執筆者 Modern English | 2015年01月10日 | Phrases
“Hmm, no answer. I guess he’s not home.” “Did he get my email?” “I guess so. He didn’t say anything.” When you guess the answer to a question, you choose an answer even though you don’t know the correct answer. We also use “I guess” when we aren’t confident that...
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年12月20日 | Phrases
“Oh, by the way, the paint on that bench is wet. Don’t sit on it.” “Now you tell me! I just sat down!” We say “now you tell me” (or a variation, such as “now he tells me”) when we receive information just a little too late to be useful. If you warn me that your dog...
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年12月13日 | Phrases
“When he makes a promise, he never fails to fulfill it.” If something or someone never fails to do something, it means they absolutely always do it. After all, if they didn’t do it one time, they would have failed to do it. You can also say “It never fails” as an...
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年12月06日 | Phrases
“I give up. This is impossible.” “No, don’t give up now! You’re so close!” You can give up on doing something when you decide it’s not worth it after all. You can also give up a bad habit, like smoking. “I used to smoke every day, but now I’ve given it up.” If a...
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年11月29日 | Phrases
“Should I write with blue or black ink?” “Whichever you like.” “Whichever” is like “whatever” (“I’ll buy you whatever you want”), “wherever” (“Wherever you go I’ll follow”) or “whoever” (“Whoever told you that was wrong”). “Which ink should I use?” “Whichever. It...
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年11月22日 | Phrases
“Try this new tea.” “Hmm. No, I don’t care for that at all.” By adding “for” to “I don’t care”, you change the meaning. To not care for something is to not like it or dislike it. For example, “I don’t care for action movies.” 「新しいお茶飲んでみて。」 「ふーん、いや、好きではない。」...
