執筆者 Modern English | 2014年10月14日 | Words
“Did you make these sandwiches all by yourself?” Mom asked. The boy nodded proudly. Nodding is moving the head up and down. We usually use it to answer “yes” using body language and not words. It can sometimes be used for other things. For example, when you fall...
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年10月07日 | Words
“Eureka” is an exclamation that comes from Greek, meaning “I have found it!” You can say this when you find an answer or idea that you have been thinking about very hard. The story behind the word is that the Greek scholar Archimedes yelled, “Eureka!” when he realized...
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年09月30日 | Words
“Wow, I just barely passed the test. Next time I will study harder!” “Barely” means “almost not”. I passed the test, but if I had missed one more question I would have failed. “He survived, but when they found him he was barely alive.” “I barely ate anything at...
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年09月16日 | Words
“How long will you be staying in Japan?” “Please stay here and wait. I’ll be back in five minutes.” “Use an umbrella to stay dry.” “Stay” means “remain the same”. While you stay in Japan, or stay inside the house, your location doesn’t change. Then when you leave...
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年09月09日 | Words
Doctor: “What seems to be the problem?” Patient: “I’ve just been so tired lately.” “Lately” is an adverb that means “in recent times”, similar to “recently”. If you meet a friend you haven’t seen in a while, you can ask, “How have you been lately?” If you have been...
執筆者 Modern English | 2014年09月02日 | Words
On a computer: “Error. Insufficient memory available.” At an airport: “Sorry, there are no seats available on that flight.” At a pet shelter: “This adorable dog is available for adoption!” Talking with friends: “I really like June, but she’s not available. She has a...
