「somebody」と「some people」の違い

Somebody (one person) asked me the other day what the difference is between "somebody" and "some people".  The difference is simple: "somebody" is singular, but "some people" is plural.

• singular 単数形、単数 (definition from Eijiro on the Web)
• plural 複数形、複数 (definition from Eijiro on the Web)

I had to throw out some pants recently because they had become too big in the waist. They were falling off. Since moving from Taiwan over seven years ago, I've been riding a bicycle every day. I also haven't had access to the great vegetarian restaurants that they have in Taiwan, so I've been eating less. That means I've lost weight and fat over the years: 10 kg!

Some people might have thought I was already thin and be concerned, but actually I think I'm much healthier now. Somebody did tell me that they thought my face looked like a knife, though.

Some people might use a belt to make up the difference in the waist, but I didn't really want to do that. I wondered if somebody might want the pants (only one person could take the pair of pants), but the truth is those pants were 15 years old. I figured nobody would want them.

• make up the difference 差（額）を補う、必要な金額の残りを出す、差を穴埋めする (definition from Eijiro on the Web)

Some people might wonder why I'm showing you a picture that is basically a photo down my pants. I think some people can understand the story better with a photo!

I know some people reading this blog might have questions, like the "somebody" who asked me this question. Please send your questions to me!

「almost」の使い方

It was funny the other day. We were talking about sports in class. Of course, the World Baseball Classic is going on right now, and a lot of people are crazy about it. Somebody told me:

× Almost people like baseball.
○ Almost all people like baseball.

This was so funny, because the incorrect sentence means:

• Those who are almost people like baseball. In other words, those who like baseball are not human. 野球が好きな人々は、ギリギリ人間しか居ない。← maybe somebody can fix my bad Japanese sentence. If you can, please let me know!

The problem is that "almost" is typically followed by an adjective, since it means "very nearly" or "all but" (according to the Random House Dictionary).

I talked about this common mistake back in 2009. You might like to reread that old blog post, too:

http://upgradeenglish.blogspot.jp/2009/04/almost-all-of-these-are-wrong.html

I cooked these enchiladas back in January. I was thinking about food in Texas, and this is one the dishes that I used to eat a lot when I lived there.

• enchilada《メキシコ料理》エンチラーダ◆肉を詰めたトウモロコシパン。トマトチリソースで。(definition from Eijiro on the Web)

There are Tex-Mex restaurants all over the state. I suppose almost all, if not all, towns in Texas have at least one Tex-Mex restaurant. I often ate a plate meal just like this quite often. The difference is that back in those days, I ate chicken enchiladas. Since I'm a vegetarian now, I had to think of an alternative. These enchiladas are filled with strips of fried tofu instead. It turned out pretty good. I'll probably cook them again the next time I think of the food in Texas.

I think I can answer almost all of your questions about English. If you have some, let me know. Even better, think about coming to a class!

「need」の使い方, part 3

I've got to be honest with you all. Sometimes we do use "need" with an object as the subject:

1. That device needs a new battery.
2. = The battery in that device needs replacing.
3. = I (or someone else) need(s) to replace the battery in that device.
4. = The battery in that device needs to be replaced.

This is where it gets a bit tricky, which is why I recommended that you use pattern 3 rather than the other two. I want to give you a safe pattern that you can use with less fear of making mistakes. You need reliable patterns so that you can speak with confidence. If you use pattern 3, you are less likely to make a strange sentence. Please use that one!

• reliable【形】 信頼［信用］できる、信頼性のある、頼り［当て］になる［できる］、頼りがいのある (definition from Eijiro on the Web)

Pattern 4 is also a good choice. Notice that the passive is used in the infinitive, not with "need".

× The battery in that device is needed to replace.

One more passive way to say it is:

• Replacement of the battery in that device is needed. <- and="" formal="" i="" it...="" li="" never="" say="" sounds="" this="" would="">

I saw these flowers growing in a planter outside my building the other day. I think Tokyo needs more flowers like this. In other words, flowers like these are needed by people living in Tokyo. Such flowers need to be planted everywhere!

If your English needs work, please get in touch!

「need」の使い方, part 2

I was writing about "need" the other day. There are other ways to use "need". For example:

1. This cutting needs potting. 
2. = This cutting needs to be put into a pot.
3. = I need to put this cutting into a pot.

The pattern is:

• [noun] needs [verb+ing]

To be honest, I never use this pattern. It feels like something one of my grandmothers used to say. I'm more likely to use one of the other two patterns. Still, you should know about this pattern.

You couldn't use this pattern to say the sentence from the other day, though:

× Living in Tokyo doesn't need driving a car.

Getting back to my photo, the problem was that one stalk of our lucky bamboo was withering.

• wither【自動】〔植物が〕しぼむ、しおれる、枯れる (definition from Eijiro on the Web)

The top was still green, though. I thought it needed trimming, so I cut it off and trimmed the withered part off of the stalk, too. I put the cutting in a cup of water with fertilizer, but today I should probably put it in some soil. I need to do it soon so that it has the best chance for survival.

If your English needs improving, please let me know!

「need」の使い方

I was talking about getting around in Tokyo with someone the other day. That person told me:

× Living in Tokyo doesn't need a car.
○ Living in Tokyo doesn't require a car.
○ You don't need a car if you live in Tokyo.

If you check the dictionary, it says "need" means "require". I was thinking about why this seems unnatural to me. I'd say that to safely use "need", the subject should be a person, but that is not always the case. These are natural, though:

• I need a bit more sleep.
• Some of you need to speak English more often.

For matters and things, I'd suggest that you use "require".

• [matter] requires...
• Living in Tokyo doesn't require a car (of people who do so).

The picture above is some pressed tofu that I prepared in order to make five-spice tofu.

△ The recipe I have needs tofu that has had the water removed.
○ The recipe I have requires tofu that has had the water removed.

This tofu has that shape because I used a bowl filled with water to press it. The bowl wasn't as big as the tofu, so the edges didn't get pressed well. It's funny-looking, I thought.

If you need to improve your English, or if your work requires better English skills, I hope you will contact us about joining one of our classes!

「If you were to ask...」の使い方

If you were to ask me what I was doing at 5 pm today, I would tell you that I was cooking. This is a dish called "Buddha's delight", and in Chinese you pronounce it like this:

• Buddha's delight = luóhàn zhāi; a more English-like spelling could be "loo-oh-HAN-jai"

If you asked me for the Chinese characters, I'd give you these (both the traditional Chinese version and the simplified one used in mainland China):

• 羅漢齋; 罗汉斋 (Buddha's delight = luóhàn zhāi)

The pattern I'm using is one that somebody asked me about the other day.

• If you asked... = If you were to ask...

The meaning is to lightly offer some information. Sometimes (not always) there is a nuance that the presented information may be an interpretation of a situation rather than the complete truth or an uncontroversial description.

The difference between the two versions is this:

• If you asked... (casual)
• If you were to ask... (a bit more formal)

It's also possible to change the subject of the "if" clause.

• If a stranger were to ask me where I was from, I might say "Mars".

If you asked me what was in the dish, I'd tell you that it's dried yuba, daylily flowers, shallots, garlic, ginger, green onions, mushrooms, vegetarian oyster sauce, sweet thick soy sauce, soy sauce, and black pepper.

• daylily【名】《植物》萱草◆ユリ科
• shallot【名】《植物》エシャロット（eschalot）
• (definitions from Eijiro on the Web)

If you were to ask me to try it, I'd say "invite me over and I'll try to cook it for you!"

Blendyは英語の使い方に注意した方が良い。

Before going to presentations at my university, I stopped by a supermarket to get some coffee. I wanted to drink some coffee so that I would be sure to stay awake through all of the presentations.

• stay awake 目を覚ましている、起きている (definition from Eijiro on the Web)

No matter how exciting they are, if I am short of sleep, it's hard to listen to people speak Japanese for 40 minutes without dozing off.

• short of ～が足りない［不足している］、～に達していない、～の手前で (definition from Eijiro on the Web)

Anyway, I bought this large bottle of Blendy, and I noticed the mistake:

× bottle coffee
○ bottled coffee

The point here is that the coffee has been bottled by the manufacturer. It's that fact, stated with a passive verb, that means we should say "bottled coffee".

"Bottle coffee" is strange. Similarly, we say "prepackaged bread" or "bagged garbage".

The coffee wasn't particularly delicious, but it did keep me awake. Next time I think I will try to  get canned coffee because it's hot. It's better for our health to drink warm beverages, and it's probably more delicious, too.

「direction」と「directions」の違い

Recently I ate these instant noodles from Thailand. I like instant noodles from southeast Asia because I can find vegetarian-friendly ones and the spices are much more suitable for my palate.

• suitable to one's palate = matching one's taste 
• palate 味覚
• suitable ふさわしい、適切な

I needed to check the instructions on the package to make sure that I didn't cook them too long. There's nothing worse than soggy instant noodles.
That's when I noticed that there was an English mistake!

× direction
○ directions

• soggy【形】〔水で〕ずぶぬれの、びしょぬれの (definition from Eijiro on the Web)
• soggy noodles のびた麺

Check the definitions of these two words (definitions from Eijiro on the Web):

• direction 1. 管理; 2. 指図［命令］すること; 3. 方向、向き
• directions 指示（書）、説明（書）

"Direction" means, according to WordNet 3.0, "a line leading to a place or point".

"Directions", with an "s", means the same thing as "instructions", or a series of steps given to teach someone how to do something.

There are other meanings for the word "direction". For example, there is what movie directors do. They give direction to actors, camera men, and so on in order to make a movie.

Despite the mistake, I had no trouble making these instant noodles, and they were delicious.

If you need some direction on how to improve your English, please ask me! I'd also be happy for you to join one of our classes. If you are having trouble finding our classroom, we can give you directions.