Supposedly vs. Apparently

Today we'll be looking at two very similar words that have slightly different usages: 

supposedly & apparently.

Supposedly

This is used when you want to express doubt. 

Supposedly, he'll be here at 6PM. (I don't think he will)

She'll supposedly finish work on time. (I doubt it)

Albert: Did Abe cancel the tax increase?

Taka: Supposedly...

Albert: What do you mean?

Taka: Well, supposedly the tax increase isn't going to happen but I think he'll try to push it through eventually.

Apparently

This is a bit more neutral than supposedly. It's used to quote or repeat something you've heard. As such, it's also often going to express elements of doubt, surprise or uncertainty: I don't know for sure but I've heard...

Apparently, a new bar's going to open in Kyoto soon.

She's apparently not going to do that movie as she hates the director.

Dan: Do you know what happened between Mark & Mindy?

Felicia: Apparently, Mindy caught Mark cheating on her!

Dan: What? No way, Mark's not that kind of guy.

Felicia: It's true, Tammy told me Mindy saw him with another woman.


These days they're both terms are usually used at the start of sentences. It sounds much more natural.

Any questions? If so, please comment.

Have a nice week,

Phil

A kind of handsome vs. kind of handsome

Sorry for not posting in awhile but I have been busy with other things, awhile back a student of mine said:

My friend is a kind of handsome.

Now in English when you add a the meaning can change quite significantly:

I ate a pizza yesterday (a whole pizza!)

I ate pizza yesterday (some pizza, we don't know how much)

In this case by using "a kind of" it means a type of or a variety of. This tells someone that your friend is not the normal style of handsome but rather that he is an unusual variety of handsome.

Pork is a kind of meat.

meaning 

Pork is one variety of meat.

So a kind of is used to define something or put it into a category.

My friend is kind of handsome.

In this case, kind of is a modifier where you can soften the following word. So it means that her friend is a bit handsome.

It's kind of far.

meaning

It's a little bit far.

So as you can guess in conversation people are much more likely to use kind of than a kind of!

Any questions?

Phil

be used to vs. used to

Now back in 2010 I wrote a blog post about the meaning and the way to use the expression used to. Today I will be looking at the difference between be+used to and used to.

BE + USED TO

This is what we say when people have adjusted to a change in their lives.

It was tough when I started my new job at first but I am used to it now.

Are you used to living in Japan yet?

In many cases, be will be replaced with get:

Oh you think it's noisy here? You'll get used to it.
(You will adapt to it.)

I couldn't get used to the smell of stinky tofu when I was in Taiwan.(I couldn't adjust and accept the smell)

USED TO + verb

This simply means that before X was true and now it isn't

I used to play tennis. (now I don't)

She used to work at Panasonic. (now she doesn't)

My company used to make a pomegranate jam. (now it doesn't - it was discontinued)

Be very careful not to mix these two up!

Any questions?

Phil

Clever, Smart, Intelligent Revisited

Sorry for not having posted lately but I've been busy with my other hobby beer and my page/blog Kansai Beer Lovers. 

Anyways, way back in 2008 I wrote a post looking at the difference between clever, smart and intelligent. It was a good post and quite informative. Today I just want to quickly review what I said.

Clever

While popular among Japanese English speakers among native English speakers it often has more of a NEGATIVE connotation. It's somewhat condescending, like you are talking down to someone. It kind of emphasizes someone is good at solving problems or playing tricks. It's often used to talk about animals & kids.

A really clever crow keeps getting into my garbage can.

My dog's so clever he knows many tricks.

My kid gave a clever answer when I asked him why the sky is blue.

Intelligent

This has the same meaning as smart but is more formal and typically seen in written more than spoken North American English.

That company made an intelligent decision when they hired him.

My professor is a very intelligent man.

Smart

This is the word you'll most often hear in casual conversation and the one Japanese English speakers should be using instead of clever.

My son's really smart, he always gets good grades.

She's incredibly smart, funny and attractive. You should ask her out.

That wasn't a smart choice...

Have a good week,

Phil

What about you? How about you? And you?

Hey guys, I haven't written in awhile but last week I was teaching a student and he asked a good question:

What's the difference between  "What about you?" and "How about you?" ?

I had a hard time answering him at first as they're both kind of used like a mirror to shoot the question back at someone but after some thought I realized that they work slightly differently.

1- How about you?

A -----> B -----> A

2- What about you?

A -----> B -----> C

So with #1 it is generally going back to the person that asked you the question.

Helen : Do you have any kids?

Craig: No, I don't. How about you?

Helen: Me neither.

With #2 it may be used to go back to the questioner but is more often used to ask the question of SOMEONE ELSE, a third person in your group. To continue the previous conversation:

Helen: What about you Tom?

Tom: Actually, I have two kids: a boy & a girl.

We then briefly talked about the difference between those two  questions and "And you?".

Again this differs slightly in usage, this is usually used after a statement rather than after answering a question like #1 & #2.

Jerry: Oh wow, fresh strawberries! I love strawberries. And you?

Kelly: Strawberries are ok but I prefer raspberries.

Have a great Golden Week,

Phil

Well, technically speaking...

Today we'll look at the expression "technically" this is used in modern English when we want to say that while something is true on paper but it may not be true in actuality.

A: You're married?!?!?

B: Well, technically I'm still married but we've been separated for 2 years and are in the middle of getting a divorce.

So this is used to express that based on precise facts or a specific definition X is true BUT in reality it may not be all that true.

Technically most Japanese people are Buddhists. If you ask them "What religion do you follow?" they'll answer "I'm Buddhist". Actually though, most Japanese people don't read about Buddha or go to temples all that often or pray to Buddha so really they're not all that Buddhist. It's like in Europe where most Europeans are technically Christian but don't really go to Church anymore.

As you can see it is used to contrast two levels of truth, an objective & subjective truth.

A: Do you still work at Panasonic?

B: Yeah, technically I still work there but I quit last month and have been using my vacation days. Even though I no longer go to the office, my last official work day will be in 2 weeks.

You can find a nice discussion about the usage of technically here. Any questions?

Phil

Since when've you been working there? vs. How long've you been working there?

Hey guys, here's a quick lesson looking at two very similar grammar structures that have slightly different meanings & usages.

How long've you had a dog?

This question has a NEUTRAL tone you're simply asking for the length of time someone has had a dog.

(small talk)
Al: I see your smartphone's home screen is a dog. Are you a dog person?

Bell: Yeah, I love dogs. Actually, that's a photo of my dog.

Al: What's your dog's name?

Bell: Terrence.

Al: How long've you had a dog?

Bell: I've had dogs since I was a kid, but I've had Terrence for 2 years.

One thing to note is that have is often contracted into 've which is pronounced like of. In casual North American English, the of or ou sound is often replaced with a. So you might hear this:

How long-a ya been married?

Now let's look at the structure that starts with since:

Since when've you had a dog?

This expression is asking the same thing, the length of time you've had a dog BUT it is expressing SURPRISE. The speaker thought you didn't have a dog so is surprised to see you with a dog.

(walking in the park Ken sees Mark)
Ken: Hey Mark, since when've you had a dog?

Mark: He's not mine, I borrowed him from a friend. Terrence here's a real chick magnet.

Ken: Really? He's kind of ugly.

Mark: Naw, he's a cute kind of ugly women really like him.

Ken: So meet any cute girls today with Terrence?

Mark: Yeah, I got 2 phone numbers already!

You could also use it if you visit your friend's house and they suddenly have a dog there. You want to ask them where did this dog come from? I didn't think you had a dog...

(barking sounds through the door)
Hal: Come in.

Glen: What? Since when've you had a dog Hal???

Hal: I don't, I'm just dogsitting for my sister.

Have a good week,

Phil

A few vs few What's the difference?

Way back in 2009 I did a lesson about countable & uncountable nouns today we're gonna look into the difference between a few & few. Both of these are used with countable nouns. HOWEVER, they have a different emphasis.

a few

This is POSITIVE you are stressing that you don't have a lot but you're happy you have a small amount of something.

I'm happy I have a few good friends like you guys.

Do you have a few minutes? I'd like to ask you a question.

On Thanksgiving, when I went to the supermarkets they had a few cans of cranberries left! I got lucky!

Pick up a few beers on your way home.

few

This is NEGATIVE, you're stressing that you're unhappy with how little you have of something.

I have few friends in Kyoto, it sucks.

Few people came to my birthday party, it was a real disappointment.

I got few presents last Christmas.

It's important to note that this usage sounds a bit old fashioned. Nowadays, people are more like to just use a negative sentence.

I don't have many friends in Kyoto, it sucks.

Not many people came to my birthday party, it was really disappointing.

I didn't get many presents last Christmas.

Now if you want to make similar sentences for UNCOUNTABLE nouns use a little and little.

a little

Yeah, I have a little time right now so we can talk if you like.

I had a little extra money left over at the end of the month so I was happy.

Can I have a little water?

little

Hurry up! There's little time left before the dealine.

After finishing our Christmas shopping we had little money left.

A beach with little sand isn't so nice.

Again just like few, little also sounds old fashioned. Any questions?

Phil

Oh! You startled me!

As it is Halloween I decided to look at an expression that is commonly used when describing what happens when watching a horror movie. Today we'll look at the verbs: to startle (someone) or to be startled.

These verbs are talking about when someone is suddenly surprised and they jump & say Oh! or aargh!

To startle (someone)

In Japanese, this would be ケツ毛を抜く. 

(turns on the light)
Aargh! You startled me! What are you doing sitting in the dark?

When the murderer suddenly showed up in the third scene, it really startled me! I jumped in my theater seat!

To be startled

In Japanese, it would be　ギョッとする.

When she smiled and I saw her crooked yellow teeth I was really startled!

When the alarm suddenly went off, everyone in the office was startled.

Here are some examples:




Happy Halloween~!

Phil

familiar to vs. familiar with

For the first lesson this month, I am going to look at the difference between familiar to and familiar with. These two expressions have almost identical meanings only what you are emphasizing is different. They are both saying that someone has knowledge about something, they know about it.

familiar to -------->

This means that the person after familiar to knows about something.

topic + familiar to + person

I'm sorry you're name isn't familiar to me, have we met?

Magic: The Gathering is really familiar to me, I used to play it in high school.

<-----familiar b="" with="">

This means that the person BEFORE familiar with knows about what comes AFTER.

person + familiar with + topic

Are you familiar with computers?

I'm familiar with the Korean writing system, I used to live in Seoul.

She's familiar with unarmed combat, she's done judo since she was 5.

Have a good week,

Phil

Other than vs except

Hey everyone, for my last lesson of the month I'd like to talk about something that non-native english speakers often mix up: other than and except.

These have really similar meanings but t heir usage is slightly different.

Other than

This is the same as in Japanese, ほかに, it is used at the start of the sentence to exclude the next thing you mention.

Other than chocolate, what sweets do you like?
(What other sweets do you like(not including chocolate)?)

I know you've been to Seoul so... other than Seoul where have you been in Korea?

Other than that, how was your trip?

Except

This is used at the middle of end of sentences, it is usually used with LISTS.

I like all kinds of chocolate except white chocolate, I hate it.

He loves playing sports, except he doesn't play winter sports. He dislikes the cold.

I am usually free on weeknights except on Thursdays...

You can choose anything on the menu except the lobster.

Have a good week,

Phil

sometime vs. sometimes

Hey guys, do you know the difference between the two?

Sometime in Japanese would be いつか meaning someday or at some unknown point in the future.

Give me a call sometime.

I want to check out that new bar sometime.

If you're in the neighborhood sometime, drop by.

It is usually used to talk about the relatively near future. If you want to talk about something that is a dream of yours you'd like to do at some point but probably can't use someday. It has a bit of a wishful feeling to it, you aren't sure if it will happen but you'd like it to.

Someday, I wanna visit Antarctica.

We will meet again someday.

I'll be back in Peru someday.

I'll marry that woman someday, I just know it!

Sometimes in Japanese would be 時々（ときどき）it means every once in awhile, occasionally, etc.

I like to shop online sometimes.

Sometimes, I have a drink on the way home from work.

Jim: Do you & Gary often hang out?

Darryl: Yeah, sometimes.

He sometimes takes lessons on Sundays, but usually he goes to the Friday class.

Any questions?

Phil

Let's talk about parking!

Now here in Japan if you live in the city you don't really need to think about parking all that much but in many parts of North America the car is king and parking can be a big issue so today we'll look at some parking related words.

Most homes have a driveway. This is the strip of asphalt or gravel you drive up to get to your house, in the countryside or for rich people with a big estate the driveway can be quite long but most people simply have enough space to park one or two cars.

When we talk about parking we use three similar sounding words:

parking lot

This is usually the big parking area around a shop or mall. It's also the area under buildings or the lot where many people leave their cars and have to pay an hourly(or daily) parking fee to park their cars.

A: Did you hear about that innovative parking lot in Florida?

B: No, what's so special about it?

A; It's a multi-story parking garage but instead of being all gray concrete it's full of shops and even trees. Take a look!

http://www.isaacsandcompany.com/listings/1111-lincoln-road/

B: Wow, I can't believe that's a parking lot!

Often, when it isn't a lot (a piece of land, usually empty) but is instead a building we call it a parking garage. 

parking space

This is used as a place where you regularly park your car. Think of an office building where many parking spaces are assigned to employees and have their names written on them using paint. The key thing here is when you say parking space, you emphasize it's yours & you probably often park there.  It conveys a sense of possession.

This morning when I came into work, some car was in my parking space!

I moved into the city and I need to find a parking space for my car.

parking spot

This is more casual than parking space and it feels more temporary. We often use this when looking for a place to park... Parking space & parking spot can be used interchangeably. It is more of a feeling than a hard rule and can change based on different English dialects

I spent 30 minutes driving around the mall parking lot looking for a parking spot!

I hate driving downtown, it takes forever to find a parking spot on the street & I refuse to pay the high prices at paid parking lots.

Can you believe it? We found a parking spot so close to the elevators? We got lucky!    

Have a nice weekend,

Phil 

What's the occasion?

Hey everyone, do you guys know the subtext of this question? It is used when someone suddenly changes their look or behavior to be nicer or better than usual.

Ted: Hey Betty, you look sharp! What's the occasion? Got a hot date?

Betty: Oh, hey Ted. Yeah, I got a date with Rob tonight!

It is also often used with the word special:

Andy comes home to find the place spotlessly clean...

Andy: Helen, what's the special occasion? Why's the house so clean?

Helen: Andy, I told you! My parents are coming to visit this weekend!

You can also use this expression to ask why someone is throwing a party.

Gary: I'm having a little get together tonight, do you wanna come?

Jim: What's the occasion?

Gary: My wife's out of town so I'm having a guys poker night.

Jim: Sounds fun, count me in!

Have a nice week,

Phil

Tips on using THE

Many Japanese English speakers struggle with using THE correctly. It is used to specify a specific thing, person or place.

I am going to the post office.

In this case, both the speaker & the listener know which post office the speaker's talking about. It is the one he always goes to. In the past, small towns only had one post office, bank, store, etc. So people just used THE+place and this continues today.

Of course, this causes confusion to people knew in town. Someone says "Party at the beach" and all the local people know that they are talking about the popular beach everyone goes to but someone from outside that group has no idea which beach they're talking about!

Here are a few more tips for using THE:

It is ALWAYS THE + musical instruments. 

I play the drums.

He plays the violin.

My niece can play the flute.

When I was young I wanted to play the guitar but I gave up.

When talking about musical instruments, you are specifying which one you play so we use the!  

BUT when talking about games we don't use the. It is unnecessary. Games don't need the!

I play basketball.

He likes to play baseball.

Do you play soccer?

Al: What sports can your daughter play?

Helen: She can play volleyball. 

If you are talking about a SPECIFIC match you should use the:

I played in the soccer game last weekend. Did you see me score the winning goal?

I have to go to the stadium to see my son play in the tennis match.

Any questions?

Have a nice weekend!

Phil    

I'm glad you like it!

Ok, Christmas is right around the corner (coming soon) and so it is a time to give and receive gifts~!

Often a gift- giving conversation might go like this:

Alice: Here, this is for you.

Betty: Oh, you shouldn't have!

(opens the gift)

Betty: Wow! The purse I wanted! It's great!

Alice: I'm glad you like it.

Betty: Thanks a lot.

I'm glad you like it is a set phrase people use when giving gifts.

Tom: Do you like it?

Bill: Of course!

Tom: Good, I'm glad (you like it can be dropped).

Be careful, when talking about EXPERIENCES or PERISHABLES (things you can use up) you must use the phrase in the PAST TENSE.

Tom: Did you enjoy the movie?

Bill: Yeah, it was great! Thanks for treating me.

Tom: I'm glad you liked it. I thought you would.

---------------------------------

Heather: Those cookies were fantastic! Did you make them yourself?

Helen: Yeah. I'm glad you liked them.

Have  a  Merry Christmas everyone!

Phil

P.S. glad you is pronounced gladju

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

kind of = sort of

Today I was reminded once again that most textbooks don't teach sort of. This has the same meaning as kind of. I feel it is more casual and maybe using it makes you sound a bit young. Plus, I feel it is probably a dialectical difference.

I mean depending on where the speaker is from they will be more likely to use kind of or more likely to use sort of. This is kind of like the difference between 超　（ちょう）　and　めちゃ. People in Osaka tend to use mecha and people in Tokyo tend to use cho but they mean the exact same thing!

That's why I think it is important to know both expressions as you will often hear them in different TV shows or movies. Anyways, here's a lesson I wrote a few years ago explaining sort of and kind of!

I just did some quick research and apparently kind of is preferred in American English and sort of is preferred in British English. Being from Canada I guess that is why it seems natural to me to use both!

The study focuses on modern British English and also states that kind of seems to be preferred in written English and sort of in spoken English. Maybe that's why most textbooks seem to focus on kind of... I think it is a really interesting study with lots of tips about usage of these two expressions in British English. You can find it HERE.

------------------------------------------------
Kind of, Sort of posted October 27th, 2010

Hey everyone, today I am just writing a quick lesson while taking a break from studying Japanese. In all the textbooks I've taught, they always teach:

KIND OF

which is a very useful expression. It has two main meanings:

- a type of thing

- a little bit, somewhat

That store sells many types of furniture.

means

That stores sells many kinds of furniture.

When you use type of it sounds a bit more formal/educated/business like and kind of sounds more casual/friendly. Also, the pronunciation of kind of changes pretty easily:

kind of ------> kindov ---->kinda

When you want to specify more than one kind of use kinds of. Which is pronunced:

kinds of -----> kinzov ----> kinza

Kinda and kinza are pronunced with a bit of a rising intonation on the a.

The second meaning of kind of is somewhat or a little bit, it is similar to め in Japanese:

柔らかい　－－－－＞　柔らかめ

Yawarakai (soft) becomes Yawarakame(kind of soft).

Now, most textbooks don't teach the even more casual form which has the exact SAME MEANING as kind of which is SORT OF.

The pronunciation of sort of is:

sort of -----> sordov -----> sorda

Again with a rising intonation on the a.

I'm somewhat hungry.

I'm a bit hungry.

I'm kind of hungry.

I'm sort of hungry.

So somewhat is the MOST formal and sort of is the LEAST formal. Remember, by saying sorda or kinda you will make it even more casual~! But all of these sentences have the same general meaning. ^_^

Have a good day,

Phil

Fight or argue?

Hey guys, do you know the difference between these two words?

ARGUE is VERBAL you are just using words. You might shout, scream or yell or even just talk in an excited way. You are basically having a disagreement using words.

in a car...

Anne: I think Stacy is the cutest!

Betty: No, it's Heidi.

Anne: Stacy, she has dimples!

Betty: Heidi has round eyes!

Anne: Stacy!

Betty: Heidi~!

Mom: Stop arguing!!!

FIGHT can be verbal or PHYSICAL or even BOTH. Many times things start off verbally and then progress into a physical fight...

...later.

Betty: Heidi is cuter! Stacy is an ugly cow!

Anne: Take that back! 

Betty: No~! Heidi is the best!

Anne: POW~ ! (hits Betty)

Betty: Owww.... Mom, Anne hit me~!

Mom: I told you to stop fighting~~! That's it we're going home, no concert for you bad girls!

Girls: Mooooo~m~!

So fight is a bit more general, you aren't sure exactly what happened but you know that two people or groups disagreed and are enemies or opponents. Argue is a bit more narrowly focused, you know that people just yelled or raised their voices. Argue is therefore a bit weaker than fight.

I saw a woman arguing with her friend on the train, they were so loud!

I had a fight with my wife so I had to sleep on the couch.

When I was a kid, I always used to fight with my brother.

Try not to start any arguments! You don't wanna get into any fights~!

Phil 

P.S. Be careful, fight is a noun and verb but argue is only a verb! The noun form is argument.

Mount vs. Mountain

Hey everyone do you know the difference between these two terms? They have the same meaning but are use differently.


Mount is like the Japanese -さん. For example:


Mt. Fuji or Mount Fuji = 富士山


From thefreedictionary:


Mt. A mountain or hill. Used especially as part of a proper name.


Mountain is more like the Japanese やま.

山を登りましょう！

Let's hike up/climb a mountain!

Actually, this is a good chance to tell you the difference between hiking and mountain climbing. Hiking is when you just walk up a mountain. Mountain climbing is when you need special equipment to get up a hill. 

I hiked up Mt. Takao.

I climbed Mt. Everest.

Have a nice weekend,

Phil