執筆者 Modern English | 2015年06月30日 | Words
“I was born in the year 2000.” It can be easy to make mistakes with “born” because it’s actually the passive form of “bear”. If a woman bears a child, the child is born. The past tense is “bore”: “She bore...
執筆者 Modern English | 2015年06月23日 | Words
“Did you eat the cake?” “Maybe I did, and maybe I didn’t.” “Maybe” means it’s possible something is true or not true. It can be used when the thing is unlikely: “Maybe I’ll win the lottery.” It can be...
執筆者 Modern English | 2015年06月16日 | Words
“In Japan, you have to slurp your noodles to show that you’re enjoying them.” Foreigners visiting Japan are often told that they must slurp their noodles, or suck them in noisily. This would be considered rude back home, but it makes sense when...
執筆者 Modern English | 2015年06月09日 | Words
“My favorite pen is missing. Have you seen it?” “We can’t finish the puzzle. One of the pieces is missing.” “We went into the maze together, but when we got out, Steve was missing.” Although “missing” can mean...
執筆者 Modern English | 2015年06月02日 | Words
“I love to walk along the beach at twilight.” Twilight is the time after sunset before it’s completely dark. Its adjective form is “twilight” (lit by twilight): “The twilit garden was a romantic setting.” 「黄昏の海辺を歩くのが大好き。」...
執筆者 Modern English | 2015年05月26日 | Words
“Come say hello to our guest. No? Sorry, he’s shy.” Someone who is shy is afraid or nervous to meet or interact with people they don’t know well. An introverted person is not necessarily shy, although the two words are sometimes used...
