Opposites, the prefix in~

Hey everyone, today is the last lesson of the month and I decided to do a quick opposites lesson featuring the prefix in~. A prefix is a sound added to the BEGINNING of a word to change it's meaning.

The prefix in~ means not or the opposite off. That's why it is really useful for people learning English to build up their vocabulary. It is like the Japanese prefix FU, 不.

Depending on the sound that follows in~ might become il~, ir~ or im~. Check out this website for a more detailed explanation: http://www.spelling.hemscott.net/prefix3.html

Now let's look at some examples~!

expensive, 高い <------> inexpensive, 安い

You could also say cheap as an opposite of expensive but inexpensive sounds more polite and less direct. Also cheap can be kind of negative. I guess 高くない is closer to inexpensive in terms of connotations.

admissible, meaning CAN be admitted <------> inadmissible, meaning CAN'T be admitted

The evidence was properly collected and so is admissible.

I'm sorry you're too late your book is inadmissible for the contest.

possible ,可能 (かのう) <-------> impossible, 不可能 (ふかのう)

In Japanese, the prefix FU~ is acting in the exact same was as IM~!

It's possible that someday people will walk on Mars.

It's impossible to eat 5000 donuts at one time~!

reparable , meaning CAN be fixed <------> irreparable, meaning CAN'T be fixed

Is my car reparable or do I need a new one?

I'm sorry but the damage to your heart is irreparable...

legal, 適法行為 (てきほうこうい) <------> illegal, 不法行為 (ふほうこうい)

Smoking marijuana in Amsterdam is legal.

It's illegal to smoke cigarettes in a bar in most of Canada.

I hope that helped~! Expect more lessons next month,

Phil

Yeah, yeah hold your horses buddy~!

So this morning I was killing time on youtube watching this video:




And in the video the guy says "Hold your horses" which is a great idiom everyone should know in our world today where everyone rushes.

Hold your horses = means Don't rush me~! or Stop telling me to hurry up!

This comes from when everyone rode horses and to "hold your horses" meant to hold the horses pulling your carriage back from running off.

These days you will often here it among friends, in casual situations or from not so professional staff at shops:

Customer: Hey, anyone here? (ring ring ringing the bell)

Staff: Hold your horses! I'll be with you in a minute~!

Or you might hear customers use it:

Staff: Can I take your order?

Customer: Hmm, I'd like... um...

Staff: Yes sir? We have other customers waiting.

Customer: Jeez, hold your horses~! I'll have a burger.

Then again families often use it amongst themselves:

Mom: Come on~! Your Dad's waiting in the car!

Daughter: Hold your horses Mom, I'll be out in a minute!!

Mom: Ok, we're waiting in the car, hurry up!

Well I hope you enjoyed this lesson, have a good weekend and don't rush too much!

Phil

Grow vs. grow up

Hey everyone, in the last few weeks I had several students incorrectly use the terms grow and grow up so I decided I would explain it here on my blog!

grow = 植える (うえる) it is used when talking about PLANTS

Money doesn't grow on trees~!

Palm trees grow in warm countries.

My tomatoes are growing well.

grow up = 育つ (そだつ) to become an adult, it is usually used to talk about PEOPLE, but sometimes animals. A more formal word with the same meaning is raised.

僕は田舎で育った。= I grew up in the country.

My cat grew up on the street, he used to be a stray.

I grew up in Montreal. Where did you grow up?

If you don't eat your veggies you won't grow up to be big and strong!

Well I hope that helps clear up the difference between the two, have a

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Phil

Talking about purpose...

Hey everyone, today I am going to talk about purpose. In English, why is a really important word. We always what to know WHY something happens, so much that people will often say WHY even if they don't ask the question...

For example:

I'm sorry I'm late but I overslept.

I can't go to the party because I have a date.

In Japanese, it's OK to just say "I can't go because I'm busy" or "I have plans". But in English, someone would ask "Why? What are you doing?".

Now, when you talk about why you went somewhere there are two different ways to talk about purposes...

1- I went to __________ (verb).

2- I went for the __________ (noun).

For example:

A: Why did you go to Spain?

B: I went to party!

A: Why did you go to Seoul?

B: I went for the food.

A: Why did you go to Singapore?

B: I went for the shopping(noun). / I went to shop(verb).

I hope that helps you all when talking about your travels~!

Phil

All about brands...

Now I know that when you hear the word brand, people immediately think of top luxury brands like Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Burberry, etc. especially in Japan but these brands are weak... the strongest brands become so strongly linked with their product that they REPLACE THE WORD~!!!

For example, google is synonymous with search and to google something means to search for it online--even Japanese people use google suru~! That is a strong brand!!!

Probably the most famous brand is Coca-cola or Coke, when someone wants a cola people usually ask for a coke or maybe a pepsi.

Wow, it's hot~! I need a coke.

In Canada(& the US?), when people want a tissue you usually say:

"Can I have a kleenex?"

The tissue brand kleenex is so strong in Canada, we no longer ask for a tissue. In North America, when you want an adhesive bandage you usually ask for a band-aid, even if it is a different brand most people will just say band-aid.

To photocopy, many people just say:

I need to xerox some documents... (pronounced Z-rocks)

...after the famous photocopier brand Xerox.

If you find this topic interesting check out these links:

12 Brand names misused as the products themselves

and

Genericized trademark - wikipedia

By using these words you will help yourself sound more natural when speaking English~!

Have a good weekend,

Phil

You like hamburg? Huh??? The city?

Hey everyone, to start off the short month of February I decided to post a short lesson~! Also, I think I will aim for maybe 6 lessons this month instead of my more usual 8.

Anyways, I often hear Japanese people say "I like hamburg" or "I like hamburger" but both of these sentences can easily confuse native English speakers.

I like hamburg. = I like the city of Hamburg in Germany???

There is no English word hamburg, what you mean to say is:

I like hamburger steaks.

or

I like hamburg steaks. (I have never heard this but saw it online)

The second sentence "I like hamburger" sounds odd, it isn't really grammatically correct. Hamburger without an S is uncountable and so I would think of hamburger MEAT. Meat is always uncountable.

I like chickenS (animal).

I like chicken (uncountable and so meat).

In this case, what you mean to say is:

I like hamburgers.

This morning I was studying Japanese and was learning ハンバーガー which inspired me to write about it~!

I hope you enjoyed my lesson, see you,

Phil