Enjoy.
Hi everyone!
The last (for now) in our series of commonly overused words is the word 'enjoy'.
This is a word that most people learn very early on in their English studies, and it also features very strongly in Japanese English. By learning to say the same idea without using 'enjoy' all the time, we can make our English sound much more natural.
The first thing to understand is when 'enjoy' is not appropriate:
'Enjoy' is usually not used for activities in the past or future tenses. For example, we do NOT say: 'Tomorrow I will enjoy drinking', 'Lets enjoy chatting', 'Last week I enjoyed skiing'.
Here are some ways to rephrase those sentences without using 'enjoy':
'Tomorrow I will enjoy drinking' -> 'Tomorrow I'm going out for a drink, at a nice bar I know' (a little extra detail on sentences like this is very natural)
'Lets enjoy chatting' -> 'Lets sit down and have a chat for a while.'
'Last week I enjoyed skiing'. -> 'I went skiing last week. It was great'.
Also, 'enjoy' is rarely used in present simple questions (questions about what you USUALLY do), but is permissible in past simple questions about specific events:
WRONG -> 'Do you enjoy parties?' (this should be simply 'Do you like parties?')
OKAY -> 'Did you enjoy the party last night?'
Now, when is 'enjoy' appropriate?
- in the present simple tense, with activities, to talk about hobbies and pastimes, BUT NOT every time. Here's an example of a person describing hobbies, which OVERUSES 'enjoy':
"What do you like to do with your free time?"
"Oh, I enjoy going out with friends on a Saturday night, and I enjoy listening to classical music when I'm relaxing. I enjoy walking and mountain climbing, and I enjoy going to the movies once a month."
Compare that with the next example, which says the same thing in a much more natural way, using 'enjoy' only once:
"What do you like to do with your free time?"
"Oh, I like to go out with friends on a Saturday night, and I love listening to classical music when I'm relaxing. I enjoy walking and mountain climbing, and I go to the movies once a month."
REMEMBER: Try to avoid using 'enjoy' for past or future sentences, and don't use it too much when you're describing your hobbies in the present simple.
See you next week, when we'll review some basic grammar.
-Tim
下北沢英会話スクール ビートンボックス
Hi everyone!
The last (for now) in our series of commonly overused words is the word 'enjoy'.
This is a word that most people learn very early on in their English studies, and it also features very strongly in Japanese English. By learning to say the same idea without using 'enjoy' all the time, we can make our English sound much more natural.
The first thing to understand is when 'enjoy' is not appropriate:
'Enjoy' is usually not used for activities in the past or future tenses. For example, we do NOT say: 'Tomorrow I will enjoy drinking', 'Lets enjoy chatting', 'Last week I enjoyed skiing'.
Here are some ways to rephrase those sentences without using 'enjoy':
'Tomorrow I will enjoy drinking' -> 'Tomorrow I'm going out for a drink, at a nice bar I know' (a little extra detail on sentences like this is very natural)
'Lets enjoy chatting' -> 'Lets sit down and have a chat for a while.'
'Last week I enjoyed skiing'. -> 'I went skiing last week. It was great'.
Also, 'enjoy' is rarely used in present simple questions (questions about what you USUALLY do), but is permissible in past simple questions about specific events:
WRONG -> 'Do you enjoy parties?' (this should be simply 'Do you like parties?')
OKAY -> 'Did you enjoy the party last night?'
Now, when is 'enjoy' appropriate?
- in the present simple tense, with activities, to talk about hobbies and pastimes, BUT NOT every time. Here's an example of a person describing hobbies, which OVERUSES 'enjoy':
"What do you like to do with your free time?"
"Oh, I enjoy going out with friends on a Saturday night, and I enjoy listening to classical music when I'm relaxing. I enjoy walking and mountain climbing, and I enjoy going to the movies once a month."
Compare that with the next example, which says the same thing in a much more natural way, using 'enjoy' only once:
"What do you like to do with your free time?"
"Oh, I like to go out with friends on a Saturday night, and I love listening to classical music when I'm relaxing. I enjoy walking and mountain climbing, and I go to the movies once a month."
REMEMBER: Try to avoid using 'enjoy' for past or future sentences, and don't use it too much when you're describing your hobbies in the present simple.
See you next week, when we'll review some basic grammar.
-Tim
下北沢英会話スクール ビートンボックス