだと思います。
過去形、現在完了形、過去完了形、を自然に使い分けるのは本当に
難しいですね。

ご指摘ありがとうございました。
Thank you for pointing me out.

Kazu

•  Kazu
• 2010年1月17日 22:53

Dear Delyth,

Happy New Year!

Thank you for leaving us the message and it's nice to have your message here!
How is the weather in your place,Wales?
Is Mr.Barker complaining about the weather or enjoying snow? I really hope the latter.
I hope the New Year brings Mr.Barker and you happiness and joy.

PS.Thank you for letting us know Welsh.

Anne

•  Anne
• 2010年1月17日 22:55

Hi David and everyone,

I'm back from Shikoku tonight.
tsuneko, Maki, and Green, thank you for your messages.
The weather was fine, and I had a great time there.

>amo, I hope you feel better now. Take good care!!

>tsuneko,
Thank you for letting us know about the comment from David's mother.
By the way, you bought a web camera set? That means you can start Skype?
I haven't done anything yet...

>Green,
Can I share my idea?
{I believe that your happening in Guam is going to become one of nice memory someday!}

*point1.---"your happening"(Ｄａｖｉｄの本P.275)
「ハプニング」は和製英語。「ハプニングがあった。」といいたいならSomething happenedといえばよい。Happenは「起こる」と言う意味ですが、経過を聞くときにも使えます。What happened? で、「何が起こったの？何があったの？」と言う意味になります。（本より）
So I would say," I believe what happened to you would become one of nice memories(a nice memory) someday."

I checked all the sentences and as for some of them,I'm not sure my versions are correct or not, so I'm looking forward to David's corrections.

Bye for now,

Anne

•  Anne
• 2010年1月17日 22:57

It´s me again. 訂正ーone of nice memories→one of the nice memories

•  Anne
• 2010年1月17日 23:41

Hi tsuneko,
Thank you for keeping the blog lively!
You've got "an eyeball" for Skype? That's nice! So you can chat online whenever you want.;-)
I was wondering if it（マッキー） was me, when I read your comment on Anne's.（笑） Thanks for the information!

Hi David,
As for your question about 雨注意, I think this is one of unnecessary signs. However, some people might think to him or herself "ah, I must take more care," when they see the sign, even though they'd noticed that it was raining.

I read all the sentences which you've picked up and I tried to think what the correct version should be. I'm looking forward to your feedback!

Hi Anne,
Welcome back! It's good to know that you had a great time in Shikoku and besides the weather was nice. So you've visited all 88 temples and are going to Koyasan, right? That's great!

Hi amo,
I hope you feel better. Take good care of yourself.

Bye for now,

Maki

•  Maki
• 2010年1月18日 00:09

Hi everyone
Thank you for your warm comments. When I woke up this morning, I felt much better than yesterday.

Hi David

Thank you for pointing out our wrong sentences. It is good opportunity to re-think and re-write them. I sometimes mix up the usages of “even” and “even though”.
Here is correction.
Even I was born in Japan, I feel the same way of David.
→Even though I was born in Japan, I feel the same way as David did(do?).
In these kinds of sentences I always confuse which tense should I choose the present or the past.

I am looking forward to your feedback!!!

Hi Anne

Glad to hear that you had a great time in Shikoku.

good night and sweet dreams

•  amo
• 2010年1月18日 01:13

Hi David and everyone,

I made a few sentence, if you don't mind could you check it?
Is there any unusual sentence?

we were partner for 5 years.
We've been partner for 5 years.

I was thinking about that.
I've been thinking about that.

I had a good time with lovely pets.
I've been having a good time with lovely pets.

You had a good time in Guam.

According to your mother,You have been having a good time in Guam.

According to your mother, you are having a good time in Guam.

過去形と現在完了形や現在完了進行形の使われ方を
確認したくて上の質問をさせて頂きました。

Kazu

•  Kazu
• 2010年1月18日 05:49

Hi Anne,

Welcome back! You seem to have walked in the nice weather. I tried to think about the three situations you had thought.

*situation1.
I usually say “(I wish you a) Good luck!”, but I started to like the phrase when some of you had your fingers crossed for me before my exam.

*situation2.
I would say “I will miss you.”

*situation 3.
When I had a mishap and had to resign, a Chinese co-worker sent me a word “塞翁が馬(さいおうがうま) (Fortunes and misfortunes often come alternately)” that made me realized the truth but honestly not that happy . If I had been given “When God closes a door, somewhere he opens a window”, I would have been more cheerful.

Hi Maki,

Thank you for compliment! Yes, I really tried to keep it while many of you were absent. I haven't set it up yet, but I'm looking forward to chatting as early as I can.

Hi amo,

You got better? That's good. Way to go!

•  tsuneko
• 2010年1月18日 11:45

Hi Delyth

Happy new year!Thank you for your comment:)
I hope you will have a good time.

Hi David

Thank you for your comment.I'll check it out.I had a lot of mistake..
By the way,your new idea is very nice!Please give me time to think about it.

Hi Anne

You had a great time in shikoku?Sounds great!
Osaka is close to shikoku,but I haven't been to shikoku.

By the way,I got a ticket to London!Yeah!It wasn't expensive.これからイギリスの旅行プランを考えたいと思います。２日半しか滞在できないので残念ながらヨークなどに行くのは難しいかなと思うのですが。。

Nao

•  Nao
• 2010年1月18日 11:46

Hi Anne

Thank you for your comment.
昨日、’英語じょうずになる事典’を、本屋さんに頼んで来ました。
届いたら、すぐにP.275を、見ますね！

Ｈｉ　Ｎａｏ

You got the ticket to London?
That's Great!
I'm going to watch 'Endless SHOCK' on March!
I've watched the DVD many times but this is my first time to watch it at theater.
旅行って、計画しているときから楽しいですよね。
チケットは、旅行会社を通してgetされたのですか？
それとも、ご自身で？

Green

•  Green
• 2010年1月18日 12:30

Hi David and everyone,
How is the weather around your place?
It's fine and not windy around Nagoya so it was good for walking.

tsuneko, thank you for sharing your ideas concerning with my questions.
I also tried thinking.
*situation 1.
I'll say same as you and if I would add to it...
I would say,"I'm sure you'll do well."
*situation 2.
Same as you,"I'll(We'll) miss you." To tell the truth, I have to confess that I have felt embarrassed to use the word 'miss' even though I have often seen it used in the movies or on TV casually. It might be stupid of me to think that way, but I have had a feeling that it implied a special meaning, I mean, it was used mainly to close friends or families, so I couldn't use it to a person not to close to me ,especially men.
I'm not sure,but I think I could catch these nuance a bit more than before, and that's why I wrote this as a question.

*situation 3.
I like your word “When God closes a door, somewhere he opens a window." It has more positive meaning and makes us feel relieved!

Well...My words for this would be..."Sorry to hear about the incident, but I'm sure things will be OK."
"These things could happen, so not to worry too much."(But it has a negative nuance and I'm not sure my friend will be relieved or not.)
> Green,
本が届くのが楽しみですね。

＞amo,
I'm glad to hear that you feel better now but please keep in mind to go to bed before midnight!
Sleep tight!

Bye for now,

Anne

•  Anne
• 2010年1月18日 13:51

Hi Green

Endless shock!Sounds great:)I also watched it many times.It's fantastic.I love Kinki kids' concert,but I love stages of Domoto Koich very much.It's a shame that I couldn't get a ticket.Have fun for me!!本当にうらやましいです。

By the way,I got a ticket at a tourist agency.I looked for a ticket in several ways,and the tourist agency has sold a nice tour.
旅行代理店が航空券とホテルを予約してくれるというものを頼みました。自分で予約するよりお安くて、しかも簡単だったのでよかったです！本当、旅行はプランを立てるときから楽しくなってきますね。笑

Nao

•  Nao
• 2010年1月18日 14:29