危険な英語の間違えのベスト１０ （その2）

Usually, mistakes are not serious (真剣). If you forget (忘れる) “a” or “the” people will be able to understand you, or if you say “Go to shopping” instead of (変わりに) “go shopping” (買い物は場所ではないから”to”は使えない), people will still understand your meaning. But some mistakes can be very dangerous.

This series is about the most dangerous mistakes in English. These are mistakes that could cause a serious misunderstanding (重大な誤解の原因になる). Here’s number 2:

Many students say that negative questions are very difficult. It’s true that it’s difficult to get used to them, but after you do, they are easy. Please look at these two questions:

多くのの生徒さんが否定疑問文は非常に難しいと言っていますが、慣れれば簡単に感じると思います。次の二つの質問を見てください：

Do you like sports? (スポーツは好きですか？)
Don’t you like sports? (スポーツは好きではないですか？

English speakers don’t care if it is a positive question or a negative question. If we like something or something is true, we say “yes.” If we don’t like something or something is not true, we say “no.”

ネイティブは肯定文でも否定文でも気にしません。事実であれば「Yes」で答え、事実ではないのなら「No」で答えます。

I really like taking photos. If you ask me “Do you like taking photos?”I will say “yes.” If you ask me “Don’t you like taking photos?” I will say yes too. The reason is because I am saying “Yes, it is true that I like taking photos.”

写真を撮ることがとても好きです。もし「写真を撮るのが好きですか？」と聞かれたら「Yes.」で答えます。「写真を撮るのが好きではないですか？」と聞かれた場合、「写真を撮ることが好き」は事実なので、こちらも「Yes.」で答えます。

If you ask me “Do you like working overtime?” I will say “No.” If you ask me, “Don’t you like working overtime?”I will also say no.  The reason is because I am saying “No, it is not true that I like working overtime.”

残業はとても嫌いです。もし「残業するのが好きですか」と聞かれたら、「No.」で答えます。「残業するのが好きではないですか」と聞かれたら「残業するのが好き」というのは事実ではないので、これも「No.」で答えます。

Here is a little quiz. Please read the information and answer the questions:
クイズです。以下の情報を読んで質問に答えてください：

名前：鈴木直子
国籍：日本
趣味：スノーボード・テニス
好きなもの：映画(ラブロマンス系)・旅行
嫌いなもの：タマネギ・残業

1.  Is her name Naoko?
2.  Isn’t her name Naoko?
3.  Doesn’t she like playing tennis?
4.  Isn’t she a fan of romantic movies?
5.  Doesn’t she like working overtime?
6.  Does she like working overtime?
7.  Doesn’t she hate onions?
8.  Isn’t she from China?
9.  Does she like snowboarding?
10. Doesn’t she hate traveling?

The answers are in the comments.

リニューアルは英語で違う意味になる

I often see shops that say "renewal open" in Japan. I can understand the meaning, but actually (実は）"renewal" means 更新 in English. You can say, "I renewed my driver's license," (運転免許書を更新しました）but you can't say, "I renewed my house." The word "reform" also has a different meaning in English. It means "改革." You can say, "The government will reform the tax system" (政府が税制改革をするよていです), but you can't say, "I reformed my house."

There are two words for リニューアル or リフォーム in English. One is "remodel" and the other is "renovate." The meaning is almost the same, but they are used a little differently.

"Remodel" is usually for interiors. For example, you could say, "I remodeled my living room." (リビングを改装しました。）Usually remodeling is changing the wallpaper or buying new furniture, but there is not so much construction (工事）.

"Renovate" can be used for both interiors and exteriors, but it is usually a bigger project and means that there was some construction. For example, "Our company is renovating the factory." (私たちは工場の修復しています。）

Here are some sentences using "renovate," "renew," and "remodel." Can you say them in English?

1. このダムが古くなったので修復が必要です。
2. 私は壁紙の色が飽きたので寝室を改装しようと思っています。
3. 旅する前にパスポートを更新しなければなりません。
4. 家を建て直すか修復するかまだ決めっていません。
5. 来月は賃貸契約(lease)を更新しなければなりません。
6. リビングがインテリア・デザイナーによって改装されました。

If you write your answers in the comments of this blog, I will check them. このブログのコメントに答えを書いてくれたら、チェックします。） You don't have to use your real name　and more than one ｐerson (2人以上） can do it.

English Flower Names

Last weekend I went to the beautiful Yumenoshima Tropical Greenhouse Dome (夢の島熱帯植物館). It has tropical plants from rainforests (熱帯雨林） and the Ogasawara Islands, and a carnivorous plant (食虫植物) room.
Here are some pictures:



Here's a quiz on some common English flower names. The answers are in the comments.

意見を上げるための柔らかいフレーズ

Once I went out for dinner with a Japanese friend. She was from Osaka, so I asked her, “Do you know a good restaurant in Namba?” She said no, so I was surprised, because she was born and raised (生まれ育った) there. About two weeks later, we walked by a restaurant, and she said, “Oh, this is my favorite restaurant.” I was really surprised, and I asked her, “Why didn’t you tell me about it last time?”

She said, “You asked me if I knew a good restaurant, but I don’t know much about food.” I guess she wasn’t a gourmet, so she didn’t want to give me advice about food. I think a lot of my students are reluctant to (抵抗がある) say their opinions about things they aren’t experts about.

Today, I’d like to talk about some ways to say your opinion if you don’t have confidence (自信がなかったら) or don’t want to speak directly.

The first one is “I don’t know much about ～, but I think...”(詳しく分からないけど。。。と思います。)
例：I don’t know much about politics, but I think Obama is a good president.
 
Another useful phrase is, “It’s just my opinion, but I think...”(私の個人的な意見ですが。。。と思います。)
例：It’s just my opinion, but I think it was a great movie.”

If you use these phrases, no one will blame you if you are wrong of if they disagree with you.

If you want to recommend something, but you don’t have confidence, it’s good to say something like:

“If you...I recommend...”(～が好きなら～がお勧めです。)
例：If you like spicy food, then I recommend Yumyum Thai Restaurant.

or

“Personally, I...” (個人的に)
例：Personally, I really like Asakusa.”

Here are some sentences. Can you say them in English?
1.    私の個人的な意見ですが、テレビのCMは多すぎると思います。
2.    個人的には、駅の向こうのうどん屋さんがすごく好きです。
3.    アウトドアが好きなら、カナダがお勧めです。
4.    経済について詳しく分からないけど、円高になると思います。
5.    私の個人的な意見ですが、時代遅れに見えると思います。
6.    日本の伝統文化に興味があったら、この博物館がお勧めです。
7.    栄養について詳しく分からないけど、豆腐は体にすごくいいと思います。
8.    個人的には、清水寺はとてもきれいだとおもいます。

If you write your answers in the comments of this blog, I will check them. このブログのコメントに答えを書いてくれたら、チェックします。） You don't have to use your real name　and more than one ｐerson (１人以上） can do it.