2011/08/09

「SHIRTS PLAZA」は英語の使い方に注意した方が良い+「well」の使い方


I'm frequently in Yaechika (八重洲地下街), and as I walk down the hallways, the English there jumps out at me. I saw this sign:
× Shirts Plaza, well best selection shirt
Shirt Plaza, the best selection of shirts
It's kind of sad when a company's name, not just their slogan, has a grammar mistake.
  • I think it's kind of sad. 何だか悲しいね。(example from Eijiro on the Web)
The reason is that when we use a noun as an adjective, we usually use the singular form, not the plural form. In this case, "shirt" is a noun. It's describing "plaza", which is a noun. That means that in this case, "shirts" acts like an adjective. That's why it should say "shirt" instead of "shirts".

The worst part of this sign is their slogan. "Well" is an adverb. Use it to describe verbs. For example:
  • I can't write Japanese well. <- "well" describes "write", which is a verb
"Well" is very close in meaning to "good". The superlative form of "good" is "best".
  • superlative adjective 最上級形容詞 (definition from Eijiro on the Web)
Basically, we never use "good" with "best", and we certainly don't use "well" with "best".

Please try to speak English well. By reading this blog, you are going to have the best English.

0 件のコメント:

コメントを投稿

フォロワー