SEI 新宿英会話教室 BLOG

From Twitter
Hi! 答えは？/Choose:

The book that’s on the table, which I told you about, was written __ Japanese __ my boss–a Korean dude.

a. of
b. by
c. in
d. about
e. for

Answers will; appear at around 5:00. Be cool. Be happy. Turn off your cars. – CA

ANSWERS:
c., in and b., by:
The book that’s on the table, which I told you about, was written _in_ Japanese _by_ my boss–a Korean dude.

EXPLANATION:

“In”

We communicate in different languages, styles and ways:

We speak in English.
We talk in soft tones.
We yell in excited voices.
We write in different languages.
We sing Opera in Italian
This movie is in English with Japanese subtitles.
The website was designed in HTML.

“by“
Things are made by people (or by other creatures and robots).
So, ‘by’ is used with acts of intention:

King Lear was written by Shakespeare.
The Right Stuff was written by Tom Wolf.
The Origin of Species was written by a former wanna-be friar, Charles Darwin.

The electric light bulb was invented by Thomas Edison, who tested thousands of metals before settling on tungsten.

The automobile seems to have been first designed by Da Vinci. Ah, Italians!

Starry Night was painted by Vincent Van Gogh, who spoke fluent English, French and Dutch; he was a great man.

The first spacecrafts to go to the moon were built by the Russians and Americans

Kanagawa No Tsunami or The Great Wave off Kanagawa was drawn by Katsushika Hokusai.

From Twitter:
答えは？Fill in:
The book __ is on the table, __ was written by Sam Harris, is excellent.

a. what
b. that
c. which


Answer:
The solution is to add that first and which second:

The book _that_ is on the table, _which_ was written by Sam Harris, is excellent.

Explanation:
Generally, that defines and which describes. This means that what follows that is essential to the completion of the idea and defines the subject; what follows which is extra information describing the subject and not necessary to the main idea.

That
1. In the sentence above, that tells us exactly book the speaker is talking about: the one on the table. This information is essential, because other books are probably in the room or being considered. So it’s not merely ‘the book’; it’s “the book on the table“. That is the full “name” of this book for the purposes of the sentence.
2. Also in the sentence above, notice there is no comma after that.

Which
3. In the sentence above, which refers back to the subject: the book on the table with extra information about it: that it was written by Sam Harris. This is extra information to add for interest or detail, but it is not necessary for explaining what the speaker has to say–namely that there is a book on the table and that it is excellent. It’s like saying:

The Martian, which was written by a technician and non-professional writer, was a blockbuster movie.

The point is The Martian was a blockbuster; that it was written by a technician, though very interesting, is not the point.

4. Which clauses containing additional information are enclosed by comas. Think of what is in there (between the comas) as words that could easily go inside parentheses:

The book that is on the table (which was written by Sam Harris) is excellent.

The Martian (which was written by a technician and non-professional writer) was a blockbuster movie.

5. That clauses adding essential and defining information to the subject are not enclosed in commas and so could not be enclosed in parentheses.

The book that is on the table is excellent. (there is no place for commas!)

6. Finally, just remember: If you are thinking about adding information to a sentence about the subject, but you could leave that information out without losing the main meaning (of the main clause/the independent clause/the main idea) use which. If you cannot, use that.

Link: http://samharris.org

From Twitter:
答えは？ Fill in:
A: What’re you drinking?
B: Cola.
A: You mean seltzer? Root beer? Ginger ale?
B. No. Pepsi.
A. Nobody likes Pepsi; all __ is trash, but if we drink it, we get Coke.
B. What’s ‘__?’
A. What you WANT–not “Cola.” No one says “cola.”

a. pop
b. soda pop
c. soda

Answer: The answer is c. soda.

Explanation:
Though it is true that “cola” refers to carbonated drinks, it generally comes from “Coca Cola”, a brand. The actual definition is:

(from Dictionary.com):
a carbonated soft drink containing an extract made from kola nuts, together with sweeteners and other flavorings.

‘Soda’ is more correct as a reference to carbonated water–thus we say “soda water.” As you can see it is not a product but a condition or state-type of water itself. So actually, it would be more correct to say ‘I’ll have a cola’, but, alas, language is not always sensible and maybe not all sodas are made with the extract of cola nuts.

From Twitter
お選び下さい Toshi’s looking at a new electronic device at Big Camera. The only available clerk is Chinese; he doesn’t speak Japanese well.

Toshi must speak English. He should ask:

a. This is what?
b. What is this?
c. This what is?
d. What this is?

Clerk: It’s a router.
#英会話

Answer:
The best answer is: b. ‘What is this’; a. is okay, but is used in particular frames of minds and circumstances, not in common speech.

Explanation:
English is curious in this way, because the ‘what’ (the thing) is at the beginning in a question instead of the ‘this’ (as it is in the answer), and switches to the other side of the linking verb in the answer. This is different from Korean and Japanese, wherein the subject, whether it is known (‘a router’) or unknown (‘what’) stands in the same place in the sentence, whether it be the question or in the answer.

From Twitter

Talking about College (Choose the best answer):

Jon: What’s your ___ ?
Chulsu: You mean the fee–like how much?
Jon: Yes.
Chulsu: I’m confused.
Jon: Well, it has many parts: books, housing, activities– but we just say ”__.”
Chulsu: Oh.

a. class cost
b. tuition
c. tuition fee

Explanation:
It is true that tuition and tuition fee mean the same thing, but tuition is shorter and tuition fee is really only useful when we are talking about other fees along with it:

This month I had to pay tuition-, maintenance- and parking- fees! I’m going to a need a second job!

Conversation
Hikaru and Jim are two students in their first year of college at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan.Hikaru is from Japan and Jom from Ohio. Getting used to life in New York City is exciting, but expensive. School of Visual Arts is an extremely expensive private art college, so the young men often worry about paying for it….

Hikaru and Jim are having lunch at Au Mon Pain, luncheon a chain:

Hikaru: Do you have to pay your tuition fee this month?
Jim: Yeah. No–wait–what do you mean, man?
Hikaru: Don’t you have to pay for your classes?
Jim: Sure, but, we don’t say ”tuition fee.” What else would tuition be if not a fee? In fact, a tuition fee sounds like an additional payment we must make… plus the tuition.
Hikaru: What do you mean?
Jim: Tuition is a fee. You don’t need to say “fee.” It’s like saying “fee” twice– like “automobile car”.
Hikaru: Really?
Jim: Really.