hisasiburi Koir-san;)
 

Thank you very much for your reply again, and I am so sorry that I haven't come back here earlier. The school thing and other things have been keeping me really really busy... I feel like I have no time for internet anymore...

The school isn't going perfect, but OK.

Koir-san, if you have any question about Japanese, please come here to leave it! I will visit here more often.

have a good day!

mayumi

kon ni chi wa adin-san
 

G'day mate! (hahaha)
if you have any questions about Japanese, please come back here to ask me;)

Have a good day!

Busy can also mean the school is meant for great success. And in these always-connected times, being too busy for the Internet may not only be very desirable but a virtue :)

As long as it is going on, there is always the possibility it will approach perfection, or as close as human beings can get it.

*chuckles* Now I may just have to start learning Japanese with one more good reason ;)

It is always a good day when you hear from friends from far away. :vsign:

dear koir-san
 

how sweet;)
your message always makes me :)

English Teacher
 

Hi!
This is a rather late reply to your post, but I am happy to help you too. I am an English teacher. :)

貴方の日本語わ良いです。:)
I love to write stories, so I've always tried to be careful with my grammar and spelling. I've helped friends who did not speak English with their English, and I'd love to give you a hand.

thank you!
 

Thank you jonnyo-san
for your kind message,

and I am so sorry I couldn't reply you sooner.

I used to visit this forum often, but since I opened my own school and other stuff around me getting complicated... I have much less time to sit down and relax and enjoy this fun forum to talk with lovely people...

oh, but I am still interested in learning English
so if you could give me a help sometimes, it would be wonderful!

Please leave your questions about Japan too, when you have got one;)

Thank you!
 

私の日本語は良いですか？　:)
I hope it is, because I am a native Japanese speaker ;)hahaha

Thank you for your kind message,
if you can help me sometimes, it will be great!

I like writing too (I used to write a lot of stories for kids: in Japanese)
I am very interested in writing and drawing to make fun books for kids.
If you like writing for kids, then maybe we can help each other?!

Anyway thank you very much again,
and I am sorry for this late reply.

Have a happy day, LadyRowena:ywave:

I have a question!
 

Hello,
It's Mayumi again.
Loooooooooong time no see!
おひさしぶりです！

I would like to ask you a question about kindergartens and schools in your countries.

In Japan, school year starts from April. (kindergartens,schools and universities too)
and we have an "entrance ceremony" everytime we join a new school.

Do you have such ceremony in your country? or just have a ceremony for graduation?

Many of my students go to the kindergarten from this April, and the other day we were talking about it with our teacher from USA, were told that there was no such ceremony in the USA, he said you can get into the kindergarten whenever you want....so I just wondered how about other countries?

I am looking forward to hearing from you again;)

Mayumi:ywave:

There's more concentration on finishing a level of schooling than beginning it, so we have graduation ceremonies instead of entrance ceremonies. In my experience, the beginning of a school year or college term is a time of getting things organized and making sure everyone knows what is expected of them in terms of work effort and attendance. In a way, it *is* an entrance ceremony, but much more informal and group-oriented.

Though in the past, the college I attend did have what could be called a "formal" entrance ceremony. Its purpose was mainly to sort students into groups according to area of study, then further on to individual classes if a group was too large. It was rather awkward and more suited to a high school setting, in my opinion.

Hi^^

well, in austria, we dont really have such a ceremony. most of the time for those who get their Matura (final certificate to enter an uni) make such a graduation festival in our small school´s church.
and just after a normal school year, not the last one, you get your certificate from the teacher and then just go home^^ and the first school day of every year, your head teacher comes and discusses with the whole class about organisation and so on. :)
schools start here at the beginning of september and end in june/ beginning of july. in between you have 2 terms, and the 2nd starts after 1 week holidays in february. :)

Thank you!
 

I see.

It's very interesting.

In Japan, "entering" is very difficult, so they celebrate it.
if you believe or not, "graduating" is not so difficult in Japan...
I know many college students kind of stop studying hard once they passed their exam to enter the college...

I was like that too.
I started studying properly after I went to Australia.

Anyway,
here is a website you can have a look
to see what Japanese people wear and care about the entrance ceremony...

http://www.atsugi.co.jp/styleupcafe/.../vol02.html#02

interesting
 

Interesting!

Thank you for your information about Austria.

Our school year starts from April and ends in March.
We have summer holidays (30-40days in July and August)
Winter holidays(10-14days in December and January)
Spring holidays (10-30days in March and April)

something like that:ywave:

Ah, thats quite interesting too, wow, even impresses me a little, similar though different to the system here^^hah
by the way, i forgot to tell you the spring and winter holidays ><;; hah

Winter holidays are the so called christmas holidays and are at the end of december till the beginning of january. (14 or 15 days)
and the spring holidays are mostly at the beginning of april, and also last for 7 to 10 days then :)

Question!
 

Hello everyone:)

Thank you for helping me everytime I come here.

I have a question, well actually some questions today
Can anyone help me?

1)
I will answer your questions.
I will answer to your questions.

Which one is right?

2)
I've been learning how to play the guiter since I was 10 years old.
I started learning how to play the guiter when I was 10 years old.

Do these sound OK to you?

3)this sound very very silly...
but one of my friends was wondering and asked me to
ask you guys for a help!

Her question was...

"how Do you call a "tissue" properly?"

She means

There usually are 2 pieces of very thin tissue paper, making a pair... I mean the regular tissue paper!...do you know what I mean? I am sorry I don't know how to explain this...

We learnt stuff like these...
a piece of paper
a pair of shoes

What about the tissue!?
Do you call it "a piece of tissue paper"?
or they are always come in 2 pieces actually, so
should we say a pair of 2 pieces of tissue paper?

I usually say "Can I have a tissue?" but she says it's not right.

I know this is very silly, but please help her (actually help ME! cos she keeps asking me if I get the answer)

Please leave your question about Japanese too,
I would like to help too


Have a good weekend

Mayumi:ywave:

Hello!

1) 'I will answer your questions.' This is right.

2) 'I've been learning how to play the guitar since I was 10 years old.' This is right, though it is 'guitar' and not 'guiter.'

3) 'Can I have a tissue please?' is right if you only want 1 tissue (remember to say please though!).

If you want more than that, you could say, 'Can I have some tissues please?'

If you want a specific number of tissues, you would say, 'Can I have 2 tissues please?' You can change the number to any other number.

(By the way, most people just say 'Can I have a tissue please?' and they know that you mean two tissues together, because that is counted as a whole usually. They do not mind how many layers one tissue has, if that makes sense.)

Hope that helps you! ^_^

Ooh, goodies! Questions! :)

The first sentence is right.


Both sound okay to me, as they both describe the same action (learning to play the guitar). They differ in where the speaker/writer wishes to place the emphasis in the statement.

The first statement emphasizes the length of time the speaker/writer has been learning to play the guitar. If the speaker is in his or her 30s the statement illustrates the length of time spent learning to play the guitar, in this case twenty years.

The second statement emphasizes the age at which the speaker/writer started to learn to play the guitar. As a result, less emphasis is placed on the length of time learning and more emphasis is placed on the starting age.

In this case, the way you ask is correct. "A tissue" is what is called in English grammar as a "collective noun". That means a singular form of the noun can represent a group of the same item.

Yes, one "tissue" is made up of two "layers" of tissue which can be easily pulled apart to form two single "tissues" but the usual form of the item is two (or more) layers pressed together to make one "tissue".

In natural English usage, a "tissue" is frequently referred to as a "Kleenex", which is an example of a name brand being used so often to describe the item that it replaces the "correct" English name of the item.

I shall try, Mayumi-san. Good to hear from you :vsign:

For the last question I'll put in my suggestion too(even though there is a lot here already....but still!)

don't say " a piece of tissue" or " a pair of tissue"<--this one is very wrong, though

just say "tissue" There is no counter for a tissue
:ywave:

Hajime mashite MissMisa
 

Yes, Thank you very much!

When you have any question about Japanese, please let me help you :)

Hajime mashite survivingonrice
 

Thank you survivingonrice!
When you have any question about Japanese, please leave it here!

Hello Koir;)
 

kon ban wa Koir-san

So how was your weekend?

mine has been alright so far (it's Sunday 2:30am)...
I just came back from OHANAMI (HANAMI) party.
I joined 2 ohanami parties(12:00~16:00 and20:30~1:30) today... I am so tired... (enjoyed though)

It's beautiful here in April, espcially this cherryblossom time!

Anyway...

Thank you again for your lecture!

I really understand now

Have a happy Sunday

Mayumi:ywave:

Still going on (Saturday here). I don't have college until next Tuesday. It's a four-day week with the week afterwards being final exams. The worst subject for me is the first exam, so that will be done with right from the start.

Glad you enjoyed the hanami party :)

Keep striving for success with your school, Mayumi-san! :vsign:

It's never been easy is indeed, correct. It's never been easy = it has never been easy.

Edit: I didn't see the other pages so sorry if I have responded to an old post!

thank you KMal-san
 

Thank you KMal-san;)
Yes,some nice and kind people here helped me about
that "it's" thing, but thenk you anyway:)
I really like it here, cos there are many kind people like you.

I have a question!
 

Can you tell me how you say "bye bye" ?

I mean...
something like...

See you
See ya
See you later
See you around
Catch you later
Ciao
Bye for now


Did you know that we don't use "sayonara" often?
I guess it depends, but I only used (and would use) "sayonara" at "school", I mean only when I greet to the "sensei"s and "senpai"s or the "visiters" there.
or maybe some formal occassions outside of school?
mmm...now I am confused myself... I am not sure now...
I will ask my friends when they would use sayonara...
Well, what I wanted to tell you was...
There are many ways to say byebye in Japanese too.

Do you say "good-bye" often?

To my friends, I would say
jya-ne
mata-ne
bye-bye
kiotsukete-ne (not very often though)
*eg.to who(whom?) drive or bike home, or to a girl who goes home alone...

and also...
otsukaresamadeshita
*eg.to my coworkers
Shitsureishimasu
*eg.to my boss


...
How about you :) ?

Normally I use 'Later *name*' with my friends, 'see ya' with co-workers. Occasionaly I say 'Later sir/ma'am', but that's just my own personality at work.

thank you Nathan;)
 

Thank you Nathan:)

sanko ni narimasu:)

dou itashimashite.

I really need to get back into Japanese studying myself. I've been busy getting a career together and have been neglecting it lately..

Anyways, I just wanted to comment on saying 'good-bye'. Sometimes preparing the listener for the goodbye is just as important.

Common pre-goodbye's I use:

"Well, I'm off/out" *This is more casual, usually used when I left a party/bar. However, I also use "I'm off" before I would leave for a trip.

"I'm off" can also be combined with 'to' -> "I'm off to (work)(school)". The 'to' is important, as "I'm off work/school" is vastly different (means you are not at work).

Good old prepositions. So many uses, so many meanings.


Anyways:
"(Its) been good (meeting/chatting with you)(chatting), but ..."
"Thanks for the (coffee), but ... "
"I (better)/(should) (be going)/(get back to X)"

aligatoh
 

Good! Please come back here:)

I see...
It's the same with Japanese language/culture.


I see.

How about
I'm leaving now
I'm going now
I've got to go now
I have to go now
It's time for me to go

oh at some party
"Thank you for having me, I think I should take off now"

Do all these sound Ok to you?

naruhodo...

Can I say...

I am off work today.
I am off school this morming (but have some classes in the afternoon)
I will be off work for 1 week from today.
Are you off work tomorrow? (?)
Will you be off work tomorrow? (?)
I was off work yesterday.

I don't quite understand the meaning of "uses"...
means like... usages? or users?


[/quote]

Very usuful! Thank you Nathan!

Those all sound fine to me. You can leave out the 'now' usually.

These can all work.

You could also say 'I had yesterday off' or 'Are you off tomorrow?'. We assume you are talking about work or school.

I might change the 'from' in 'I will be off work for 1 week from today' to 'starting', but it is okay like that.

Yes, it meant 'usages' in this case.

Edit: You don't see people saying/writing 'usages' as much. We usually use 'uses'

Example.
It has many uses. -> It can be used for many things.

He has his uses. -> He is useful for some things.
*Note* This type is often used after something negative has been said about someone or thing, and you disagree (maybe for private reasons).

Example (tatoeba!)
"We should fire Mike. He is a terrible salesman"
"I don't know, he has his uses." (He makes good coffee!)

"Why don't you throw away that Rubex cube?"
"It has its uses!" (Its my paperweight, or people think I'm smart because I have one!)

"Why do you keep that old laptop? You have a new one."
"It has its uses." (It has old data, and I have been too lazy to copy it. Or it runs an old game I like. Or I just want to keep it because it cost me a lot of money)

wow...thank you!
 

hontoni aligatoh!

I leaned a lot!

Can I ask you a question, how do you pronounce use"S"?

Z? or S?

Please leave your question too!

Have a nice weekend

:ywave:

From the examples Nathan gave, it's "z". Written how it sounds, it's "yoo-zehz".

Well.. I would argue that since this use is a noun, it is pronounced with an 's'. The 'z' pronunciation is more for the verb form.

(you-uses)

(noun)
He has his uses (S).

(verb)
He uses that one (Z).

Hey!!
 

Look, I think you're looking at it from the wrong perspective. It's cool to be proper in English but also to have fun, or there'd be NO FUN at all learning a language.. so.. If you want to I can help you! You can be really polite whenever you want to or just chill out whenever you're talking to your buddies... =) let me know and I'll help you!! =)

Douzo Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu!!

Isa

Russian pretty, interesting girls want have correspondence with native Japan penpal.
Write for us: [email protected]

Thank you!
 

Thank you again :)

I have another question today...

about 免疫(めんえき)

This word is new and I am not sure how to use it.
Can anyone help me again?

People don't have the immunity to the new type of influenza,
so it's easy to infect.

No one is immune to the new type of influenza.

something like these?

oh by the way,

Please take a good care of yourself!

Be careful with the flu!

While immunity is a noun, it is not often used with 'the'.

"People don't have immunity to the new type of influenza"
"People lack immunity to the new type of influenza "

Another word that is often used with diseases is 'strain', which means 'type of'.

"People don't have immunity to the new(est) strain of influenza"

With the sentence like this, you are saying we give influenza something. So you may wish to have it like this:
"so we are easy to infect."
"so we are infected easily."
"so we can be infected easily."
"so we catch it easily."

or

"so it infects us easily."
"so it can infect us easily."

This part is fine as is.

Thank you, Nathan;)
 

alitoh Nathan,
Can I ask you more questions?

How about...
"so we are easy to get infected"
"so we are easy to be infected"
?

the adverb "easily" can go before the noun too?
like...
can easily be..
easily catch it..
easily infects us..
can easily infect us..


Thank you Nathan for helping me!
itsumo aligato!

Have a good day! :ywave:

The two sets of sentences have essentially the same meaning. The two sentences above are more wordy, which makes them more ideal for written forms of communication. Speaking them would take a bit more time and sound overly formal.

Thank you Koir!
 

Thank you Koir san, always:)

I see...

I often get confused with
to be and to get...

When you feel tired...
would you say

"I get tired"
"I got tired"
as well as
"I am tired"
?

"got" and "was" were both"past" form right?
but
"I got tired" and
"I was tired"
mean different?


and I also confused with
to be and to become

I want to be a teacher in the future
I want to become a teacher in the future


sorry Koir san to ask you many questions...

What time is it in Canada now?
It's 0:50 pm here in Japan:)