Quick sentence check.

[Silvanoshei]

はい。おれはとてもいそがしいです。
Yes, I am very busy Right?
Do I have totemo and isogashii in the right places? How would I make this sentence very busy lately? Dunno the word for lately. ;;

[katafei]

hhhmm,
This is not really an answer, but a try out....

This is what comes to my mind:
このごろとても忙しいです。

I wonder whether that is correct?

No, probably:
このごろとても忙しかったです。
is better? Past tense?

[ess_jay_arr]

Yeah, you've got totemo and isogashii in the right places. Depending on who you're talking to, it might be better if you didn't use 'ore'. I think it's a bit of a sore point around here.

'Lately' is 'saikin', so 最近に、私はとても忙しいです should do the trick. Or maybe just 最近は大忙しです。

PS. I'm not an expert, so stick around a bit longer for someone else to give you the definative answer.

[tanuki]

I think it's just 最近.

最近、私はとても忙しいです。

(as SJR said, don't use "ore". Or if you're going to use it, make your sentence in plain speech. "Ore" and polite don't mix well.)

[Yudan Taiteki]

Using おれ with です is pretty much always wrong regardless of context or situation; combining a very casual/blunt expression like "ore" with a polite "desu" is strange. But as SJR indicates, おれ is a dangerous word if you're not certain of what you're doing. This isn't just a "sore point" for this board, but general advice on Japanese usage.

[ess_jay_arr]

Yudan Taiteki wrote:
This isn't just a "sore point" for this board, but general advice on Japanese usage.

Sorry, I didn't mean to sound sarcastic or anything, just tried to add some levity so I didn't sound like I was coming down hard on him.

Actually, I've made the mistake of using 'ore' and 'desu' together before. When I introduced myself to a Japanese girl at my uni, the sentence I used was a train wreck.

"Hey Mai, are you Japanese?"

"Err, yes, why?"

「今、おれは日本語を勉強してるんだから、君と話してみたいです！」

「...　...　どこで？」

Bikkuri saseta to omoimasu.

[katafei]

So no past tense?

@SRJ, that story is hilarious

My mother has new Japanese neighbours one flight up.
When I met them, they were struggling with garbage bags and I was struggling keeping a rather big dog away from them.
So, bang, all my Japanese was gone and all I could think of was;
こんばんわ。

I don't think they were very impressed

[ess_jay_arr]

katafei wrote:
So no past tense?

I think you'd use past tense if you had been very busy but you aren't anymore, but I got the impression the OP wanted to say he'd been very busy and still is... so I'd go with present tense.

[AJBryant]

Using おれ with です is pretty much always wrong regardless of context or situation; combining a very casual/blunt expression like "ore" with a polite "desu" is strange.

You beat me to it.


Tony

[inuinu]

「このごろ」と「さいきん」を使い分けるのは、とても難しいと思います。
「このごろとても忙しかったです」のように
Past tenseと一緒に使うのは不自然な感じがします。
recently と　lately　の違いが私にはよくわかりませんが、
「このごろ」と「さいきん」の違いも、それと似たようなものなのかな。

とりあえず「さいきん」のほうが汎用性があって、色々な文に適用できるので
「さいきん」を使っておいたほうが無難です。

[Tspoonami]

I think このごろ is more of 'this time,' rather than 'lately' (seeing as how that is the literal translation...). さいきん is more 'broad,' whereas このごろ is more specific about the time being now. However, the ごろ part is a slightly vague term in the sense that it isn't specific about the time. Thus, このごろ is more like 'around now.' If you look at the meanings of the individual kanji, さいきん is kind of specific, but not as much as このごろ.

At least, I think I'm right. Please, please correct me.

[Silvanoshei]

ess_jay_arr wrote:

katafei wrote:
So no past tense?

I think you'd use past tense if you had been very busy but you aren't anymore, but I got the impression the OP wanted to say he'd been very busy and still is... so I'd go with present tense.

Bingo, present tense is what I wanted to use. I had no idea Ore was so rude, I just thought it was for men only, and boys/teenages used Boku. lol, whoops.

Btw what does doko de mean?

[ess_jay_arr]

Silvanoshei wrote:
Btw what does doko de mean?

"Where?"

I guess you were asking because of that little anecdote of mine? In case you didn't catch it, what I said to her was "Right now, I (rude) am studying Japanese, therefore I want to try speaking with you! (intimate/condescending)"

Whoops.

[Teh_Freak]

For "Yes, I'm very busy", I simply would use:
はい、とても忙しいんです。

"Lately, I've been very busy", I'd use:
最近とても忙しかったんです。

[Silvanoshei]

ess_jay_arr wrote:

Silvanoshei wrote:
Btw what does doko de mean?

"Where?"

I guess you were asking because of that little anecdote of mine? In case you didn't catch it, what I said to her was "Right now, I (rude) am studying Japanese, therefore I want to try speaking with you! (intimate/condescending)"

Whoops.

eeto... lol..