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Today I have another adjective for you: “feasible”. This is used to talk about something which possible to do under certain circumstances. For example:

We don’t have much money in the budget, so I don’t think doing such a big project is feasible right now.

I need to get the office redecorated in less than a week. Do you think it’s feasible to do that?

You want to put four desks in this small room? It might be feasible to put in three desks but not four.

I like your plan to bring in new business. I think it’s very feasible, but let’s see what the boss thinks.

So, as you can see from the examples, we often use this adjective in business situations. We could use the word “possible” in these situations, but the word “feasible” sounds much more business-like. You can use “possible” in situations which are more casual.

Today, I’d like to write about another adjective: “efficient”. This is used to talk about people who are able to work quickly and not waste time. It can also be used when talking about a system. For example:

Tim is the most efficient member of our staff. He can do any job twice as quickly as anyone else.

Monica is much more efficient than she used to be. When she first started working here it took her a long time to get any job done.

I’ve heard that Germans are the most efficient people in the world. Is that true?

I’m very happy with your work. You always get it done very efficiently.

I like your new filing system. It’s much more efficient than your old one.

Our old accounting system was just as efficient as this new one. I don’t know why we changed it.

So these are some examples of how to use this adjective. As you can see, it’s very often used in business or office situations.

Today I’d like to go over another adjective – “blunt”. There are two meanings for this word:

1. to not be sharp (this is usually used to talk about the part of a knife blade or a sword blade which is not sharp). For example:

In the movie, the king struck another man with the blunt edge of his sword in order to scare him.

I almost hurt my hand with a knife. Luckily, it was the blunt edge that touched my hand, so I wasn’t hurt.

2. for a person to speak very directly when saying something negative. For example:

My boss is very blunt, so sometimes he offends people at my office.

I’m sorry to be so blunt, but I thought your report was very badly written.

My sister is a very blunt person. She always says whatever she thinks.

The second meaning of the word “blunt” is much more commonly used than the first one. It is important to note that when people are blunt, they are usually not trying to be rude. It is just their personality to speak very directly. Therefore, the word “blunt” is neutral in tone. However, if we say a person is “too blunt” then it becomes negative.

Today, I have another adjective for you. It’s another one which is commonly misunderstood by many people – “willing”. Many people think that being “willing” to do something means to be happy to do it or that the person wants to do it. However, the true meaning is different. We use this word when we talk about something that we don’t really want to do but, under the right circumstances, we will agree to do. For example:

I’d be willing to eat a cockroach if you gave me $1000, but I wouldn’t be willing to do it for less money than that.

I’m willing to go on business trips for this job, but only if my salary is very high.

I asked my friend if he’d be willing to lend me his car for this weekend, but he said he wasn’t.

A: If you get this job, you might have to move to our branch in London. Would you be willing to do that?

B: Yes, I’m willing to do that.     OR

No, I’m not willing to do that because my family lives here.

As you can see, we always follow the word “willing” with the infinitive form of a verb (to + base form). In the examples, the person doesn’t really want to do the thing (eat a cockroach, go on business trips, etc.) but will agree to do it if the situation is right. If a person is NOT willing to do something, then they will never agree to do it under any circumstances.

Today I’d like to start a new section for my blog: adjectives. Many people in Japan and Korea (and probably other countries also) use their electronic dictionaries to find the meanings of adjectives. THIS IS A BAD IDEA!!!! Adjectives are very nuanced and often they are used in ways in English that are different from the ways they are used in other languages. Therefore, you should ALWAYS use an English-English dictionary when trying to understand adjectives.

The adjective “patient” is a very good example of this. In English, it has two meanings:

1. to tolerate a situation you don’t like calmly (this is the same meaning as “gaman” in Japanese). For example:

Your father is getting old now and he forgets many things. You need to be more patient with him.

My sister is a great mother. She’s always patient with her kids even if they misbehave.

(Please note that  the word “patient” is followed by the preposition “with” in these cases.)

2. to be able to wait for something calmly. (Please note that this is the MAIN definition of this word in English.) For example:

The economy will get better. We just have to be patient.

I hate it when I have to wait for people who are late. I’m not patient at all in those situations.

The new Johnny Depp movie won’t come to Japan for another six weeks! I guess I’ll just have to be patient.

A: Where is the pizza? I ordered it over 40 minutes ago!

B: Just be patient. I’m sure it will be here soon.

So I hope everyone now understands the meaning of “patient”. I will go over other adjectives in future blogs as well but, as I said before, please use an English-English dictionary for them when you study on your own.