Well, I got to go, take care.

Do you know when to use this sentence?

It is most commonly used when you run into someone and have a quick conversation. This is how you politely end the conversation so you can continue going where you were going before bumping into your friend. ^_^

Well

This indicates a change in topic or a conclusion.

I got to (pronounced godda) go or you could say 
I have to (hafta) go or
I need to go (formal)

and if you are in a rush you can switch go with RUN.

Then you finish the sentence with something polite related to your previous conversation:

take care

have a good time

see you

see you around

etc.

So the next time you have to continue on your way because you're in a hurry, please say something like this:

A: Well, it was nice bumping into you but I gotta run. Take care.

B: You too, see you.

Have a nice weekend,

Phil

Do you know...?

Hi everyone, today we are going to look at how to ask a stranger for information or help in a polite way. Now in a direct sentence you might ask:

What time is it?

But this sentence is too direct to ask a stranger passing by on the street, so you might make it a bit more polite:

Excuse me, what time is it?

And this is perfectly fine but to sound a bit nicer you can try:

Do you know what time it is?

That sentence is quite indirect and so more polite, if you want to be even more polite you can say:

Excuse me, do you know what time it is?

So you can see that we you "Do you know...?" to ask polite questions when asking for information.

"Do you know where the post office is?"

"Do you know when the next train is?"

"Do you know how to get to Kiyamachi street?"

Another way of asking for information OR help is by using "Do you have...?" This is most often used in these kinds of sentences:

"Do you have the time?"

"Do you have a pen?" (can I borrow a pen)

"Do you have a light?" (fire to light a cigarette)

These are standard questions where we use "Do you have...?" but most of the time when we want information we use "Do you know...?" because it's much easier~!

Have a great weekend,

Phil

Horrible? Horrifying?

Hi everyone, today one of my students said something which I thought was interesting:

"It was horrible."

She was talking about the movie Angels & Demons and meant to say:

"It was horrifying."

So we will quickly look at the difference between these two sentences.

If you say terrible or horrible you are saying something is really really bad in a polite or formal way. If you want to say something is really really bad in a casual way you can say:

"It sucked~!" or

"It was garbage."

"It was crap." (crap means うんこ)

On the other hand, if you want to say something is really really scary, you can say:

"It was horrifying."
meaning scary and disturbing(makes you feel uncomfortable)

"It was terrifying."
meaning really scary

To sound more casual, you can say:

"It was really scary."

"It scared me out of my mind."

Well guys, I hope that helped and that now you can describe horror movies a bit better~!

Phil

Different kinds of English...

Ok, this week I was reminded of all the levels of politeness in Japanese and that in English it is not really the same.

In English, we don't have special pronouns(watakushi, sama, ore, kimi, anata, etc.) to show levels of politeness. I think it is a bit less complicated in English but it is still a bit tough. What happens in English when people want to be more polite or formal is that they stop using contractions(It's==> It is), start using bigger words and more old fashioned styles of speaking.

Wanna go out for dinner tonight?

becomes

I would be honored if you would accompany me to dinner this evening.

In the formal example, it is not even a question but a statement and it is up to the person being invited to say(I would love to or I would be delighted).

So in today's lesson I would like to present a list of synonyms, words with similar meanings which I feel change how formal or polite you are speaking.

Formal -----------------------> Casual

challenging ----> difficult ----> hard ------> tough

tedious --------------> dull ---------------> boring

entertaining -------> enjoyable -----------> fun

fascinating --------------------------------> interesting

costly ---------------> expensive ----------> pricey

gorgeous ------- ----> beautiful ------------> pretty
(this can also show how strong the adjective is)

disheartening(adj) --> depressing (adj) ---> a downer (n)

revolting ---> disgusting -----> gross ------>yucky (kid's English)

frightening -----------> terrifying ----------> scary

delectable -----> delicious -----> tasty ----> yummy (kid's English)

So this will give you an idea of how using these different words will change the level of formality or politeness when you are speaking.

This apple is delectable~! (formal)

This apple's delicious~! (normal)

This apple's tasty~! (casual)

This apple's yummy~! (really casual and a bit childish)

Notice the use of contractions.

That movie was entertaining. (very formal)

That movie was enjoyable. (formal)

That movie was fun. (normal/casual)

In this case, the situation is casual so using a more formal adjective makes them WEAKER. It is strange to speak formally about a movie with your friends so it sounds like you didn't like the movie so much...

You also have certain phrases which may change like:

I don't understand. (normal)

becomes

I don't get it. (casual)

Ok, that is it for today. I hope you enjoyed the lesson if you have any questions just ask~~!

Phil