the difference between words: can you, could you and would you

{ March 12, 2010 @ 2:09 pm } · { the difference between words }
{ Comments (21) }

zh

Tonight I had dinner with one of my Japanese friends and he suggested I write about the difference between the words “can you”, “could you” and “would you”. So that is what I’m going to do.

In terms of formality, “can you” is the most casual, “could you” is more polite and “would you” is the most formal and polite. There is no major difference in meaning between “can you” and “could you” except that “could you” is more polite. However, there is a difference in nuance between “could you” and “would you”. The words “could you” focus on the ability to do something, but the words “would you” focus on the willingness to do something. For example:

Can you help me with my homework later? (said to a friend or family member)

Could you tell me how to get to the train station from here? (said to a stranger on the street)

Would you lend me your car this weekend? (said to a friend or family member, but in a very polite way because you want something from them)

Sometimes people get confused between the difference between “could you” and “would you” but there is one example sentence which usually helps people to understand. If a man is asking someone to marry him, he would say:

Would you marry me?

But he would NEVER say:

Could you marry me?

By saying, “Would you marry me?” he is asking “Are you willing to marry me?” but if he said “Could you marry me?” it sounds like “Do you have the ability to marry me?” (which sounds quite strange and VERY unromantic.) Here are some other examples for you to study:

Can you drive me to work today? My car isn’t working now.

Could you tell me how long I’ll have to wait until I can see the doctor?

Would you please stop tapping your foot? I’m trying to study.

So I hope this helps people to understand the difference between these words.

idiom: to ring a bell

{ March 11, 2010 @ 3:31 pm } · { idioms }
{ Leave a Comment }

zy

Today I have an idiom for you which is not related to a part of our bodies: to ring a bell. We use this to talk about something which we can remember a little but not clearly. For example:

A: Do you remember a guy named Martin Fisher?

B: The name rings a bell, but I don’t remember him very well.

________________________________________________________________

A: I watched an old movie last night called “Goodbye Mr. Chips”. Have you seen it?

B: Well, it rings a bell, but I’m not sure if I’ve seen it or not.

We can also use this expression in the negative: to not ring a bell. In this case, it means that we don’t remember ever hearing about something or someone in the past. For example:

A: Have you ever heard of “Blue Monday”? They were a rock band in the sixties.

B: Sorry, that doesn’t ring a bell.

________________________________________________________________

A: I ran into our old classmate, Patty Shelton, at the shopping mall today.

B: Patty Shelton? Are you sure I’ve met her? The name doesn’t ring a bell.

This is a very commonly used idiom among English speakers. I hope you find it useful.

grammatical expression: (just) in case

{ March 10, 2010 @ 1:28 pm } · { grammatical expression }
{ Comments (3) }

zb

Today, I’d like to explain another short expression that we often use in English: “in case”. We also can say “just in case” in some situations. We use this expression when we are talking about doing something as a preparation for a possible negative future situation. For example:

I brought my umbrella today in case it rains.

I brought a sandwich for you in case you were hungry.

I brought two pens with me to class in case one of them runs out of ink.

You should take your credit card with you on your trip in case you spend all your cash.

As you can see, we often use the words “bring” or “take” in these sentences. In these sentences the person brings something with them (the umbrella, the sandwich, the extra pen, the credit card) in order to prepare for a negative thing that COULD happen (it rains, the friend is hungry, the first pens runs out of ink, the person spends all their cash). It is important to note that the negative event is only a POSSIBILITY, and the person realizes that it might not happen.

We can also use “just in case” with these sentences, but the structure will change a little. For example:

It might rain today, so I brought an umbrella just in case.

I thought you might be hungry, so I brought you a sandwich just in case.

My first pen might run out of ink, so I brought a second one just in case.

You might spend all your cash on your trip, so you should take your credit card just in case.

We can also use “in case” or “just in case” when talking about preparing for a situation which is not negative but is unlikely or unexpected. For example:

I know the cherry blossoms probably aren’t going to be in bloom today, but I brought my camera in case they were.

I know the cherry blossoms probably aren’t going to be in bloom today, but I brought my camera just in case.

I hope this is clear to everyone. These expressions can be difficult to use so, as I’ve said before, please study the full sentences and memorize them, so you will be able to use them in conversation.

separable phrasal verb: chase down

{ March 9, 2010 @ 1:23 pm } · { phrasal verbs }
{ Leave a Comment }

woman-looking-for-something

Today,  I have another phrasal verb for you: chase down. This means to go and find a thing or person for someone else. This is often used in office situations. For example:

I can’t find Bruce anywhere, and I need to talk to him. Could you chase him down for me?

A: We need another copy of the report.

B: Ok, I’ll chase one down for you.

With this phrasal verb, the person who does the “chasing down”  is of lower status. So, a person of high status can ask a person of lower status to chase something or someone down for them, but a person of lower status can never ask that of a more important person. So please don’t ask your boss to chase anything or anyone down for you; he or she will not be happy with you!

adjective: patient

{ March 8, 2010 @ 1:43 pm } · { adjectives }
{ Leave a Comment }

day 10

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.

idiom: to have a big mouth

{ March 7, 2010 @ 1:53 pm } · { idioms }
{ Leave a Comment }

big mouth

Today, I’d like to write about another idiom: to have a big mouth. This means for a person to be unable to keep a secret. We usually use this expression when talking about other people, but we don’t usually say this about ourselves. If you say it directly to another person, it’s very strong and not so polite. For example:

My sister told everyone about my promotion before I could do it! She has such a big mouth!

Don’t tell Martin about Jane’s surprise party! He’s got a really big mouth, and he’ll probably tell her.

I can’t believe you told my parents that we were drinking beer last night! You have such a big mouth!

As you can see in the examples, we often emphasize this expression with “such a” or “really”. If we simply say something like, “He has a big mouth”,  it sounds rather weak and a little unnatural.

intransitive phrasal verb: black out

{ March 5, 2010 @ 7:06 am } · { phrasal verbs }
{ Leave a Comment }

4224439380_cant20remember_answer_3_xlarge

Here’s a good expression for everyone out there who likes to drink a lot: black out. This is used when someone loses part of their memory because of drinking too much alcohol or because of some kind of shock. The memory loss can be quite short (a few minutes) or much longer (all day or night). For example:

I don’t know how I got home last night. I was drinking at the bar, and I blacked out. My friend must have brought me home.

I can’t remember what happened at the end of the party. I was drinking vodka, and I completely blacked out.

A: What did Frank do after he heard about his wife’s death?

B: He says he can’t remember. He must have blacked out from the shock.

So this is a nice short entry for today as we head into the weekend. I hope nobody blacks out from drinking too much on Saturday night. 🙂

idiom: to bite one’s tongue

{ March 4, 2010 @ 5:41 am } · { idioms }
{ Leave a Comment }

zs

Yes, today we have yet another idiom related to our bodies. This one: to bite one’s tongue. It is used when someone wants to say something but knows it’s not a good idea, so they have to stop themselves from saying it. For example:

Jeff asked me what I thought of his new jacket. It’s really ugly, but I couldn’t say that to him, so I just bit my tongue and told him it was nice.

A: At the meeting, my boss took credit for my idea.

B: Really? That’s terrible. Did you say anything?

A: No, I just bit my tongue. I don’t want my boss to get angry at me.

We can also use this idiom in the imperative. This means that you use the verb as the first word of a sentence, without using the word “you”, in order to tell someone what to do. This is used when giving orders, instructions or directions. For example:

Come here please.

Turn left at the next corner.

Press the red button.

When we use “to bite one’s tongue” in the imperative, it means we are telling someone that their statement is unwelcome from our point of view. For example:

A: I heard it’s going to rain tomorrow.

B: Bite your tongue! I’m supposed to go on a picnic tomorrow.

________________________________________________________________

A: I really don’t think the Allstars will win the championship.

B: Bite your tongue! They’re my favorite team! I really want them to win!

the difference between words: wish and hope

{ March 3, 2010 @ 5:37 am } · { the difference between words }
{ Comments (16) }

zc

There is a lot of confusion about the difference between the words “wish” and “hope” so I would like to clear it up in today’s blog entry. The word “hope” is used to talk about possible situations that we desire in the past, present or future. The important thing to note is that these situations are POSSIBLE. For example:

I hope you had a good time at the party last night.

I haven’t looked outside yet. I hope it’s not raining.

I hope you have a great day.

I hope you’re not going to go to the movie without me.

I hope my boss will give me a promotion this year.

I hope my boss gives me a promotion this year.

The last two examples are about the future. In English, we can use the future tense or the present tense after the word “hope” to talk about the future. Both are natural.

On the other hand, “wish” is used to talk about situations that we desire, but which are the opposite of the current reality or which are impossible. We can use wish + past tense to talk about our situation right now. Even though we use the past tense, we are NOT talking about the past. For example:

I wish I had a car. (In reality, I don’t have a car now, but I want one).

I wish I didn’t have to work tomorrow. (In reality, I have to work tomorrow, but I don’t want to).

I wish I were tall. (In reality, I’m short, but I want to be tall).

I wish I could play the piano. (In reality, I can’t play the piano, but I want to).

When we use wish + past perfect tense, we are talking about regrets we have from the past. For example:

I wish I hadn’t gone to the party. (In reality, I went to the party, and now I regret it).

I wish I had studied harder in school. (In reality, I didn’t study hard in school, and now I regret it).

I wish I hadn’t gotten drunk in front of my boss. (In reality, I got drunk in front of my boss, and now I regret it).

I wish I had gone to bed earlier last night. (In reality, I didn’t go to bed early last night, and now I regret it).

We can use wish + would + verb to talk about situations that often happen in our lives that we don’t like. For example:

I wish my husband would help me clean the house. (In reality, my husband never helps me clean the house, and I don’t like it).

I wish my children wouldn’t play their music so loudly. (In reality, my children play their music very loudly, and I don’t like it).

We can also use wish + noun to talk about things that we desire for other people. In these cases, the meaning of  “wish” is more similar to “hope”. This way of using “wish”, however, is much less common that the other ways. For example:

We wish you a merry Christmas. (The meaning is: We hope you have a merry Christmas).

Wish me luck on my exam. (The meaning is: Please hope that I have good luck on my exam).

I wish you health and happiness. (The meaning is: I hope you have health and happiness).

Finally, we can use wish + the infinitive form of a verb (this is means “to” + the base form). In these cases, the meaning of “wish” has the same meaning as “want”, but it is more formal. For example:

I wish to see your boss right away.

We don’t have a table available right now. Do you wish to wait?

If you wish to have more information, please let me know.

I hope that everyone now understands the difference between these two words. The best way to really learn them, as I’ve mentioned before, is to memorize the full sentences and then change the small details in order to create new sentences.

intransitive phrasal verb: catch on

{ March 2, 2010 @ 6:54 am } · { phrasal verbs }
{ Leave a Comment }

zx

Previously I discussed intransitive phrasal verbs. Just as a review, let me explain one more time. If a verb or phrasal verb is intransitive, it means that it does NOT take an object. So, today I’d like to write about the intransitive phrasal verb: catch on. It has two meanings:

1. to start to understand something. For example:

My girlfriend doesn’t want to tell her parents that we’re dating, but I think they’re starting to catch on.

A: I don’t understand how to play this game.

B: Don’t worry. Just watch us play, and I’m sure you’ll catch on.

In the first example, the parents are becoming suspicious that their daughter is dating the speaker. In the second example, the person is saying that if the listener watches them play the game, he or she will start to understand how to do it. This phrasal verb is often used when teaching someone how to do something.

2. for something to start to become popular. For example:

That TV show wasn’t popular at all when it started, but after a few weeks, it really caught on. Now everyone is watching it.

I know our products aren’t popular now, but I think they’ll catch on eventually. If they do, we’ll be very rich.

In the first example, the TV show started becoming popular after a period of being unpopular. In the second example, the products are still unpopular, but the person is predicting that after some time, they will become popular. The word “eventually” means after an unstated or unknown amount of time.

I hope that this is clear for you. If you don’t understand after reading the blog once, read it again and I’m sure you’ll catch on! 🙂

Newer entries » · « Older entries