2012年2月10日
Sharing Bedrooms (Feedback)
I'm back in Seto now. I spent most of yesterday on the ferry, and it was a bit of a roller-coaster ride. The sea was so rough that it was difficult to stand up. I didn't get seasick, but I didn't feel great, either.
It's been a short week this week because I didn't do the entry until Tuesday, but thanks for your comments. They were very interesting. I think my friend's wife was saying that she actually wanted their children to share a room even if they didn't have to. From reading your stories, however, it seems that most people would prefer to have separate bedrooms for their children if they had enough room.
When I was a kid, there were three children in our family, but we only had two bedrooms apart from my parents' room. I got a bedroom to myself because I was the oldest, but I had to give it up every time we had guests. If one of us had been a girl, though, I'm sure she would have had her own room.
Anyway, here is some feedback on your comments...
Let me share my thoghts to your questions.
(Let me share my thoughts on your questions.)
Because in most cases, there aren't enough space to give each child their own rooms.
(Because in most cases, there isn't enough space to give each child their own room.)
Yes, I have an elder brother and I shared bedroom with him until 12.
("until the age of 12" or "until I was 12.")
But in our case, 2 elder sons share bedroom and my youngest and I do, that's another different culture from Western one.
(How old is your youngest son, as a matter of interest?)
we talked about sharing bedroom with mother and child before,
(we talked about mothers and children sharing bedrooms before,)
When they were growing up, they shared the bedroom.
(When they were growing up, they shared a bedroom.)
I didn't have my room until I was 17 or 18 years old .
(I didn't have a room of my own until I was 17 or 18 years old.)
It is a first time to post my comment on your blog.
(Hi YU. Nice to have you with us. I'm glad you are finding the blog useful.)
You tried to read through from the first? I know your feeling.
(You tried to read through from the beginning? I know how you feel.)
Yes. It is common that small children share one room regardless of their gender.
(Nice sentence.)
Same to Anne, I think it's around 10.
(Same as Anne. I think it's around 10.)
You were not supposed to do a new entry this week.
("Supposed to" is a quite a tricky expression. If you say "You were not supposed to do an entry this week," it means that I did one even though I shouldn't really have done one. It has a slightly negative feel. For example, if a husband tells his wife that he will be home around 11, but then he turns up at 7 when she is busy doing something else, she might say, "What are you doing back so soon? You weren't supposed to be home until 11!" I think in your sentence, the best way of saying it would be, "I didn't think you were going to do a new entry this week.")
but everyone here is friendly and Kindly
(but everyone here is friendly and kind)
"Privacy" is one of the words that I hardly understand exact meaning.
("Privacy" is one of the words that I have trouble understanding.)
My parents didn't like the idea that kids have their own room.
(My parents didn't like the idea of kids having their own room.) [This is more like my friend's wife's view, I think.]
I'm going to Shizuoka this weekend to do a presentation for some teachers, so I'll be busy preparing for that tomorrow. Have a great weekend, and I'll see you again on Monday.
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Comments
Hi David,
I'm glad to hear that you got back home safely.
Thank you for your feedback. It's very useful. I shold learn English grammar with your book "English Writing Manual" and "Practical English Usage" by Michael Swan. I find your book really useful. It tells us 知っていそうで知らないままだったこと。今まで適当に書いてたことの正しいルールを知れた。I should have checked it earlier.
>(How old is your youngest son, as a matter of interest?)
He is 9 years old. He is the youngest so he is still a mama's boy.
I didn't know that "suppose to be" have some negative feel in some cases. I should be careful when I use this expression.
Your example sentence: "You weren't supposed to be home until 11!" This sentence is negative form. If this sentence was a positive form, it also has negative feel, right? For Example, if the sentence was "You were supposed to be home by 7."
Have a nice weekend, everyone!
Fumie
- Fumie
- 2012年2月11日 07:26
Hi David,
Thanks for you feedback!
This time of the year, the Japan sea seems to be rough, but I'm glad to hear that you didn't get seasick, and got back safely. The weather today is mild, and I hope your drive to Shizuoka will be fine.
>When they were growing up, they shared a bedroom.)
---As for things about "a" and "the", it's confusing which article I should use. I should be more careful when I write sentences, and I should have paid more attention to each sentence when I wrote this!
Your explanation about the nuance of "be suppose to" was very interesting and helpful.
The sentence Fumie wrote reminds me of another phrase "be expected to."
* You were supposed to be home by 7.
あなたは７時には家につくことになっている（のにつかなかった。）
＊You were expected to be home by 7.
Hmm... are there any difference between two sentences in nuance?
Hi YU,
Nice to meet you! Looking forward to hearing from you again.
Have a lovely weekend, everyone!
Anne
- Anne
- 2012年2月11日 09:39
Hi David.
Thank you always for your help , but I don't know why my writing is wrong , or I don't know what is the difference between below two sentences , so I'd like you to explain the detail part of mistake if you have a time .
I didn't have my room until I was 17 or 18 years old .
（I didn't have a room of my own until I was 17 or 18 years old.）
Is this mistake because of grammar, or unnaturalness or 自分の部屋とか、自分の物を示す時には必ず of my own がいるという事ですか？
I will find it by myself if there is answer for my question in internet of books , so please direct me there if you know .
Have a nice weekend everyone.
Zim.
- Zim
- 2012年2月11日 22:44
Thank you for accepting me as a new member !
Regarding the question Zim mentioned (× my room => ○ a room my own),
I felt exactly the same with him, because I also wrote ;
I live in "my own house" (持ち家）with my husband and........
↑
Is this correct or wrong?
If mine is correct, what are the differences between “my house”, and “a house
of my own / my own house” ???
(By the way, my dictionary says; 持ち家；a house of one’s own, one’s own house)
Or is it a matter of “sounds natural” or “not” as Zim says ???
- YU
- 2012年2月12日 10:36
Hi David,
How was the presentation? I hope everything went well with you.
I didn't have enough time to make a comment last week, so let me write about the topic on this entry.
1) Is it normal for brothers and sisters to share a bedroom in Japan?
The idea of brothers and sisters sharing a bedroom doesn't sound strange to me at all, as long as they are small. If it's okay for siblings of the same sex to share a bedroom in your country, it sounds like the matter is not about "privacy" but more about "gender".
2) If it is, what would be the maximum age for this? (If there is one.)
I think it's around 12, before one of them goes to junior high school.
3) Did any of you share a bedroom with a sibling of the opposite sex when you were growing up?
I shared a bedroom with my middle sister until my oldest sister moved out, but not with a sibling of the opposite sex.
4) Do you have the same situation with your own children now?
No, but my house has stairs in the living room, so you have to pass through the living room if you want to go to the other rooms in my house. This means that my children(and their friends) have to say "Hi" to me whey they come into or go out of the house. I like this system very much lol.
Hi Zim,
Can I try to answer your question?
>I didn't have my room until I was 17 or 18 years old .
(I didn't have a room of my own until I was 17 or 18 years old.)
Is this mistake because of grammar, or unnaturalness or 自分の部屋とか、自分の物を示す時には必ず of my own がいるという事ですか？
As you know, "my" means something you have(belonging to the speaker), so I don't think you can say "my room" in this case because you didn't have a room of your own. For example, if you want to say “自分の車は持っていません”, you can't translate this “自分の”as "my", so it should be "I don't have a car." If you want to make the meaning clear, I think you can also say "I don't have a car of my own".
As for the other question you wrote on the last entry(how to say "1歳8ヶ月"), I googled "20 months old" and "1 year and 8 months old". It seems that both are common, but "20 months old" is used more often.
Hi YU,
Welcome to the blog! I'm glad to have you with us:)
>I live in "my own house" (持ち家) with my husband and........
↑
Is this correct or wrong?
I think it's correct.
>If mine is correct, what are the differences between “my house”, and “a house
of my own / my own house” ???
Hmmm, it's difficult to explain. It's more difficult to do it in English, but let me try.(but I may be wrong!)
As you know, "a" means one unspecified thing, so if you say "a house of my own", it means that you are talking about an unspecified house even if it belongs to you. I think "my house" and "my own house" mean basically the same meaning, but you can emphasize that the house belongs to you if you use "own".
I googled "I live in my house with", "I live in my own house with", and "I live in a house of my own with". It seems that the first one is the most common. The second one is also okay, but it's not used as often as the first one. The last one seems to be unnatural because I only found a few examples.
I think it's okay to say "I want to buy a house of my own in the future", but you cannot say "I want to buy my house in the future" or "I want to buy my own house in the future."
Sorry, I don't think my explanation answers your question... What do you think, everyone?
David, we know you are busy this weekend, but could you help us, please?(when you have time, of couse)
Hope you are all having a nice weekend.
Tomo
- Tomo
- 2012年2月12日 16:14
【correction】
...whey they come into → when they come into
- Tomo
- 2012年2月12日 16:21
Hi David,
Thanks for your feedback. I want to write about "be supposed to," but I went to my friend's wedding yesterday, and went to the movies today, so I am too tired to write a long comment tonight. But I just wanted to say thank you.
Good night and sleep tight:)
amo
- amo
- 2012年2月12日 23:41
Hello David and everyone.
It was interesting to read all your commecnts about sharing bedrooms. Among other things, I like the story of Zim that he had to live in closet when he was a child!!
This time I didn't have enough time to post a comment but I want to tell you that it was nice to know various opinions from you all.
I heard that it's been quite cold recently in Japan. As you may know, February has another name called KISARAGI(如月/衣更着) in Japanese, which means that it's so cold this month that people can't manage without putting one more clothes on. I hope that none of you catch a cold wearing warmer clothes.
Good night and have a good Monday.
- Neko
- 2012年2月13日 01:57
Good morning to all of you!
Tomo, thank you for answering for my question . I understand . Besides, I find how to use internet to find my answer . That's all very helpful of you!
Have a nice day everyone!
Zim.
- Zim
- 2012年2月13日 07:56
Good morning everyone.
Hi Tomo,
Thank you for your explanation.
According to "Oxford English-English dictionary", "own" is used to emphasize that something belongs to or is connected with somebody, as you mentioned.
I think if you say "my house", it remains unclear whether the house belongs to the speaker or someone else, but the word of "own" makes it clear whom the house belongs to.
In fact, I've never(?) heard someone says ; "My OWN apartment has one living room and two bedrooms", but often hear "My apartment has one living room....." instead, though in most cases, the apartment doesn't belong to the speaker.
>I think it's okay to say "I want to buy a house of my own in the future", but you cannot say "I want to buy my house in the future" or "I want to buy my own house in the future."
Hmmm, I'm afraid, but I think you can say "I want to buy my own house in the future"...or !??
I might be wrong...
>Sorry, I don't think my explanation answers your question...
Please don't say sorry, I'm really impressed by your helpful explanation !!
Thank you.
- 匿名
- 2012年2月13日 11:19
↑
Sorry, the comment above was written by "YU".
- YU
- 2012年2月13日 11:24
Thanks for your comments, David.
Thanks for explaining the word, Zim.
I remembered when I stayed in a family's house in US, their house had enough rooms for all three kids to have their own room. The doors of all room were open all the time. They might close the door when they slept, but I went to bed early, I didn't know how they did. Anyway, anyone could look inside the room anytime. It seems they didn't care about privacy. But when they wanted to be alone, they could close the door and "not be seen or heard by other people". In many houses in Japan, if you want to be alone, you have no choice but to go to toilet...
Topics discussed here are always so interesting. I can't stop writing, even though sometimes it took long long time to organize my idea in English.
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