They hadn't expected weekend business to be so slow...

For the time being, I don't have anything else to say about past perfect tense. (definitions from 英辞郎 on the web)

• for the time being
  差し当たり（は）、当分｛とうぶん｝（の間）◆【略】FTTB

I took this photo on Saturday. This is the FedEx Kinko's on Eitai Avenue. The sign says "open 24 hours", but they clearly aren't on Saturday.

When they put up this sign, maybe they hadn't expected weekend business to be so slow.

Business is slow on weekdays.平日はあまり（商品が）売れない。

Business has been slow. 事業があまり振るわない。／客足はぼちぼちだ。

I wonder if they were ever open 24 hours on weekends? They used to be open on Saturday mornings, though. That's why I stopped by there.

I had wanted to print something out before class. I hadn't taken the time to print it the night before. Unfortunately, I couldn't because they were closed.

• take the time to
  ～するために時間｛じかん｝を割く、時間｛じかん｝を取って～する、～の時間｛じかん｝を取る◆【語法】toの直後には動詞の原形が来る

Here's the full list of posts on past perfect tense:

http://upgradeenglish.blogspot.com/2009/06/series-on-using-past-perfect.html
http://upgradeenglish.blogspot.com/2009/06/when-do-i-use-them.html
http://upgradeenglish.blogspot.com/2009/06/when-do-i-use-them-part-2.html
http://upgradeenglish.blogspot.com/2009/06/when-do-i-use-them-part-3.html
http://upgradeenglish.blogspot.com/2009/06/when-do-i-use-them-part-4.html

Starting tomorrow, a new topic!

A series on using past perfect

The next series of posts I'm going to write is on past perfect tense. People already feel present perfect is difficult, so past perfect feels even tougher.

• tough〔任務遂行・問題解決・交渉などが〕難しい、困難｛こんなん｝な、骨の折れる、厳しい、きつい It's tough to be a man. : 男はつらいよ。

For present perfect, please see the series of articles I did on it a while ago:

• http://upgradeenglish.blogspot.com/2009/05/have-you-ever-been-to-this-restaurant.html

I'll start the series tomorrow.

The dinner which I cooked last night wasn't so successful. I tried to make fried noodles and a spicy soup to go with them. The spicy soup turned out alright, but the noodles were a disaster. The flavor was alright, but somehow the noodles all clumped together.

• 塊まり (かたまり) (n) lump; mass; bundle; clump; clod; cluster; (used as a verb above)
  

I was especially disappointed because I had just made great fried noodles the night before. <- past perfect

What went wrong?

I should have taken a picture of my clump of noodles, but I was too disappointed and just ate them instead.

Here's a picture of the successful meal which I cooked on Saturday night: stir-fried greens with vegetarian pepper steak, fried tofu with chives in a five-spice sauce, fried noodles with XO sauce, and spicy cucumber salad. I was particularly pleased with the chives and tofu. I had been thinking about how to cook chives, and when I checked on the internet, I found someone cooking them with tofu and that five spice mixture. <- past perfect continuous

Anyway, watch for the start of the past perfect series tomorrow. Good night!