英語の文法と語法の質問〜３

[Yudan Taiteki]

I believe that you can only use "isn't he?" when the main verb of the sentence is "is". Otherwise you have to use "doesn't he?"

"He's a teacher, isn't he?"
"He teaches middle school, doesn't he?"
"He is very tall, isn't he?"
"He plays basketball, doesn't he?"
"His name is Chris, isn't it?"
"That is your dog, isn't it?"
等々

[miha]

＞最近、ここのサイトに来てなかったので、yudan taitekiさんが答えてくれたのに、気がついていませんでした。丁寧な、回答をありがとう。

[miha]

＞前置詞の質問について、教えてください。

○　　　１-1 Being married is difficult for me.
×　　　1-2　　Being married is difficlult to me．

Ｑ１　Why　is "to" wrong in this case ?　
　　　
----------------------
2-1 He was killed by a gun.
2-2 He was killed with a gun.

Q2 What is the difference between 2-1 and 2-2 ?
-------------------------
3-1 It is important to me.
3-2 It is important for me.

Q3 What is the difference betwwen 3-1 and 3-2 ?

＞前置詞について教えてください。　（続き）

4-1 I am interested in cllecting coins.
4-2　 I am interested to collect coins.

Q４　ｗｈａｔ is the difference between 4-1 and 4-2 ?

よろしく、お願いします。

[AJBryant]

Miha, please edit posts rather than posting again and again.

＞前置詞の質問について、教えてください。

○　　　１-1 Being married is difficult for me.
×　　　1-2　　Being married is difficlult to me．

Ｑ１　Why　is "to" wrong in this case ?　

　　　

The easy answer is "because it is."

Basically, it's "XYZ is difficult/easy for ABC."

The thing is, it's "difficult FOR (someone)". "Easy/Difficult for" + noun.

Using "difficult TO" needs to be followed by a verb to be really correct.

"Dancing is difficult FOR JOHN" = "John says it's difficult TO DANCE" = "John says it's difficult FOR HIM to dance.
"Being married is difficult for me" = "For me, it is difficult TO BE married."

2-1 He was killed by a gun.
2-2 He was killed with a gun.

Q2 What is the difference between 2-1 and 2-2 ?

This one is special. It's a passive use, and a special case as well. "WITH a gun" requires an active verb. "He killed her WITH a gun" "She WAS killed BY a gun." That's how we typically use it, though we *do* hear "killed with gun" but it never sounds right to me. A Google search to see shows 14,600 hits for "killed with a gun" and 231,000 for "killed by a gun" so that gives you an idea of which is more commonly used -- but both are technically correct.

In the active form, you can't say "he killed her by a gun" -- that has to be "with." That doesn't hold true for everything, though. "He wrote the letter with a pen" is just as correct as "he wrote the letter by pen" (note: "with a pen" but "by pen" -- not "by a pen" -- why? I don't know...). But "the letter was written with a pen" and "the letter was written by pen" are both acceptable.

3-1 It is important to me.
3-2 It is important for me.

Q3 What is the difference betwwen 3-1 and 3-2 ?

Both of these are acceptable, to an extent. "To me" seems much preferred, however.

＞前置詞について教えてください。　（続き）

4-1 I am interested in cllecting coins.
4-2　 I am interested to collect coins.

Q４　ｗｈａｔ is the difference between 4-1 and 4-2 ?

4.1 is correct, and 4.2 is not correct English. There are actually two different grammar points here.

First: "I am interested...." You are interested "IN" something. This is important. It's a noun that has the interest. Almost every instance is IN. ("I'm interested IN the job you offered", or "I'm interested IN that car", or "I'm interested in dancing.")

Second: Since it has to be a noun that you are "interested in," "to collect coins" can't be correct as it's a verb phrase. "Collecting coins" *is* a noun phrase, so it works.


Tony

[Gundaetiapo]

＞前置詞の質問について、教えてください。

○　　　１-1 Being married is difficult for me.
×　　　1-2　　Being married is difficlult to me．

Ｑ１　Why　is "to" wrong in this case ?　

1-2 sounds only slightly wrong to me. It wouldn't surprise me to hear it from a native speaker, though most would use 1-1. For interest, if we include the word "seems":

○ 1-3 Being married seems difficult for me.
○ 1-4 Being married seems difficult to me.
○ 1-5 Being married seems difficult for you.
× 1-6 Being married seems difficult to you. (grammatical, but it's unusual to say this of someone else)

With 1-3, the "for" connects with "difficult". The context for 1-3 might be in considering the marriage of others, with the speaker contrasting their own marriage with other marriages that don't seem difficult. How "seems" relates to the context is important in this example.

With 1-4, the "to" connects with "seems". "A seems B to me" being a standard construction.

In the active form, you can't say "he killed her by a gun" -- that has to be "with." That doesn't hold true for everything, though. "He wrote the letter with a pen" is just as correct as "he wrote the letter by pen" (note: "with a pen" but "by pen" -- not "by a pen" -- why? I don't know...). But "the letter was written with a pen" and "the letter was written by pen" are both acceptable.

I suspect that "by" usage comes from "by means of" or "by way of". It's a common to use this "by" when talking about transportation: "he came by (way of) train".

3-1 It is important to me.
3-2 It is important for me.

3-2 sounds incomplete to me. "It is important for me to <verb>".

[miha]

Thank you for your answers both of you, AJBryant and Gundaetiapo.

今、二人が書いてくれた内容を読んでいます。

３の例は、

3-1 It is important to me.
3-2 It is important for me.

あまりよくなので、次の例に変えます。

3-1　Spending time with my familiy is important to me.
3-2　Spending time with my familiy is important for me.

[Sairana]

3-1　Spending time with my familiy is important to me.
3-2　Spending time with my familiy is important for me.

I don't know how best to explain this...

3-1 has a more personal nuance. "to me" is used when you believe something that other people may or may not agree with.
EX:
Amy: "She looks ugly."
Barb: "No, she doesn't."
Amy: "Well, she does to me."

Something can be 'important to me' because I want to only speak for myself, not for everyone else.

3-2 is more general. Someone else believes something, and they have reasons that I should believe it, too.

What about:
3-1b Running a mile every day is important to me. (I run because it makes me feel good. If I don't run, I feel lazy and less energetic all day. No matter what anyone else thinks, positive or negative, I will always run every day.)

3-2b Running a mile every day is important for me. (If I don't run a mile every day, the doctor said I might have a heart attack in 10 years. Whether I like to run or not, I need to do it.)

[AJBryant]

Very good distinction, Sairana!

[miha]

AJBryant さん、Gundaetiapo さん、Sairana さんの回答を読んでから考えたら
次の１と３はとてもよくわかりました。

今まで、ずーと気になっていましたが、とてもすっきりしました。
ほんとうにありがとう。

○　　　１-1 Being married is difficult for me.
×　　　1-2　　Being married is difficlult to me．

　　　　3-1 It is important to me.
　　　　3-2 It is important for me.

（後で、以下の例に変更した）

　　　　3-1　Spending time with my familiy is important to me.
　　　　3-2　Spending time with my familiy is important for me.

[miha]

前回質問した、以下の件はまだ納得していないので、もう一度お願いします。

4-2　 I am interested to collect coins.

が、おかしいのはわかりましたが、辞書を調べたり友人から聞いたら
to speak, ask, learn, know がある場合はおかしくない。

それは、正しいですか？

4-1 I am interested in collecting coins.
4-2　 I am interested to collect coins.

Q４　ｗｈａｔ is the difference between 4-1 and 4-2 ?

[Adriano]

Hi!
Today, while filling out a weekend homestay form I've found:

What nickname do you go by?
あなたのニックネームは何ですか？

I don't understand the "go by"?
Since the only sentence I can think to translate this japanese is "What's your nickname?" or "How are you used to be called?"

[tōkai devotee]

What nickname do you go by?
あなたのニックネームは何ですか？

I don't understand the "go by"?
Since the only sentence I can think to translate this japanese is "What's your nickname?" or "How are you used to be called?"

Hi Adriano!
You are correct to translate あなたのニックネームは何ですか？as "What's your nickname?" The phrase "What name to you go by?", means the same thing, it's just another way of asking the same thing. As is the case with English, there are always many different ways to say things. eg, "Are you known by any other name?" or "What names do you go by?" mean the same as "What names do you use?"

I hope you understand what I mean!

[Adriano]

Thanks in advance for the quick reply.
There was the japanese translation above, so I understood the sentence.
My doubt is what do "go by" means?
I thought that can be used only like "なにで...行く/来る" as > I go to the university by bike.
So, "go by" means "used to" too?

[tōkai devotee]

Ok!

"To go by" has a number of meanings.

1. to travel by, go along, pass along
eg I went by the shops.

2. means of transportation
eg. I go to university by bike.

3. rely on, believe in
eg. I must go by what she tells me. = I must trust that what she says is true.

4. to use a certain name.
She goes by her maiden name.
She is known by her maiden name.

wakarimasu ka?
ima nihon ni sunde imasu ka? shiranakatta desu.

[Adriano]

Thanks a lot Tokai-san!
All the examples made it look so easy to understand.^^
I'm living in Toyama Prefecture, where I had the pleasure to met a lot of nice russians and ALTs.^^
皆親切な人で、毎日英語と日本語の聴解を練習しています。