Gross!!!!

Another classic mistake!! Can you figure it out?

Chokies

So the first person to ask me about this mistake was Mune. He wasn’t sure what the problem was so I will explain.

“Chokies” has a bad/negative image. It is a terrible product name. This word is connected to the word “Choke”.

“Choke” means that when you eat something, the food becomes stuck in your throat and you can’t breathe.

I have no idea where this product name came from or where this company is based but I would never buy these cookies. Sounds dangerous!!!!! hahahahaha

Check your dictionaries!

Hope that helps.

I'm sorry vs Excuse me

*Request from an old student - She wants to know the difference between these words because she is currently living in the US and found that she would say sorry when americans would say excuse me. So, here goes!

I'm sorry - This phrase is used when you do something wrong or make a mistake and you need to apologise. For example, if your mobile phone rings in your classroom you should say "I'm sorry" to the teacher. (I'm sorry = "Gomenasai" in Japanese)

Excuse me - This phrase is used when you want to do something that might interupt or disturb another person. For example, if you want to take the salt on the table and you reach over your friend's plate. (Excuse me = "Shitsureishimasu" in Japanese)

There are some other situations where you might use both excuse me or i'm sorry. For example if you burp in public you could say "I'm sorry" but "Excuse me" would be more polite.

Please ask your teachers for some more examples.

Misunderstanding!

Hey Everyone,

One of my old students has told me that he thinks that some of you might find it difficult to understand this blog.

I made this blog for all students but mostly for higher level students who make basic mistakes. I have included examples to help lower level students to understand. Some of the sentences and vocabulary might be difficult to understand but if you have a problem understanding you can use a dictionary, post a comment and ask me or ask your teacher.

I have also added other links to websites which might help you more.

If you have a link to a good website for japanese speakers please let me know and I will add it to my site.

Thanks.

How are you? vs How do you do?

How are you? - This is a common and general greeting which means that you are asking about the other person. The idea is that you are asking about the person's feelings and life.

Person 1 - "How are you?"
Person 2 - "I'm great, thanks"

How do you do? - This is a very old-fashioned and polite way to say "Nice to meet you". This is quite formal and not as commonly used today but most commonly used in Britain. It is usually only used when talking to older people or in a very polite situation.

Person 1 - "How do you do?"
Person 2 - "Nice to meet you"/"How do you do?"

These are commonly confused phrases. I have had a look online and even the english speaking community is divided on this topic. It seems though, that British english speakers view "How do you do?" as meaning "hello/nice to meet you" but American English speakers view it as "How are you?". I will jump on my high horse and say that the British version is correct and that American english has purely confused this meaning through improper use of the phrase. I am open for correction though.

There are other greetings we use such as "How are you doing?" "What's up?" "How's it going?". These are all mostly the same in meaning but "What's up?" can sometimes mean "What's wrong?"

Confused yet??????

Interested v Interesting

A common mistake for many students is confusing the "ed" and "ing" adjectives. Many students I have met have told me that they think "ed" endings are only for verbs. However, this is incorrect. "ed" endings are for both verbs and some types of adjectives.

For Example,

Interested - This is a word which shows personal feeling.
"I am interested in chess" - This sentence is correct because it shows my feeling about something.
"Chess is interested" - This sentence is wrong because Chess is not a person and has no feelings.

Interesting - This word shows your opinion of other things.
"Chess is interesting" - This sentence is correct because it shows my opinion of something.
"I am interesting" - This sentence is correct but it would be rare to use because it appears arrogant

Remember! - Interesting is much more commonly used and easier to use. Interested is only used to show personal feeling.

Other examples; fascinating/fascinated, excited/exciting

Oversleep v Sleep In

This is a common problem that I have encountered so many times while teaching.

Students often say happily, "I overslept today" and this sentence is grammatically correct but the problem is context. What they usually mean when they say this is that they have a day off and were able to relax and sleep a little longer than usual. However, the meaning of this sentence is to sleep longer by accident or because your alarm was broken, for example.

So basically here is what they mean in short;

To oversleep (v) Accident (Usually a negative term)
"I am sorry for being late, I overslept" (Sorry I'm late, my alarm is broken and I woke up 15 minutes ago)

To sleep in (v) Choice
"I am so happy that tomorrow is saturday. I really want to sleep in." (I want to sleep more than usual tomorrow)

Hope that helps!

Engrish

A brilliant example of a mistake, using a word that has a totally different meaning than planned! It could be a spelling mistake or just a complete misunderstanding of the word.

Also a nice fun way to start the blog. Anyone know what the problem is????

Hello

Hey Everyone,

I just thought I would set up a blog to help out some of my old students and anyone else who is learning english. This blog is based on the mistakes and problems with english that I have encountered working in Japan. So, most of these ideas will be directed towards helping Japnese students but may also help other people.

I hope you find it helpful and let me know if you have any helpful hints or questions that you would like to add.

Good luck