執筆者 Modern English | 2014年11月08日 | Phrases
“I was born on a Thursday.” “To be born” is the passive voice of the word “bear”. You could say something like, “My mother bore three children.” But it is not common to hear “bear” in the active voice. Usually we just say, “She had three children.” 「私は木曜日に産まれました。」 「To...
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年11月01日 | Phrases
“It’s already eight o’clock. I don’t think I can do any more work this evening. Let’s call it a day and finish it up tomorrow.” “Calling it a day” means declaring your work finished for the day. There is more you could do, but you have done enough for one day, so you...
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年10月25日 | Phrases
“I finished my homework. Can you look over it and check for mistakes?” “Look over the plan for the project and tell me if you have any questions about it.” Looking something over means to inspect or examine it, usually quickly. It’s almost the opposite of “overlook”,...
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年10月18日 | Phrases
“Let’s race to that tree!” “Okay! Try to keep up!” If you keep up with something, it means you don’t fall behind. If you can’t keep up with your friend, you might be left behind. You should also try to “keep up” on housework—if you are left behind, many chores will...
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年10月11日 | Phrases
“Ow! You stepped on my foot!” “Sorry. It wasn’t on purpose.” When you do something intentionally, we say it was “on purpose”. That is, it was your purpose to do so. It wasn’t a mistake or an accident. 「痛い！今、私の足を踏んだ！」 「ごめん！わざとじゃなかった。」 何かをわざとするとき、それは「on...
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年10月04日 | Phrases
“I dare you to touch this worm!” “Ewww! No way!” To “dare” someone is to challenge them to do something. Children often dare each other to do things that are scary or unpleasant. Many children have gotten in trouble for doing something they were dared to! “Billy dared...
