英会話ワンポイントレッスン20. トーク・アベニュー新宿 "A" vs "The"

"A" vs. "The"


Many English students have trouble with when to use "a", and when to use "the".  It seems like a small thing to worry about, but there is a very big difference and misuse can result in confusion in conversations.

"A" is used to introduce a noun into a conversation for the first time.  "A" indicates a single noun, whereas if the noun is plural, "a" is not used.  For example: 
  • I bought a new camera.
  • I bought two new cameras.
"A" also becomes "An" when places before words that begin with a vowel sounds (a,e,i,o,u).
  • I bought an orange at the supermarket.
  • I spent an hour watching television.
"The" is used in place of "a":
  1. After the noun has been introduced to the listener and is being referred to a second time. Example: I took a camera with me to the top of the mountain, but the camera didn't have batteries.
  2. With nouns of which there is only one.  Example: I want to clean up the environment on the moon.
  3. With nouns which represent a larger institution or concept for a place.  Examples: the post office, the hospital, the army, the park, the beach
  4. With many location names and in the names of countries which have a plural feeling.  Examples: The United States, The Phillipines, The Mediterranean Sea, The Cayman Islands
Here are some more examples which show the proper uses of "a" and "the":

  1. I ate at a restaurant in Shibuya. (First time being introduced, and the listener does not know which restaurant precisely)
  2. I at at the restaurant in Shibuya near your house. (First time introduced, but the listener likely knows exactly which restaurant this is.)

  1. I want a new phone. (Non-specific about what type of phone; listener does not know which model.  Perhaps the speaker has not decided which model yet.)
  2. I want the new model of phone from Sony. (Specific, and the listener likely knows which model is being talked about.)

Using "a" and "the" correctly is an important step to becoming an effective English communicator.  Do your best, and remember that it is an important difference!



英会話ワンポイントレッスン21. トーク・アベニュー新宿 Talking about time.

Contributed by Joseph Smith

 

ONE POINT LESSON: Talking about time: "In", "At", and "On"

 

When we are talking about times that we did something, or making plans to do something at a specific time in the future, we use "In", "At", and "On".  When to use which word, however, depends on what kind of time you are talking about.  For example:

 

"At" is used when we talk about:

  1. specific time  (Let's meet at 5:30 in Shinjuku.)
  2. midnight/noon (The clock will strike 12:00 at midnight.)
  3. night   (At night, owls come out to hunt for mice.)

 

"On" is used when we talk about:

  1. day of the week  (I don't have to go to work on Wednesday/Sunday/Monday/etc.)
  2. date  (The convention will begin on June 5th and end on June 12th.)
  3. holiday  (My family likes to watch TV together on New Years.)
  4. the weekend  (I like to play baseball on the weekend.)

 

"In" is used when we talk about:

  1. a month  (I will take my vacation in September.)
  2. a  year   (In 2005, my sister got married.)
  3. the morning/ the evening/ the afternoon  (It's better to hold the meeting in the evening.)
  4. age  (In my twenties, I often played basketball on Sunday.)
  5. during a time period  (In five months, I was able to lose 8kg.)

 

Using the proper preposition when you referencing time is very important for improving your English skills.  For practice, change the key words in the sentences above to make your own and practice using "In", "At", and "On" correctly.

 

英会話ワンポイントレッスン20. トーク・アベニュー新宿 "Wish" vs "Want" vs "Hope"

Contributed by Joseph Smith

 

ONE POINT LESSON: "Wish" vs. "Want" vs. "Hope"

Wish, want, and hope are commonly confused, but have very different yet similar purposes in the English language when expressing your desires.

When you wish for something, what you are saying is that you want it, but you know that it's not possible.  For example:

"I wish it would stop raining."  You wish it would stop raining, but you know that it probably won't.

"I wish you hadn't told my sister about the surprise party."  Unfortunately, we cannot change the past, and you did tell her about it.  But I wish that you hadn't.

This is why many times, in movies or western culture, the idea of wishing has magic, genies, or supernatural powers associated with them.  Because the idea is that a wishes do not often come true.

 

Want is used to express a very real desire that you have in the present, or in the future.  For example:

"I want my dog to stop chewing on my couch."  This is a real and possible desire that I have for my dog. 

"Tom wants to go to a baseball game today."  Tom has a very real and possible desire to go to the game.

Want is a very real and possible desire that you have for the present or future.

 

When you hope for something, what you are saying is that you want something for the future, but do not have control over whether you get it or not.  For example:

"I hope that receive my package by tomorrow."  I want this, but I do not control when I will receive the package.  The post office does.

"I hope that tomorrow will be a bright and sunny day."  This is what I want, but I cannot control the weather.

"Sarah hopes to get into law school."  She would like to be a lawyer, but the college will decide if she can or cannot.

 

Understanding the differences between "wish", "want", and "hope" will help you to express your desires more clearly in English.

 

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英会話ワンポイントレッスン19. トーク・アベニュー新宿 Vovabulary "Vision" words

Contributed by Daniel Evans

 

ONE POINT LESSON: VOCABULARY

"Vision" words

 

Many non-native English speakers make mistakes when using " vision" words.  Sometimes we can use more than one word in a certain situation,  but often we need to use only one specific word...this is where mistakes can happen.

 

The most common "vision " words are:

 

see: to be aware of visually, to gain knowledge through the eyes.

(This is the easiest word to use, it has a wide meaning and is rarely incorrect)

 

look at: to focus on, to direct the eyes towards one point.

(This is used when we make a special effort to see a specific thing/area)

 

watch: to observe, to look at the actions of someone/thing.

(We usually use this word for when we try to see specific actions.  It is also the best phrase to use for visual entertainment.)

 

Below are some examples of how we commonly use these words.

 

  • I would like to see the Grand Canyon one day.
  • You can sometimes see Mount Fuji from here.
  • I've lost my dog. Have you seen him?

 

  • Do you mind if I look at your sketchbook?
  • Look at that woman, she's beautiful!
  • Sometimes, I like to look at photographs from my school days.

 

  • Let's watch a movie.
  • I watch TV for about two hours each day.
  • When I go to the park, I like to watch the ducks swim.

 

So we cannot, for example, "look at a movie" or "wacth Mount Fuji", but "see" is okay for both.

                                                                                                                                     

 "See"  also has a few other meanings which are not about vision.  For example;

 

I see = I understand

I'm going to see my friends tonight = I'm going to meet my friends tonight

                                                                                                                                      

So remember, be careful when using "vision" words.

 

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英会話ワンポイントレッスン18. トーク・アベニュー新宿 "Turn On" and "Leave On"

Contributed by Joseph Smith

 

ONE POINT LESSON: "Turn On", "Turn Off", "Leave On"

In English, "Turn On" is a phrasal verb used to indicate pressing a button, turning a switch, etc. in order to make something change from "off" to "on". 

 

For example:

  • Tom turned on the lights when he entered the room.
  • You must press the red button to turn on the television.
  • If you turn on the water, do not forget to turn it off.

We generally use "turn on", and it's opposite, "turn off", when talking about objects which use electricity, gas, water, etc.  Therefore, a car can be turned on, as well as a radio, a hair dryer, and a heater.

 

"Leave On" is a phrasal verb which gives the information that after you turned something on, you left the area without turning it off.  For example, if you leave your apartment and forget to turn off the television, we would say you left the television on.  Or if you leave your house but do not turn off the air conditioner, you could say you left the air conditioning on all day.

Here are some more examples:

  • Julie is worried because she left the oven on when she went to work.
  • If you want to save money, don't leave the lights on when you are away.
  • Dawn leaves the television on when she's at work for her dog to watch.

"Leave On", "Turn On", and "Turn Off" are all equally useful for you to use in your daily life.  If you can understand the differences in how to use them, you can significantly improve your English ability.

 

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英会話ワンポイントレッスン17. トーク・アベニュー新宿 Vocabulary ACHE

Contributed by Daniel Evans

 

ONE POINT LESSON: VOCABULARY

 

 

 ACHE                                                                               

               1. (verb) to have or give dull, steady pain

               2. (noun) a dull, continuous pain               

 

* Note: There are some other meanings, but they are much less common.

 

Usually, when something is painful, we say it hurts or it is a pain.  But in some situations, native English speakers will almost always use ache.

Here are some very common "ache nouns":

headache        toothache        earache       

stomach ache        back ache        neck ache

 

So for example, instead of saying

"I have a painful ear"  or   "My tooth is hurting" 

most native speakers would say

"I have an earache"   or   "I have a toothache"

 

 

We also usually use ache to talk about "muscle pain"

 

For example;

  • I went to the gym yesterday, so now I'm aching.
  • After the marathon, I had aching legs.
  • I did so much writing in school today that my wrist aches.
  • Following the Judo match, I started to feel an ache in my shoulder.

So, ache is a very useful word.  English speakers never use the expression "muscle pain", so we must use ache.

 

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英会話ワンポイントレッスン16. トーク・アベニュー新宿 Vocabulary GET

Contributed by Joseph Smith

 

ONE POINT LESSON: VOCABULARY

 

GET

The word get can be used in many different ways among native English speakers.

 

Sometimes get means to receive.  As in:

  • Bruce will get a promotion next month if he reaches his sales target.
  • Every day, Sally gets a lot of junk mail in her mailbox.

 

Sometimes get means to become.  As in:

  • It will be cold tomorrow morning, but will get very hot as the day progresses.
  • If Tim does not turn in his report by 5pm, his boss gets very angry.

 

Sometimes get means to go, or to arrive.  As in:

  • You can get to the stadium via the number nine bus.
  • We should get to Osaka by nine o'clock.

 

Sometimes get means to buy, or to take into your possession.

  • Tony went to the grocery store to get some milk.
  • I have to go to the embassy and get a new visa.

 

And sometimes get means to have someone do something for you.  As in:

  • I got my hair cut yesterday. (Someone else cut it, after I asked them to.)
  • Today I will go to get my suit cleaned. (Someone else will clean it, after I ask them to.)

 

So remember, get is a very versatile and useful word that can have many different meanings.

 

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英会話ワンポイントレッスン15. トーク・アベニュー新宿 Pronunciation Amounts of Money 

Contributed by Daniel Evans

 

ONE POINT LESSON:  PRONUNCIATION

 

AMOUNTS OF MONEY

 

Sometimes people make mistakes when reading sums of money out loud...

For example, how do you pronounce the following amounts?

  • $1,000
  • $5 million

Or how about this phrase?

  • It is a $6 million-a-year industry.

 

There is one simple rule to remember in these situations, the money name always comes imediately after the number.  Although the money symbol is written before the number, we must pronounce it afterwards.

 

So, the above phrases are pronounced like this...

  • one thousand dollars
  • five million dollars
  • It is a six million dollars-a-year industry.

And of course, the rule is the same for whichever money we are talking about, Yen, Pounds, Dollars, Euros etc.

 

The money name always comes after the number.

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英会話ワンポイントレッスン14. トーク・アベニュー新宿 Vocabulary Catch 

Contributed by Daniel Evans

 

ONE POINT LESSON:Vocabulary

 

CATCH

 

"Catch" is a relatively simple word in the english language.  But students can often make mistakes when using it.

 

The word actually has two uses, as a noun, and as a verb.

 

The noun, "a catch" is a casual English word which means "a hidden drawback/disadvantage".

For example,

"I was really happy when I got a promotion in my job,  but then I realized there is a catch, I have to be at my office an hour earlier each day!"

 

However, "catch" is more commonly used as a verb.  The verb "to catch" has many meanings, but the most basic meanings are:

  • to capture; to take and hold something/one when it doesn't want to be held, or after a chase.
  • the stop the motion of a moving object, and hold it.
  • to take, i.e. To take a train.
  • to become sick with a cold/virus.

 

Here are some example sentences:

  • After a long car chase, the police eventually manged to catch the criminal.
  • That player is very good at catching the baseball.
  • I'm going to Kyoto tomorrow.  I plan on catching the Bullet Train at 9.30am.
  • My best friend has Influenza.  I hope I don't catch it!

 

However, some people can make mistakes when using "catch". 

Remember, we cannot use this word to mean "get".  For example, we cannot say...

  • I want to catch a new boyfriend.

or,

  • I was able to catch a lovely new apartment.

These sentences are not correct, so be careful when using "catch"!

 

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英会話ワンポイントレッスン13. トーク・アベニュー新宿 Vocabulary:Hard and Hardly 

Contributed by Daniel Evans

 

ONE POINT LESSON:Vocabulary

HARD and HARDLY

 

'Hard' is quite a basic English vocabulary word.  Most people know how to use it as an ADJECTIVE.

 As an ADJECTIVE, it's main meanings are...

i)  resistant to pressure, can not easily be dented or squashed

ii)  showing, or done with, a lot of strength

iii)  difficult

 

For example,

  • Tennis balls are soft, but baseballs are very hard.
  • He gave the soccer ball a hard kick.
  • Studying Chinese is very hard.

 But what about when we want to change it to an ADVERB?

 Of course, 'hardly' is an ADVERB, but it does not have a similar meaning to the ADJECTIVE 'hard'.

 

The main meaning of 'hardly' is only just / barely, or almost not.

 So for example,

  • There were hardly any people at the party.
  • The writing was so small that I could hardly read it.
  • When I finished shopping, I hardly had any money.

 

When we want an ADVERB which has a similar meaning to i), ii), or iii) above, we can use 'hard'. 

The word 'hard' can be used as both an ADJECTIVE or an ADVERB.

 For example,

  • The fighter punched his opponent hard.
  • I work hard at my job.
  • I threw the baseball too hard, and accidentally smashed a window.

 So remember, 'hard' and 'hardly' have very different meanings!

 

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英会話ワンポイントレッスン12. トーク・アベニュー新宿 My hometown is/I'm from...

Contributed by Daniel Evans

 

ONE POINT LESSON:

 

 My hometown is / I'm from...

 

Some people get a little confused when using these two phrases.  But the meanings and uses are actually quite simple.

 

Hometown

Your hometown usually means the town or city where you were born, or the town or city where you lived for most of your life.

So, a good example would be;

  • My hometown is Sapporo.
  • My hometown is Sapporo, in Hokkaido.

or

  • My hometown is in Hokkaido.

 

We cannot say;

  • My hometown is Hokkaido.

or

  • My hometown is Japan.

 

I'm from...

When we say "I'm from" we have a few options.  We can say the city/town where we were born, the city/town where we lived most of our life, or even the country.

So...

  • I'm from Sapporo.
  • I'm from Hokkaido.

and

  • I'm from Japan.

are all OK

 

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英会話ワンポイントレッスン11. トーク・アベニュー新宿 Grammar: UNTIL vs. BY

Contributed by Daniel Evans

 

ONE POINT LESSON: GRAMMAR

UNTIL vs. BY

 

These two words can be very confusing, and many people make mistakes with them.  So we need to be careful.

 

UNTIL:

We use until when we are discussing the amount of time before somthing stops.  Basically until means the same as up to the time of.

 

For example,

  • I will exercise until 5 o'clock.
  • It's OK, I can wait until you finish work.
  • I have until next week to write my report.

 

BY:

We use by when we are talking about deadlines.  Basically, we can use by to mean not later than.

 

For example,

  • I must run 2km by 5 o'clock.
  • I should finish this project by next month.
  • I will try to have lunch prepared by the time you come home.
  • I will send him an email by next week.

 

SO REMEMER:

until = up to the time of 

by = no later than

 

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英会話ワンポイントレッスン10. トーク・アベニュー新宿 Talking about time

Contributed by Bruce McCutcheon

 

ONE POINT LESSON: Talking about time

Using For, Since and Ago.

 

We use for and since to answer How long...? questions. For example:

 

    • "How long have you been studying English?"
    • "For about five years."    or    "Since high school."

 

For is always followed by a 'period of time'. For example:

    • For a few days   
    • For a couple of years 
    • For six months

 

Since is always followed by a 'start time'. For example:

    • Since last week   
    • Since January   
    • Since 1996

 

We use ago to answer When...? questions. For example:

    • "When did you start studying English?"
    • "About ten years ago."

 

Note that ago is always used at the end of the sentence.

 

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英会話ワンポイントレッスン 9. トーク・アベニュー新宿 Vocabulary:ALMOST vs. MOST  

Contributed by Daniel Evans

 

ONE POINT LESSON:VOCABULARY 

ALMOST vs. MOST

People very often make mistakes when using almostAlmost basically means the same as nearly or not quite.

 Imagine this situation; my younger brother's age is 8 years and 10 months.

 We could say...

    • My younger brother is not quite 9 years old.
    • My younger brother is nearly 9 years old. 

or...

    • My younger brother is ALMOST 9 years old.

 

These sentences mean "He is close to 9 years old, but he is NOT 9 years old."

A mistake people often make is to say something like...

    • I almost eat Japanese food.

This means "I am close to eating Japanese food, but I do not eat it.

 

Of course this is wrong, we should say either...

    • MOSTLY eat Japanese food. 

or...

    • I ALMOST ALWAYS eat Japanese food.

 

SO REMEMBER:

ALMOST = NEARLY / NOT QUITE

_____________________________________________________________

MOST / MOSTLY                    = Maybe 60%~95%

ALMOST ALL, ALMOST ALWAYS, ALMOST EVERYONE, ALMOST EVERYWHERE etc.               = Maybe 90%~99%

                   

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英会話ワンポイントレッスン 8. トーク・アベニュー新宿 Vocabulary: Embarrassment vs. Shame

Contributed by Daniel Evans

 

ONE POINT LESSON: VOCABULARY

EMBARRASSMENT vs. SHAME

Many people think these words are the same. but actually they are very different.

Embarrassment = Feeling foolish/self-conscious/shy.                                     (Usually after making a mistake, having an accident or doing something funny)

Shame = A very negative feeling or losing the respect of others, after doing something very bad/dishonorable.

 

For example:

・ The man was embarrassed when he started to give a speech, but forgot what to say.                                                                                                                                ・ The man felt great shame after being arrested for drink-driving.

 

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英会話ワンポイントレッスン 7.  トーク・アベニュー新宿 Vocabulary: Favorite & Best

Contributed by Bruce McCutcheon

 

ONE POINT LESSON: Vocabulary

Favorite & Best

Many students get a bit confused when using these words. Although their meanings are similar, they are not the same.

For example, consider these two questions:

1. Who is your favorite actor?

2. Who is the best actor?

 

A good answer might be:

"My favorite actor is Jim Carey - he's so funny! But the best actor is Jonny Depp - he can play so many different roles."

 

Your favorite actor is the one who you like the most.

The best actor is the one who many people think has the best skills.

 

Another example:

"I'm from Osaka so my favorite baseball team is the Tigers. But this year, I think the Giants have the best team."

 

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英会話ワンポイントレッスン 6. トーク・アベニュー新宿 Improving Conversation Skills

Contributed by Bruce McCutcheon

 

ONE POINT LESSON: Improving Conversation Skills

 

One of the best ways to sound more like a native English speaker is to expand your answers and make longer sentences.

For example, if someone asks you: "Have you ever been to America?"

Remember:

    • A nswer   (the question)
    • A dd   (some extra information)
    • A sk   (a question in return)

For example:

     Yes,

    • I went to California on vacation last year. It was fantastic!
    • How about you, have you ever been there?

Or:

     No,

    • But I have a friend who lives in New York.
    • Are you from America?

 

By using the "Answer, Add, Ask" technique, your conversations will sound much more natural.

 

 

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英会話ワンポイントレッスン 5. トーク・アベニュー新宿 Grammar: Go vs. Go to

Contributed by Daniel Evans

 

ONE POINT LESSON: GRAMMAR

GO vs. GO TO

 

Many people make mistakes when using the verb "go"...

 

When we are talking about "ing" verbs, we only use the word "go".  For example:

  • Tomorrow I will go shopping.
  • I like to go skiing in winter.
  • John and I sometimes go driving in the countryside.

 

The only time we use "go to" is when we are using a place noun.  For example:

  • Tomorrow I will go to Hakone.
  • I like to go to a different country every year.
  • John and I sometimes go to the movie theater.

 

So remember...

I go Shinjuku.  WRONG

I go to Shinjuku. CORRECT

 

I go to shopping. WRONG

I go shopping.  CORRECT

 

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英会話ワンポイントレッスン 4. トーク・アベニュー新宿 Pronunciation "The Magic E"

Contributed by Daniel Evans

 

ONE POINT LESSON: PRONUNCIATION

"The Magic E"

 

How does the pronunciation differ between 'tap' and 'tape'?  How about 'tub' and 'tube'?

The pronunciation is different because of 'The Magic E'.  Words which end with a vowel (a, e, i, o, or u) followed by a consonant (eg. t, d, p, s, n...)have a flat, normal sound.

For example: 

'tap'   is pronounced      t - a - p  ------>  tap 

'cop'                            c - o - p --------> cop

 

However, when the word ends with a vowel, consonant, then the letter E, the sound of the word changes.  The vowel now has a CAPITAL sound.

For example:

 'tape'   is pronounced      t - A - p - e ------>  tApe 

'cope'                            c - O - p - e ------> cOpe

 

There are many more examples of this in the English language, here are just a few...

hat/hate    cap/cape    her/here    scrap/scrape    shin/shine   

bit/bite    hop/hope    tub/tube    cut/cute 

 

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英会話ワンポイントレッスン 3. トーク・アベニュー新宿 "Katakana" words in English

Contributed by Bruce McCutcheon

 

ONE POINT LESSON:  'Katakana' words in English

 

Have you ever used a 'katakana' word when speaking English to a foreigner and been surprised that they didn't understand you? There are three reasons for this:

 

1.   Not all 'katakana' words come from English.

For example アルバイト meaning 'part-time job' comes from the word 'Arbeit' which means 'work' in German. Most native English speakers have never studied German and so probably won't understand you!

 

2.   Some 'katakana' words have a different meaning in English.

For example in English, a 'mansion' is a really big, expensive house in the countryside, not an apartment!

 

3.   The pronunciation is different.

For example ケイキ should be pronounced 'cake' and サラダ should be pronounced 'salad'. In other words, the final 'i' or 'a' sound of most 'katakana' words should be dropped when speaking English to help people understand you better.  

 

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英会話ワンポイントレッスン 2. トーク・アベニュー新宿 Pronunciation of Plurals

Contributed by Daniel Evans

 

ONE POINT LESSON: PRONUNCIATION

 

Pronunciation of Plurals

 

Pronouncing most plurals is very easy, we just need to finish with a SS sound.  For example:

one cat --------------- two cats

  one book --------------- three books

one painter -------------- four painters

 

These words sound exactly the same for singular (one) and plural (more than one), except with the plural we pronounce a short SS sound at the end.

But what happens if the singular word already has a SS sound at the end?

Eg.  boss, box, wash, house

In this situation, we need to add a SIZ sound.

bosses    sounds like   BOSSIZ

boxes      ----------------   BOKSIZ

washes  ------------------  WASHIZ

houses  -------------------  HOUSIZ

 

IMPORTANT: Many people make a mistake with TH words. Eg. clothes, months, baths.

Words with ...ths or ...thes NEVER have the ...SIZ pronunciation.  We ALWAYS finish these words with a normal SS sound.

 

So the word 'clothes' is pronounced CLOWTHS, not CLOWTHSIZ.

MONTHS not MONTHSIZ

 

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英会話ワンポイントレッスン 1. トーク・アベニュー新宿 Negative Questions

Contributed by Bruce McCutcheon

 

ONE POINT LESSON: Negative Questions

Responding to negative questions often causes some confusion. Unlike positive questions, we actually have to say "no" when the question is correct.

 

For example:

Question:  "You're not from Tokyo, are you?" 

Response:  "No, I'm not. I'm from Osaka."

 

If the question is incorrect, we have to say "yes".

 

For example:

Question:  "You don't really like baseball, do you?"

Response:  "Yes I do. I support the Giants."

 

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