Hi David,
It seems like you did a new entry while I was writing this comment. I'll read the new entry after I post this.

Hi Yuki,
I couldn't stop laughing when I read "一月はお年玉で銭あり、二月はお正月の食べ過ぎで屁ぶらりー"! I'd never heard of that, but I think it works well for students in a way. It's so funny and catchy! Do you remember the rest of the parts? Actually, I had some trouble with the order of adjectives before, and one of the old regulars told me "大丸新青木店". As you can see, this shows 'size', 'shape', 'new or old', 'color', 'material', and the noun. When I use more than one adjective with a noun, I'll check David's red book, but "大丸新青木店" has also been a big help for me.

Thanks for your encouragement! It seems like there are a lot of teachers in your family.(Your husband too?)
One of my nephews worked at 塾 when he was in university. He was in the math department and wasn't good at English, but he taught English too. I asked him how he managed it, and he said that there was a manual for teaching for tests or entrance exams. I don't like this idea, but sometimes I have to say to my niece, who is a third grade junior high school student, "This is OK(or better!) in everyday English, but not for tests", and vice versa.

Anyway, if I taught at a juku like that, it would be easier for me to prepare for the lessons, and I wouldn't have to worry about management. I might be able to make more money than I expected, but on the other hand, I would have to follow their ways or ideas even if I disagreed with them. If I needed to earn some money for our household or our children's education, I would choose teaching at a juku or some other jobs, but I'd like to teach students at home like a tutor. I'd like to teach them the differences between "natural English" and "school English", things they don't learn at school, and share my experiences too.(if possible!)

Hi amo,
Thanks for your message. Hope you have a great time in Korea!

Hi Fumie,
As Yuki said, it's a new event. They didn't have such event 10 years ago, but it's become one of the most popular events among the students.
I have been Kyoto three times, but I never been there in Koyo season. It must be beautiful!

Hi Anne,
I'm happy for Grampus Eight and you!
It's rainy here as well. My son and my daughter are having a day off today to make up for Saturday, and they are playing with their friends in my house.

Talk to you soon,

Tomo

•  Tomo
• 2010年11月22日 13:49

Hi David,

I just got to my university in Osaka safely from the conference. Again, it was nice talking to you. (My parents, both are high school English teachers and fans of your books just like me, would be jealous of me!)
It was a great experience for me to join such a beneficial conference, but I wish I could join not only Prof. Swan's workshop but also your workshop and your Sunday morning presentation.

Hi everyone,

Since I made a promise with David, I'm going to write a comment more often than before, and I'm looking forward to having a lot of interaction with all of you. As for David's presentation, he did a really great job and I liked and enjoyed it so much.
By the way, in response to Anne's comment, I'm sad that the J1 championship is taken by Nagoya Grampus because I'm a huge fan of Cerezo Osaka. But, congratulations to Grampus and Anne!

Hi Tomo,

I also don't like the idea of "manual" with regard to education or teaching. Each student/learner has his/her own personality, attitude, preference and so on. Therefore, I think that teachers must change the way they teach to meet students/learners' characteristics or needs no matter what subject they teach.

Sorry, I have to leave school now.
Bye for now and take care,

Koji

•  匿名
• 2010年11月22日 15:39

《携帯からなので分けて投稿します》

Hi David,

It sounds like your workshop and presentations were very successful. I'm happy for you! You met Michael Swan and Paul Nation, and they are interested in your ideas and books. That's really great! I hope more and more teachers will use your books with their students next year!

I have a question about your English. There is a sentence I don't understand the order of the words in the third paragraph:

but what is unusual about Tomo is that not only are the things she writes correct,

I understand it if it was “... is that not only the things she writes are correct”. Is it inversion（倒置）to stress the meaning?　それとも私は何か勘違いをしているのでしょうか・・？ Can someone help me, please?

《つづく‥》

•  Tomo
• 2010年11月22日 18:23

By the way, I noticed Yuki's expression. I often see native speakers use it when I read message boards or something. I thought it meant “という感じだった”, in a more casual way, “っていう感じ”. I often say this in Japanese. I thought it was useful but it might often be used by young people. Doesn't it sound strange if I use it?

Hi Koji,
Thanks for your comment. I agree with you. There are a lot of students in a class at school, so it might be difficult for teachers to meet each student's need, but I want them to at least try.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to reading your comments!

Tomo

•  Tomo
• 2010年11月22日 18:27

Hi Tomo,

This is a fixed structure - "not only..., (but also...)." As you noticed, the auxiliary verb comes before the subject.

Not only is she smart, she is also beautiful.
Not only did they serve bad food, they also made us pay for it!
Not only will we have less money, but things are going to be more expensive.
Not only have they lost the last four games, they have also failed to score a single goal.

Hope that helps.

•  David
• 2010年11月22日 19:04

Hi David,

Thank you for your explanation and the example sentences! I sometimes use the expression "not only A but also B", but I've never used the structure that the auxiliary verb comes before the subject.

「倒置」・・・。　習ったような気もするのですが、すっかり全部忘れてます。　当分はゆ～～～っくり考えないと頭が追いつかないですね。　仮定法より難しいかも。。。　頑張ります！

•  Tomo
• 2010年11月22日 20:36

Hi David,
Your workshop and presentation were successful, a lot of teachers got interested in them and joined them. That's great! I assume that you had a very good time at JALT national conference.

I think your idea of "language gathering" is an effective way to increase database of English and also to be able to produce natural English. I'll try to use this method to improve my English. Thank you!

Fumie

•  匿名
• 2010年11月23日 07:21

Hi David and everyone,

How are you doing? It was raining this morning, but it's cleared up. My husband and my middle son have gone for a ride, and my daughter is playing at my niece's house now. My eldest son has a club event called "Three Generations Festival" today, and they are playing music for elderly people and children somewhere.(←He didn't tell me the place!) Anyway, I'm home alone now, so I'm enjoying my free time before I go grocery shopping.

I read some old entries and comments, so let me share the things I gathered with you.

【From "Roman Britain"】

*It was originally designed as a summer residence, so it is not very well insulated,
(as a summer residence と insulated)

*My friend has installed a log-burning stove now,
(install といえばパソコンのことを思い出すのですが、こんな使い方もあるんだ、と思った文)

*Charlene just emailed me to say that she tried to write a comment but got a message from ALC saying that her comment would have to be checked before it could be uploaded.
(後半の時制の一致と受動態の形に注目して読んだ文)

*The doctor told him he had to stop or he would kill himself.
(「やめないと命にかかわる」ということだと思うのですが、would kill himself という言い方にへぇ、と思った文)

*Paul worked hard and managed to take the position to being self employed and then becoming a Ltd company.
(take the position to being self employed の部分がおもしろい＆take と position で色々な表現ができるので便利だと思いました。　あと、主語は人(Paul)なのに、becoming a Ltd company してもOKなんだ、と思った文)

*The Colossuem in Rome is awesome
( awesome という言葉はよく native speaker が使っているのを見るのですが、前にアメリカの若い人たちの間で Great! Cool! のかわりによく使われる、というのを聞いたことがあるので、「私が使っても大丈夫??」と思って（笑）、自分ではあまり使ったことがない表現です。　この場合の awesome は「荘厳な」という意味かな、と思ったのですが、前から気になっている言葉だったのであげてみました)

*They have a reconstructed fort on top of the original one
(これは読めば分かるけど、自分では言えなかった文)

*You would be spoilt for choice
( be spoilt for choice これはこのエントリーで一番ビビッ！ときた表現)

*I adore Wales and the Lake District.
(adore は自分ではあまり使ったことがない表現)

*Yes I think you are right about Japanese and Roman festivals being different.
(私なら I think you are right that Japanese and Roman festivals are different. としてしまうと思うので、こんな風にもさらっと言えたらなぁ、と思った文)

*I see David has already given some idea as to what they mean.
(as to というのがあまりなじみのない表現でした)

*Isn't technology great, where we can talk to anyone in the world and the time doesn't matter electronically.
(私の苦手の1つである where に注目した文)

*I'm sorry that I'm behind in my writing...
(behind をこんな風にも使えるんだ、と思った文。　be behind in というのは便利な表現だと思うのでもっと使えるようになりたい)

*When did you start doing whatever you're doing?
(ここで whatever を使うのが私にはさらっとできない技だと思った文)

*it is to say that Spring will soon be on its way.
(I'm on my way.「すぐ行きます・今向かっています」、というのは知っていたけど、「季節」に使ってもOKなんだ＆おもしろいと思った文)

*It's amazing how you've persevered with it.
(persevere という単語は知らなかった。。)

*Some words don't sound right, .......they aren't written the way we say them.
(これは英語の綴りが発音と一致しないということの説明でしたが、こんなにスッキリ簡単に言えるんだ、と思った文)

I learned a lot from this entry and the comments though it doesn't mean that I remember them all. I read some other old entries too, but this post has already been long, so I'll make another one later(maybe tomorrow).

Hope you are all having a nice holiday,

Tomo

•  Tomo
• 2010年11月23日 15:23

Hi team,

I just went for a walk in Kaisho no Mori in Seto, and I took some pictures with my phone. I think they are quite nice. The quality of the cameras in phones is so good now that people are not going to need cameras at all in the future. I added the one I like most to the end of the entry. Click on that if you want to see the others.

•  David
• 2010年11月23日 17:38

Hi David,

I just had a look at the pictures. Autumn is a lovely time to go for a walk in the woods, isn't it? I also like the one you put on the blog most, and "0087" is my second favorite.

I'm off to bed now. Good night,

Tomo

•  Tomo
• 2010年11月23日 23:56

Hi David,

Happy for you that your workshop and presentations went well. I hope that lots of teachers will use your book. It must be very exciting for you to talk with Michael Swan. He is your hero, right? That’s great!
I felt a bit out of sorts and didn’t feel like doing anything today, so I couldn’t do anything what you wanted us to do. Anyway, I sometimes go back and read some of the old entries to find phrases that I can imitate.
By the way, the pictures that you took today were nice.

Hi everyone,

Hope you all had a nice holiday.

Take care,
amo

•  amo
• 2010年11月23日 23:57

Hi Tomo,
Thank you for sharing the things you gathered from old entries. So that is Tomo's method, how you achieved tremendous progress in your English.
I am quite impressed how you look for words and expressions which are new to you and analyze them. There are lots of ways to describe something.
Being able to say something in a variety of ways, the sentence become more lively, sophisticated.
I understand most parts which native speakers write here mostly, but I can't produce sentences the way they do that, my sentences are mundane. I think understanding the meaning by reading something and producing sentences by ourselves is different, the latter is far more difficult. There are a lot of coloful expressions in David's book " Before and After" too.
Thanks to David, he introduces some of his friends and gives us a chance to read their English comments, we can have lots of model sentences we should imitate.
英語で書いてみたものの、きちんと伝わっているか心配なので日本語でも書きます。トモの英語が短期にすごい成長をとげた理由がわかる気がしました。ネィティブの英文から学ぶことは多いですね。自分で英文を書くとどうしてもありきたりの言い方になり、ネィティブのようなさまざまな表現方法はなかなか言えませんね。私はこのブログのネィティブの英文を、ようやく読めばだいたい理解出来るようにはなりましたが、その英文を自分でも使えるというレベルにはまだ達していません。やはり英語は地道な努力が大切ですね。

Fumie

•  匿名
• 2010年11月24日 07:17

Hi David,

Glad to hear that you had a great time last weekend and your presentation,of course, went well.
It's really nice to have a long chat with Michael Swan and Paul Nation since Michael Swan has been your hero as amo mentioned!

I sometimes read old entries and have my own database: I sometimes write "want to-use list."
It is very useful and helpful for me to go back to old entries and read each sentence carefully.
Sorry to say, I'm a bit busy this week so I can't do what you wanted us to do.

I just looking forward to reading members comments.

Tomo, thanks for sharing your "gathering."

Hi Koji, Oh,sorry to hear that!

Have a lovely day,everyone,

Anne

•  Anne
• 2010年11月24日 08:24

Hi David and everyone,

My son took an earlier train than usual this morning, so I had to get up early and make his lunch. I'm already very sleepy...

Anyway, here are some expressions and sentences from the entry "Roman Britain 2" that interested me.

*It is especially nice around Christmas with all the lights, shoppers, and festive atmosphere.
(「クリスマスの時期はイルミネーションも綺麗で･･･」というのをこんなにスッキリ簡単に言えるんだ、と思った文)

* I am a featured speaker.
(featured speaker という表現は知らなかった)

*If any readers of this blog are going, please come and say hello.
(時々迷う go と come に注目して読んだ文)

*I'm off to the hospital again to have the doctor stick tubes up my nose.
(まだまださらっと言えるレベルじゃない have someone do/have something done はいつも目に留まる表現)

*Hope you continue to have good news about your nose.
(自分では絶対言えなかった文。 have の後ろを変えたり、about の後ろを変えれば色々使えて便利だと思った表現)

*its a different company altogether.
(altogether の使い方がおもしろいと思った文)

*but people often take him for three or four because of the way he acts.
(日本語だと、「よく3、4才に間違えられる」ということだと思うのですが、日本語に引っ張られたらこの take はなかなか出てこないなぁ、と思った文)

*I do my best to wear him out by taking him to a playground every single day.
(「疲れさせる」は、私だったら make him tired とかにしてしまいそうだけど、wear out を使う所になるほど！と思った文。　あと、every single day は私もさらっと使えるようになりたいとずっと思っている表現。　いつも every other day と混ざってしまう。。。)

*We're following one parent one language policy.
(one parent one language policy という表現がおもしろいと思った文)

*I was surprised to know that you taught yourself through writing.
(teach oneself は真似したいと思った表現)

*Writing isn't an easy skill to acquire to begin with.
(acquire は自分ではあまり使ったことのない言葉)

* He is a big hero of mine
(私だったら He is my big hero. としてしまいそう)

*that explains your good English.
(「どうりで・納得」ということだと思うのですが、この explain の使い方がおもしろいと思った文)

* Kids grow so fast, and I don't want to miss much.
(私が同じことを言おうとしたら、もっとごちゃごちゃ色々と付けてしまいそう。　最近は「足す」よりも「引く」ことの難しさをよく感じているので、こんな風にすっきり言えるようになりたいと思った文)

*I didn't want to have anyone tell me that he was able to do a new thing.
(読めば分かるけど、自分では言えなかった文。　これも have someone do)

*I was like...What have I done to improve my English in the last four years?
(前から気になっていた "I was like ..."、私も使っても大丈夫かな？と思った文)

*and one small class at my midwife's practice.
(midwife は知らなかった単語。 practice に「診療所」という意味があるのも初めて知った)

*I was going to say that you would make a good teacher.
(私だったら you would be a ... としてしまいそう。　この make の使い方は覚えたいと思った文)

*You were right first time.
(first time の前に何か前置詞を付けたくなってしまう。。　気をつけよう、と思った文)

I'll post another comment in a minute.

Tomo

•  Tomo
• 2010年11月24日 08:47

Hi Fumie,

Thanks for your comment! 「Roman Britain」ではCharleneがたくさんのコメントを書いて下さったので、本当はもっと「知らなかった！」と思った表現がありましたが、頑張ってもまだまだ手が届かない表現はスルーしました。　いつも読んでいるDavidの英語とはちょっと違って手強いものもいっぱいで、何回か読み直さないと「？？」と思ったところもありましたが、新鮮でいい勉強になりました。　大体いつも私が「お！」と思うのは、ちょっと頑張れば自分でも言えそうな表現です。　そういう表現が使えるようになったら、またちょっと上に手を伸ばして･･･。　「無理をしない、疲れたら休む、でもやめない、自分が楽しいことを見つける」、という感じです。　Fumieは私よりもずっと語彙力があると思いますよ。　私は簡単な単語を組み合わせた表現を覚えるのは好きなのですが、難しい単語がなかなか覚えられないんですよね。　特に形容詞は色々ありすぎでどれから手を付けたらいいのか分からない。。　英語は日本語と違って色んな喋り方がない分(文章から性別や年齢など判断するのは難しい)、どんな単語や表現を選ぶかでその人らしさが出る、というのをどこかで読んだことがあるので、「私らしい英語」を目指して頑張りたい、と思っています。(なかなか難しいですが･･･)　一緒に頑張りましょうね！＾＾

Hi Anne,
Please share your "gathering" with us when you have time. I'm interested in what you come up with. Next week would be fine with me;-)

Tomo

•  Tomo
• 2010年11月24日 08:51

Hi everyone,

Tomo has given us lots of examples there, but please don't think that I am expecting everyone to write that much! I thought it would be interesting if everyone just wrote one example. Tomo's list of examples is really useful, though, because it shows exactly what I am talking about.

•  David
• 2010年11月24日 11:40

Hi David,

As I mentioned in my previous comments, I thought that "Awesome!" and "I was like, '...'" were often used by young people. Another word I often see native speakers use is "blast" like "I had a blast...", or "Have a blast!"(Is this slang?). As you said before, there are words or expressions that are often(or only) used by young people in every language. The same is true for Japanese language, and my son is no exception. He speaks in the way that is used by high school students. When I jokingly imitated his way of speaking, he said to me, "You don't have to(or had better not!) talk like that. Take it easy." I mean, he said 無理しなくていいから.(ちょっと真似しただけなのに！笑)　

Anyway, I'd like to hear your thoughts on these expressions, "Awesome!", "I was like, '...'", and "blast". As you know, I'm in my late 30s. Doesn't it sound strange if I use them? If not, I'd like to add them to my database as expressions I can use.

Tomo

•  Tomo
• 2010年11月24日 12:53

PS David - you can be honest with me! 笑

•  Tomo
• 2010年11月24日 12:58

I would actually recommend that all learners avoid expressions like these. They sound a bit as if you are かっこを付けている unless your English is really, really good. "Had a blast" might be okay, though.

By the way, I took some more photos today. I have added my favourite to the entry, and you can see the others by clicking on it.

•  David
• 2010年11月24日 16:27

By the way, all of these photos were taken on my phone.

•  David
• 2010年11月24日 16:46

Hi David,
Thank you for your advice! OK, I'll avoid those expressions until my English is really, really good like Yuki's or your Japanese.(道のりは長いですが‥。)　でもずっと「どうなのかな？」と思っていたのでスッキリしました。

I had a look at all the pictures you took today. I can't believe that they were taken on your phone. The quality of the camera in your phone is really good! Before I saw the other pictures, I was going to change my favorite to the one you put on the blog today, but they are all nice. I can't choose just one this time. My favorites are "0110", "0096", "0119", "0125", "0122", "0130", and ... all of them! Thanks for sharing the "autumn" you found in the woods:)

Tomo

•  Tomo
• 2010年11月24日 18:11

今日ビビッ！ときた表現。

*I felt a bit out of sorts
（out of sorts は使ったことのない表現。　これは便利に使えそう。　Thanks amo. Hope you feel better soon!）

•  Tomo
• 2010年11月24日 20:23

Hi Tomo,
英語の単語の数は本当にたくさんあって、なかなか覚えられないですね！私もよくあの単語なんていったかなぁーとか、どうしてもスペルがわからなかったりで、悔しく思うことがあります。物に例えると、手元の引き出しにしまっているものはすぐに取り出し使えるけれど、押入れの奥にしまいこんだ物はなかなか見つからず使えない。私は英語の単語や表現が適切か完全に確かでない時も、思い切って使うときがあります。（もちろん英英辞典で意味を調べ、例文検索で似たような状況で使われているかは確かめますが）。そうでもしないと知ってるだけの単語がいつまでも使える単語にはならないから。
でも自分にふさわしい英語でないといけませんね。自分の英語のレベル、年齢、男女差を考えて使わないと。私も息子たちの口癖がつい移り、「なになに食う（くう）?」とかが普通の会話になっています。無理して若者言葉を使うことも。。。（家の中だけですが）若者向けのsoapsとかを時々見ますが、そこから覚えた英語表現は決して真似しないほうがよさそうですね。
私がいつも気がかりなのは、自分が書き込んだ英文コメントをデビットやネィティブはどういう風に感じるかです。日本人が書いた日本文を読んでいても、わかりにくい文章と感じることがあり、例えば英文法の解説書とか、よく読めばわかるんだけど、日本語なのにさっと読んだ時わからなかったり。読んでスーッと入ってくるような文章（日本語でも英語でも）が書けるといいのですが。
だから私の英文はたぶんなんとか言いたいことは通じても、回りくどかったり、無駄な表現、足りない部分、読みにくい英文なんだろうなぁと思っています。デビットがトモの英文がnaturalと言っているのは、きっと読んですっーと理解できる英文だからかなぁと勝手に解釈しています。
英語を書く時、適度に冒険して、でも決して慎重さも忘れないようにということを考えさせられました。
PS.私の英語は参考程度にしておいてくださいね。

Hi everyone,
I don't write here what I had found from the previous entries but I always take note them. One
impression I had from native's comments which had posted here, is that their English are so きちんとした(I don't know how to describe this in English).　When I read blogs by Americans, I sometime have an impression that theirs are too casual.

Hi David,
Thank you for adding more beautiful photos. You are such a good photographer.

Fumie

•  匿名
• 2010年11月25日 09:13

Hi everyone,

Happy Thanksgiving! It's not my holiday, but we celebrate at home since my husband and son are American. Some years ago, I started saying things that I'm thankful for on this day. Today, I want to say "thank you" to all of you for having me as a part of this community! It's been great fun to communicate with you.

Anne,
Thank you for your message. I figured that you're also a mom. How many children do you have? How old are they? I'd love to hear more about you childrearing experience.

Tomo,
When I'm in a hurry, I tend to write like I talk. See. There I go again!

Anyway, I sometimes say things like "I was like..." or "I'm totally doing..." I think I watch too much Desperate Housewives. I've picked up colloquial expressions by wathing English movies and TV dramas. My husband thinks I sound more American than he does. For some reason, he sounds more British. Even David thought he was one when they first met!

To answer your question, yes, he's also an English teacher. We often talk about teaching and how languages work. Right now, we're more into our son's language development though.

In Japan, many people think grammar is just a bunch of rules. To me, it's not. One of the professors I had at grad school has written many books on grammar, and I like her ideas. She says that grammar involves the three dimentions: form, meaning, and use.

分かりやすくここからは日本語で。例えば、現在進行形って何と聞かれたら、多くの学習者がbe プラス動詞の原型＋ingと答えるでしょうが、これは単にフォームだけ。意味はもちろん皆さんが知っているように、今。。。している。でも、それも意味としてはほんの一部であり、近未来に決まっている予定（例えばI'm throwing a Thanksgiving party on Sunday）という意味もあるし、最近。。。しているんだ（I'm reading Commom English Erros these days）なんていう意味もあり、これらのフォームと意味を理解して会話やライティングで使えると本当の文法力という解釈なのです。

As an English teacher, I try to bridge the gap between テスト英語(the form phase) and 使える英語 (the meaning and use phases). When I tutored some jr high school and high school students, I　always put a special emphasis on the three dimentions. My students seemed to be convinced that テスト英語 and 実用英語 are not too different. Maybe, you can also try my way, and teach your sons both useful English and test English!

I was just going to write a short　comment, but English teaching is something I feel passionate about...Once I start writing, I can't stop. Anyway, thank you for reading.

Yuki

•  匿名
• 2010年11月25日 16:06

Hi David and everyone,

I'm sorry I don't have enough time to write on this blog these day because I have to practice and prepare for the concert I have on December. Actually, the concert tickets were sold out! Other singers who have the concert with me are glad to know it. Of course, I'm glad too, but it puts pressure on me..... Anyway, I hope everything goes well.

ビビ！どころか、参加すらできなくてごめんなさい！

Amica

•  Amica
• 2010年11月25日 22:35

Hi Fumie,
＞読んでスーッと入ってくるような文章(日本語でも英語でも)が書けるといいのですが。
I hope so, too!

こんなことを言うと上から目線な感じで申し訳ないのですが、Fumieの英語ははどんどん上達してると思います。(もともと私がスタートしたレベルよりずっと上だし)　このまま続けていけば、英語で本を書く日も近いですね！

Hi Yuki,
Thank you too! Yes, it's been great fun to communicate with you, and also, it's been good study for us to read your comments:)

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts about teaching. "Bridge the gap" is a nice expression and a great idea! I will try your way. The professor's ideas are interesting too. I've never thought of grammar like that, but it's very true.
学校で習うことも、テストのための勉強も決して無駄にはならないので、私もそんな風に"bridge the gap"できるように手助けしてあげたいです！

By the way, the expressions "throw a party" and "I'm totally doing..." are new to me. I looked in my dictionary and found the former, but I couldn't find the latter. I think it's another expression I should avoid(a kind of おあずけ表現(笑)), but just out of curiosity, what does it mean?

Hi Amica,
Happy for you that your concert tickets are sold out! You must be under a big pressure, but I'm sure you'll do great;-) Good luck!!

Tomo

•  匿名
• 2010年11月26日 00:21

【訂正】
Fumieの英語はは　→　Fumieの英語は

I've never thought of grammar...　→　I'd never thought of grammar...
I wanted to say, “そんな風に考えたことがなかった”です

•  Tomo
• 2010年11月26日 00:27

Hi Yuki,
Thank you for sharing your and your prof's idea about grammar. テスト英語and 実用英語are not too different, grammar involves the three dimentions: I see. Grammar is important. Although I'm not good at it. As Tomo said already though, I also enjoy talking with you and learned a lot of new expressions and some culture things that I don't know.

Hi Amica,
The concert tickets were all sold out. Great! Break a leg!（演技で、成功を祈ります）

Hi Tomo,
Thank you for the compliment.^^

Fumie

•  Fumie
• 2010年11月26日 05:54

Hi David and everyone
I didn't have enough time to come here. Too bad I missed interesting topics.
I'm busy these days. I am away from English :-(
I want to make English my second language. But now, computer programing language (it's my job) is the one.
Drawing on Tomo's method, here is a expression that I didn't know from old entry.
--I get very passionate about this topic!
get～を強調するのはveryだということを知りました。

Hi David
I'm glad to hear that your presentation went very well. Such a conference expand your human network, doesn't it?
Thank you for sharing good pictures. What are berries in the second pictures?

Hi Amica
Wow, tickets were sold out? Great! I hope you keep working hard for the concert and success. Good luck :-)

trmr

•  匿名
• 2010年11月26日 08:13

【訂正2】
I've never thought of grammar...　→　I'd never thought of grammar...
↓
I never thought of grammar...　の方が良かったかも。。

Hi Fumie,
I just said the truth:) By the way, "break a leg" is an interesting expression, isn't it? When I first learned that phrase, I was very surprised and thought to myself, "What?! Break a leg??" When I was watching a TV drama, a man said it to his friend who was going to perform on stage. The man was with his little daughter, and she had exactly the same reaction as me. Of course, he told his daughter what it meant.
英語には色々な慣用句もあって覚えるのが大変ですが、英語圏の子供たちもこうやって一つ一つビックリしたりしながら覚えるんだなぁ、と思ったら妙に嬉しくなりました。

Hi trmr,
Glad to hear from you! It seems like you are very busy at work. Don't work too hard!

Speak to you soon,

Tomo

•  Tomo
• 2010年11月26日 08:29

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•  bilete avion
• 2011年10月30日 06:43