.
Sincerely,
YESusa
안녕하세요?
저는 대학원에 재학 중인 학생입니다. 며칠 전에 이곳을 처음 알게 된 이후로 영어에 관해 잘못 알고 있었던 점들을 많이 알게 되었습니다.고맙습니다.
이번엔 제가 궁금한 점이 있어 이렇게 글을 띄웁니다.
저희 연구실에서는 세미나가 매주마다 있어서 자주 발표자료를 만들게
됩니다. 보통 발표자료의 마지막에는 다음주에 할 내용이 무엇이라고 적게
되어 있습니다. 제가 이번 주에 적은 내용 중에는 paper survey라는 말이 있는데, 이 표현이 맞는지 알고 싶습니다.
Dear Kang Tae Jun,
In order to know whether the term "paper survey" is correct, a fuller explanation of the context is necessary. In particular, knowing what the
speaker/writer means by the term "paper survey" is critical to evaluating
whether the term is being appropriately used. Please provide this
information, and YESusa will be happy to answer your question.
Sincerely,
YESusa
Please, the following sentences correct in English expression.
I'm happy received your letter.
I have been received your letter for a long time.
Are you a lot of busy?
How's your feeling today?
I'm so so. But here it's getting warm.
I like spring. I'd like this season because everything beginning again and it's
weather more than more warm.
I hate very cold.(I dislike winder.)
As you said it's too sleepy. But it's able to natural changing.
(어찌 되었던, 나는 모든 것이 새롭게 시작되는 이 계절이 좋답니다.)
Anyway, I'd like this season everything renew.
You said your vacation was not good but I think you got some precious things
the vacation.
I spent long time with my friends yesterday. We drunk a lot.
We told about our boss, senior, the life in office, and co-workers.
Also, we told a lot of hard working in office.
I was not busy during this week and it's a kind of monotone job.
(The in my office during the week was slow.)
지루하고 특별히 바쁘지않은 한 주를 보냈습니다 의 표현은 어떻게
하는지요? (->위의 표현 이외의 것으로..)
By the way, Maybe I going to be busy this weekend.
Because I participate in a study group meeting on Saturday.
On Sunday I'm going to a wedding hall one of my upperclassman in Chun-an.
On April 5, I'm going to Seoul a museum part with a co-workers.
Do you think I will very busy this weekend?
OK. This is I have got to do things. (이것이 이번 주에 내가 해야 할 일이다.)
I hope to you will nice weekend.
Take-care, bye.
From Kyung-hee
하경희님께
교정본을 보내 드립니다.
Please edit the following sentences for correct usage of English expressions.
I'm happy to receive your letter.
I received your letter a long time ago.
Are you very busy?
How do you feel today?
I'm so-so. But here it's getting warm.
I like spring. I like this season because everything is beginning again and
the weather gets warmer and warmer.
I hate the cold, so I dislike winter.
As you said it's too sleepy. But it's able to change naturally.
Anyway, I like this season because everything is starting anew.
You said your vacation was not good but I think you got some precious
things during this vacation.
I spent a lot of time with my friends yesterday. We drank a lot.
We told each other about our bosses, our seniors, life in the office, and co-workers.
Also, we talked a lot about working hard at the office.
I was not busy during this week and it's kind of a monotonous job.
It was a slow and boring week at my office.
By the way, I might be busy this weekend.
On Saturday I'm going to a study group meeting.
On Sunday I'm going to the wedding of one of my upperclassmen in Chun-an.
On April 5, I'm going to Seoul to see a museum some co-workers.
Don't you think I will very busy this weekend?
OK. That's what I'm doing this week.
I hope you have a good weekend.
Take-care, bye,
Kyung-hee
미국에서 YESusa 드림
CJ님께
질문 1
Is there any green in my eye? 무슨 뜻이죠?
답변
두 가지의 뜻
1) 내 눈이 약간 파랗지 않아요?
미국인들은 갈색과 풀색이 어우러진 눈이 많습니다. 그런 눈을 hazel이라고 하죠. 그런 눈을 좋아해요.
She has beautiful hazel eyes.
He doesn't really have hazel eyes. He has brown eyes flecked with just a little bit of green.
2) 내가 질투하는 것 같아요? 샘 내는 것 같아요?
green eyes 또는 green-eyed monster: 질투심, 샘
Your eyes are getting green.
Don't let the green-eyed monster rear his ugly head.
질문 2
He is a joke. He is a joker. He is a jock. 의미상의 차이가 있나요?
답변
He is a joke. 그는 엉터리야. 그는 형편없는 놈이야.
He is a joker. 1) 그는 농담을 잘하는 사람이야. 2) 그는 웃기는 사람이야.
He is a jock. 그는 운동을 잘하고 운동만 중요시하는 사람이야. (운동선수일
수도 있고, 그냥 취미로 운동하는 사람일 수도 있음)
미국에서 YESusa 드림
Dear YESusa,
Thank you for your previous comments.
This time, I would like to ask you about grammatical inversion.
In some cases, using inversion seems to be a matter of choice, not of
grammar.
For example,
"In confirmation came the awful faint whistling of a shell."
"Among the crowd is he(or Jim)."
"Well do I remember."
Could the above sentences not be inverted? If so, what would make them
inverted or not inverted?
And there are times that inversion occurs when a complement comes at the
head of a sentence. But this does not seem to occur all the time.
1. Happy are those who know the pleasure of reading.(Inverted)
2. So selfish does our life make us.(Inverted)
3. Very grateful they were for my offer.(Not Inverted)
4. A bargain it was at that price.(Not inverted)
Are there any specific rules of inversion when a complement is placed at
the head of a sentence? May I ask you the reason why some are inverted and
some are not inverted?
Also, in case of " the + comparative, the + comparative," inversion is not
necessarily used.
1. The more he tried, the more difficult became his task.(Inverted)
2. The higher we go up the mountain, the purer the air becomes.(Not Inverted)
3. The more I know, the more I like her.(Not Inverted)
Please let me know the proper usage of inversion.
Inversion has almost been an obsession to me when reading books.
Your reply would be appreciated.
Yours Sincerely
"Sincere English Learner"
Dear Jung Si Uk,
Inversion is usually a matter of style, that is, it is mainly a matter of choice. Grammatical rules dictate how inversion can be done, but it usually
leaves open to the individual when inversion is done.
Inversion is used primarily for emphasis and to give a certain learned air
to a sentence. It is also used to give a sentence a particular rhythm. In
most of the examples you give, the inverted sentence could be changed to a
non-inverted sentence and vice versa.
For example:
1. Happy are those who know the pleasure of reading.(Inverted)
= Happy are they who know the pleasure of reading.
2. So selfish does our life make us.(Inverted)
= So selfish our life makes us.
3. Very grateful they were for my offer.(Not Inverted)
= Very grateful were they for my offer.
4. A bargain it was at that price.(Not inverted)
This sentence is an example of those few occasions when a sentence cannot
be inverted. The reason is that inverting to "was it" produces a question
form, and thus is not appropriate.
In the examples you gave comparatives, there should be symmetry in the
sentence structure. Thus it is preferable not to use inversion. So sentence
1) should read:
The more he tried, the more difficult his task became.
It is usually best not to use inversion unless one desires a very specific
effect or one is using a pat expression that is always inverted. Inversion
tends to give a pompous effect when used improperly or used too liberally.
Sincerely,
YESusa
안녕하세요 선생님!~
저는 영어영문학과 강혜경이라는 학생입니다.^^*
영국/미국문학사를 공부하면서, 특히 영국문학에서 볼 수 있는 라틴어,그리스어의 작품을 여러 작가들이 영어로 번역해온 역사를 보았습니다. 그런데.. 그렇다면 이런 번역한 책들도 영국문학의 범주에 들어가는 걸까요?
관련된 책도, 넷에서의 사이트도 찾을 수가 없어서 이곳에 문을 두드립니다.
사실 레포트의 주제이기도 한데... 너무나 자료 찾기가 힘이 드는 군요.. 선생님의 의견과 또한 관련 사이트나 책을 소개해주시면 정말 감사하겠어요..^^*~
-한국,부산에서 혜경이가 보냅니다.-
방금 메일을 보냈었는데요... 영문학의 범주를 어디까지 보아야 할까요?
어디까지를 영문학이라 하는 걸까요.... 영국작가 외의 사람들도 영어로 글을 쓰는데..그것도 영국문학이라 할 수 있을까요..?
음... 선생님의 도움을 간절히 바라며...
-한국에서..혜경 보냅니다.-
강혜경님께
The category of English literature narrowly defined is literature written by people from the United Kingdom, and broadly defined it is literature written in the English language. Both definitions are used, and they can be used simultaneously.
Latin and Greek classics in English translation are currently taught in English departments in the United States, but they are traditionally considered classics. They were once taught in Classics departments, where students studied them in the original Greek and Latin. During the nineteenth century, however, study of the classics began to decline, and in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century there was a struggle over whether American literature was worthy of study. Many scholars believed that America had no literature and that a mere two hundred years or so of writings did not constitute a literature. However, the perceived need to create a national identity for America helped lead to the institutionalization of an American literature and its study in English departments. Today, scholars who study African American literature, Native American literature, Asian American literature and so forth are struggling to make English departments recognize the worth of these different literatures. In short, English departments are coming to realize they must study and teach all literatures written in the English language.
It is important to consider that contemporary English departments are still focused on classic literature from England and from the United States, but other literatures written in English are steadily gaining recognition. Many scholars believe that English literature needs to broaden its horizons and get beyond national boundaries. They ask, for example, where writers such as Salman Rushdie can be categorized, and then argue that categories need to be reworked. Other scholars argue that the study of literature should not focus on literature in the English language, but needs to recognize the importance of literatures written in other languages. They argue that the attention paid to English literature marginalizes the literatures of the majority of the world's people, because the majority of the world does not speak English.
미국에서 YESusa 드림
안녕하세요 선생님.
teps를 공부하다가 의문이 나서 질문을 드려요.
어휘문제인데..
A: I'd like to these 40 pages done.
B: Sure, would you like them back-to-back?
여기에서 B가 양면으로 해드릴까요? 의 의미라는 데 단면으로 해주세요? 는 어떻게 영어로 표현하는지 알고 싶어요.
선생님 사랑해요.
Dear Kim Yongkil,
"Back-to-back" to mean 양면으로 in regard to photocopies is a British term. In the United States, 'back-to-back" is generally used to refer to events
that follow each other immediately.
For example:
He has back-to-back meetings all day.
Channel Three is showing two John Wayne movies back-to-back.
This radio station plays back-to-back hits.
In the United States, the terms "double-sided" (양면으로) and
"single-sided" (단면으로) are used to refer to photocopies.
For example:
I need five copies of this, please. It has to be singled-sided.
We need double-sided copies of this report.
Sincerely,
YESusa
책을 읽다가 Go clean your room. 이라는 문장을 보았습니다.
제가 지금까지 배워온 것에 의하면 동사 go는 go + ...ing 또는 go to + 동사원형의 형태로 표현된다고 알고 있었는데, Go clean your room.이라는 문장이 옳은 것인지요? 옳다면 그 이유는 무엇입니까?
Dear Ahnhy,
The sentence "Go clean your room." conforms to the structure "go + verb" which is a colloquial form of a command/suggestion.
For example:
Go see the movie that everyone is talking about.
Go eat dinner first.
Go wash your hands.
A similar structure is "let's go + verb."
For example:
Let's go eat dinner.
Let's go find a place to sit.
Both structures are used very frequently in spoken, casual English.
Sincerely,
YESusa
항상 감사드립니다.
미국에서의「license」는 우리나라의「면허」에 해당되는 것인가요? 아니면 「허가, 신고, 등록」의 개념도 포함하는 것인가요?
그리고 「permit」의 개념은?
예를 들면, Wholesaler Fish Dealer License, Fish Buyer license 등이 있구요,
Permit에 관해서는 Limited Fish sellers permit이 있습니다.
우리나라말로 정확한 개념과 해석을 부탁드립니다.
감사합니다.
김수관님께
Permit can be loosely translated as 허가증 and license as 면허증, but translation alone cannot capture the distinction between these two terms
and their usage.
A permit is official permission for a limited range of activities, while a
license grants broader rights and privileges. Thus a driver's permit is
issued to people who are learning to drive and have passed the written test
regarding driving rules and automobile safety. This permit allows them to
drive in the company of an instructor or an experienced driver, and it
expires within several months. A driver's license is issued when a person
passes the complete driving test, which includes a road test.
In the example you gave, a fish dealer's or seller's license would allow a
broad range of wholesale and/or retail commercial activities regarding the
sale of fish, while a permit would contain various restrictions.
In addition, many professional occupations regulated by the government
require licenses. For example, physicians need medical licenses. In some
cases, the term used is registration. For example, a license to be a nurse
is not called a license. Instead, nurses with the proper training and
licenses are called registered nurses, and this is indicated by writing
R.N. after the name. For example: Lori Smith, R.N.
미국에서 YESusa 드림
안녕하세요? 최락준, 여지연 선생님, 영어의 궁금증을 풀어주시니 참
감사드립니다. 저에 대한 소개는 아래와 같습니다.
1. 이름 : 손동수
2. 나이 : 71년 돼지띠, 29살
3. 전공 : 화학공학
4. 직업 : 삼성엔지니어링
5. Marital status : just married
6. Overseas residence : about one year in Fullerton, CA, USA.
혹시 한글이 깨져 보이시나요?
If you find the Korean letters above damaged, please let me know.
[Question]
I overheard the sign @ is read atpersand. It's quite similar as ampersand &. But I couldn't find 'atpersand' in dictionary.
1. Is it right that & reads 'atpersand'?
I understand that when we read our e-mail address like 'don97son@samsung.co.kr',
we read @ as 'at'.
2. Is it right that 'at' above is abbreviated expression of atpersand?
3. 위에 영어로 쓴 질문에서 "@를 'at'로 읽다"라는 표현을 '@ reads as
'at'이라고 했는데 아무래도 틀린 것 같은데 옳은 표현을 갈쳐주세요.
정말 감사합니다. 제 이름을 기억해 주세요. 앞으로 많은 도움 부탁드립니다.
손동수님께
The @ is read as "at" in email addresses. It is usually called "the at
sign," but the term "atpersand" is a new word coined by Internet users and
is sometimes used. However, it is considered cumbersome and simply a fun
play on the word "ampersand," which is the name for the & sign.
The expression "@ is read as 'at'" is preferable to "@ reads as 'at.'"
미국에서 YESusa 드림
Botswana's Feminist Judge
Unity Dow was born in 1959 in a small village in Botswana. Her parents treated their sons and daughters equally. So she chopped wood and her brothers learned how to sew, and they all went to school. Dow went on to become a lawyer and is now the only woman judge on Botswana's highest court. She is also an activist for women's rights.
In 1990, she sued the government over a law that gave citizenship to the children of Botswanan men, but not to the children of Botswanan mothers. This meant that women had no legal right to pass citizenship to their children. Dow used the lawsuit to challenge the traditional notion that a wife should be absorbed by her husband's family and had no legal rights of her own. Many women's groups in Botswana supported Dow, and the government formed a commission to review laws discriminatory to women.
Dow continues to work for women's equality within the family, and has set up a women's center in her home village. The center focuses on family issues from the perspective of women, seeking to protect and broaden women's rights. With other activists, she also works for women's political empowerment and hopes to see more women on Botswana's parliament. Currently, only four of 44 members of parliament are women.
Dow and other feminists in Botswana are fundamentally redefining what it means to be a woman in Botswana. They are claiming the right to jobs and education, freedom from violence and equality under the law. For Dow, the struggle begins with dismantling the patriarchy that denies women equality within the family. "If women are not equal at home," she said, "they won't be equal anywhere else."
YESusa
두 분 선생님 안녕하십니까?
오랜만에 질문 드리게 되었습니다. 대사전을 뒤져봐도 찾을 수 없는 게 아무래도 colloquial expressions이지 싶군요.
1. He punched a chrome button to ZIP THROUGH the song.(CD player에서)
2. athletes who possessed blazing speedballs.
3. a runaway-truck escape ramp(도로에서)
4. Cornering in a Ferrari wasn't for the faint of heart.
Dear WHP3710,
1. zip through A: to go very quickly through A; to fast forward through A
Ex.:
She zipped through the book. (책을 한숨에 다 읽었다.)
He zipped through the song. = He fast forwarded through the song.
2. speedball: used to describe a kind of pitch in baseball, in which the ball is thrown with great power and speed
blaze: 불 같이 빨리 가다
Ex.:
Park Chan Ho has a very powerful speedball that blazes through the air.
3. A runaway-truck escape ramp is an uphill ramp for runaway trucks, that is, trucks whose brakes suddenly stop working and thus cannot be stopped. The driver of a runaway truck steers the truck onto an escape ramp. Because the
ramp is uphill, the truck begins to slow down. It then crashes into some
kind of barrier at the top. These escape ramps help to prevent serious
accidents on highways.
4. corner: (a car or vehicle) turn, 돌리다/돌다
This word is an example of using a noun (corner: 모퉁이) as a verb. It is
used most often in reference to the way a car handles during driving.
Ex.:
Despite their size and boxy shape, Volvos corner surprisingly well.
He cornered the Chevrolet around the building with a screech of the tires.
5. the faint of heart: 겁이 많은 사람
Ex.:
Becoming a surgeon isn't for the faint of heart.
Sincerely,
YESusa
안녕하세요... 서핑하다가 발견하고 넘 기뻤습니다...
회화공부를 하고 있는데요..학원에서 하는 게 아니라 친구들끼리 모여서 하고있거든요.. 근데... 영화에 대해서 공부하다가 "조조할인"은 뭐라고 하는지 몰라서요.
그리고..우리가 식당을 갈 때 예약하다 란 말은 reservation 이라고 하는데..
극장이나 콘서트 같은 것들의 좌석 예매도 이 말을 쓰는지...아니면 "예매하다" 는 것은 어떤 표현을 쓰는지...알고싶어요...
답변 부탁드립니다...
한국에서 윤진이가...
윤진님께
1.
조조할인: matinee discount
In the United States, tickets for the early showing of movies and plays are
often discounted. The early showing is called the matinee (pronounced
매티네이), and thus these discounts are called matinee discounts.
2.
reserve a ticket: 표를 예약만 하고 결제를 안 했을 때 쓰는 표현
buy a ticket: 표를 살 때 쓰는 표현
buy a ticket in advance: 표를 미리 살 때 쓰는 표현
A: Did you buy the concert tickets?
B: No, not yet.
A: Why don't you buy them in advance?
B: I thought that I would just reserve them, then we could pick them up at
the concert hall.
A: No, I don't want to wait in line at the concert. Let's just buy them in
advance.
B: Okay. I'll buy them tomorrow.
Sincerely,
YESusa
그동안 안녕하셨죠?
전에는 질문이 없어서 인사만 드리고 왔었는데요..궁금한 게 있어서요.
부정사를 공부하는 중인데 he lived to die라는 문장을 '그는 죽기 위해 살았다.'라고 번역이 돼있어요.
목적용법이라는데 결과로 해석하면 안될까요? '그는 살다가 죽었다.'라 구요.
부정사 문장의 해석에 있어서 너무 복잡한 게 많은 것 같아서요. 너무 이상한 질문인 것도 같지만 수업 끝나고 와서 확인해 볼께요.
늘 생각하는 거지만 고맙습니다.
Dear Lee Yong Mi,
The sentence "he lived to die" cannot be translated as you suggest.
'그는 죽기 위해 살았다.' is the correct translation.
The translation you suggest would be appropriate for a sentence such as "he
lived and died."(그는 살다가 죽었다.)
Sincerely,
YESusa
HKH님께
질문 1
The government has decided to budget another W8.3 trillion to create more jobs, with some of the newly earmarked funds to go towards activation of the nation's housing industry through housing loans.
정부는 8조3천억원의 예산을 더 많은 직업을 만드는데(창출하는데) 쓰기로
결정하였다. 정부는 주택 공급 사업의 활성화를 위하여 주택 자금을 빌려주었다.
1) housing industry는 말 그대로 주택 산업이라고 하면 될까요?
2) funds to go towards ~ 의 자세한 문법 설명도 부탁드립니다.
3) 제 생각에 이 문장에서 주어가 정부가 되고 동사가 결정하였다라고 생각이 되는데, 등위접속사로 연결되지 않았는데, 글쎄요..저의 부족함을 좀더 일깨워 주시길....
답변
1) housing industry: 주택 산업
2) funds to go towards = funds that will go towards
3) In this sentence, "with' functions as a loose connector and can be replaced with "and." In Korean, it can be translated as 그리고.
해석 수정: 정부는 8조3천억원의 예산을 더 많은 일자리들을 만드는데(창출하는데) 쓰기로 결정하였고 일부는 주택 공급 사업의 활성화를 위한 주택 자금 융자로 쓰기로 했다.
질문 2
1) 'Shakespeare In Love' Wins Best Picture In Upset
"세익스피어 인 러브"가 예상을 뒤엎고 최고의 작품상을 수상하였다.
2) 'Private Ryan' won a battle but Shakespeare won the war at Sunday's Oscars
일요일 오스카상을 두고 라이언 일병은 전투에 승리를 했지만, 셰익스피어는
전쟁에 승리를 했다.
3) In a night of upsets, the biggest came when 'Shakespeare in Love' beat Steven Spielberg's 'Saving Private Ryan' for best picture just minutes after Spielberg was named the year's best director.
올해의 최고의 감독상으로 스티븐 스필버그의 이름이 불리워진 바로 몇분 후에 '세익스피어 인 러브'와 '라이언 일병 구하기' 두 작품 중에서 저녁에 예상을 뒤엎고 '세익스피어 인 러브'가 최고의 작품상을 받았다.(수상하게 되었다.)
4) Private Ryan에서 우리나라에서는 '라이언 일병'이라고 제목이 붙여졌습니다.
'라이언 일병'이 맞는지요, 아니면 '라이언 이병'이 맞는지요. 군에 처음 가면 이병부터 시작되는 것으로 알고 있는데.. 미국의 사병에 대한 것에 대해서는 전혀 모르는 저라서...
5) It was only the 17th time in Oscar's 71 years that the two prizes did not go to the same film.
(It ~ that 강조구문이 사용되었죠?)
71년의 오스카에서 두 상이 같은 필름에서 받지 않은 것은 오로지 17번뿐이다.
해설
1), 2), 3) 해석은 모두 잘 됐습니다.
왜 2) 표현이 사용됐는지에 관해서는 아래 해설을 참고하세요.
The English saying, "win the battle but lose the war" is a common one. The writer used it here because from the perspective of a movie the Best Director Oscar is not as prestigious as the Best Picture Oscar.
Private Ryan: '라이언 일병'
A private is one step above an entry-level enlisted man. Thus the Korean translation of the movie title is fairly accurate.
5)의 해석 수정: 두 상이 같은 영화로 가지 않은 건 오스카 71년 역사상 17번째 있는 일이었다.
질문 3
But there were other shocks in the four-hour and two-minute telecast that seemed longer than usual on memories of things past-- from tributes to actors who played World War II warriors to bringing a horse on stage so that Hollywood could tip its cap to cowboy stars.
네 작품이 겨루었다.(싸웠다.) 텔레비전에서 지난 것 중에서 기억에 남는 것을 보여주었다.
여기서 four-hour and two-minute는 어떻게 해석을 해야 하나요?
tip its cap의 표현은 전혀~
답변
위의 해석은 틀렸습니다. Please try translating this sentence again with the below information.
the four-hour and two-minute telecast: 4시간2분에 걸친 방송
seemed longer than usual on memories of things past: 지난 오스카 방송들보다
더 많이 옛 추억에 젖어 있는 것 같다
could tip its cap to cowboy stars: 서부영화 스타들에게 감사를 표할 수 있게
tip its cap: This is an expression that means "express respect/admiration for." You must not try to translate it literally.
질문 4
Gwyneth Paltrow, the love interest in 'Shakespeare in Love' was named best actress, becoming overnight a major Hollywood star at the tender age of 25.
게네스 펠트로우는 세익스피어 인 러브에서 사랑하는 사람의 상대역으로 오늘 저녁 25세밖에 되지 않은 연약한 그가 헐리우드의 최고의 스타가 되었다.
해석 수정:"셰익스피어 인 러브"에서 애인 역을 맡은 게네스 팰트로우는 최고 여배우상을 수상하므로 젊은 나이 25세로 하루아침에 헐리우드의 대 스타가 되었다.
미국에서 YESusa 드림
영어를 20여년간 사용하고 있습니다. 대화는 전혀 문제가 없습니다. 미국에서 고등학교와 대학을 나왔습니다. 그런데 아직도 Proposal과 같은 공문을 쓸 때마다 'the' 에 대한 공포감이 남아있습니다. 'the' 사용에 대한 확신을
얻고 싶습니다. 무엇을 어떻게 공부해야 할까요?
워싱턴에서 장현석
장현석님께
The use of the articles "the" and "a/an" is perhaps the trickiest aspect of a very difficult language to master. Many people find that even after
decades of immersion in the English language, mastery over article usage
remains elusive. This seems to be true even for many of those who
immigrated at an early age and completed the bulk of their education in the
United States or other English-speaking countries.
There is, unfortunately, no easy way to master the use of these articles,
for a great deal depends on feel, something that even some native speakers
do not fully grasp. For both native speakers and those who come to English
as a foreign language, reading a wide variety of books in English is the
best way to develop a sophisticated feel for the use of articles. It is
also the best way to develop a feel for the English language and its
strengths and subtleties. Literature, history, and science are all good
places to start. Explore the web sites of universities such as UCLA,
Stanford, Northwestern, and Berkeley for the reading lists of courses in
subjects that interest you. This will provide you with many suggestions for
books to read.
YESusa also suggests looking through the YESusa website under the grammar
section for previous answers to questions about the usage of "the." Some
general rules are outlined, some exceptions are explained, and subtle
aspects of article usage are discussed. Then if you have any specific
questions, please come back and ask us again.
It may also be useful to remember that getting an article wrong here and
there is not necessarily worthy of great stress and worry. Such mistakes
are almost always an issue of grammar and rarely result in differences in
meaning. YESusa believes that while it is worthwhile to learn the English
language and develop English competency, it is not worthwhile to become
stressed, tense or worried about whether or not one is using English
properly. After all, few people bother to learn our language, Korean, and
fewer still become nervous about whether or not they are using Korean
properly. Furthermore, educational studies show that few native speakers of
English, particularly Americans, bother to attain minimum competency in a
foreign language. This is principally because they do not need to do so in
order to communicate with people from other countries, for many of these
people learn English. These realities and the unequal relationship of
languages and peoples should provide a sense of perspective as one learns
and uses a foreign language such as English. YESusa hopes, therefore, that
people can learn English without succumbing to the tyranny of English.
미국에서 YESusa 드림
Betty Friedan: Feminist, Battered Woman, Former Radical
Hannah: I just finished reading two new biographies of Betty Friedan, and I'm completely flabbergasted!
Mari: You mean the woman who wrote The Feminine Mystique in 1963 and started the contemporary feminism movement in America? She's almost 80 years old now.
Hannah: Yes. These new biographies say that she was a battered wife who was afraid to leave her violent husband. She was also a leftist who worked for radical unions and fought for the rights of working women for years before she wrote her famous book.
Mari: But her whole book is about how America's ideology of feminine domesticity ruins women. It started a very elitist, self-centered movement for white, middle-class women, and that's what America still has today.
Hannah: That's what's so sad about it. America could have had a women's movement that worked for class equality, racial equality, and gender equality. But Friedan chose to focus on middle-class, white women and ignore all her previous political work.
Mari: And I can't believe that she was a battered woman!
Hannah: Yes, it seems that talking about gender equality and actually working to have gender equality in your own family are very different things. Her husband beat her because he wanted her to give up her work and be a housewife. She finally got divorced in 1969 after 22 years of marriage.
Mari: She sounds like someone full of contradictions. She should write her own autobiography and talk about these kinds of issues.
Note: The two books are Betty Friedan: Her Life, by Judith Hennessee, (Random House, April 1999), and Betty Friedan and the Making of The Feminine Mystique, by Daniel Horowitz, (University of Massachusetts Press, 1998).
YESusa
안녕하세요.
민중 가요를 영어로 뭐라 표현해야 가장 적합한 표현이 될까요? 너무 궁금하네요. 꼭 좀 알았으면 좋겠어요.
그럼 답변 기다릴께요.
Sung-hyun Kim
Dear Kim Sung-hyun,
If you are referring to songs that come out of cultural activism circles,
such as songs by 노래를 찾는 사람들 and similar groups or singers, then
there is no satisfactory term in English. However, they could be called
"movement songs" or "contemporary Korean folk songs" or "socially conscious
songs" or even "songs of the people." Of these terms, the most appropriate
may be "movement songs."
Sincerely,
YESusa
Dear YESusa,
Thank you for your previous reply.
My question today is about the usage of "see" & "watch."
"The painter came to be aware of the crowd gathering around him to
see him paint."
I'd like to know if there would be big differences between using
"see" & "watch" in the above sentence. And which would sound
natural, if at all?
I would appreciate it if you would give me sincere answers.
Best Regards
"SINCERE ENGLISH LEARNER"
Dear Jung Si Uk,
The verb "see" and "watch" are very similar and can often be used interchangeably with little change in meaning. In the sentence you
proposed, for example, either verb would be suitable.
In many other cases, however, the two verbs cannot be interchanged without
changing the meaning of the sentence in question. This is because the verb
"watch" is a synonym of the verb "observe." Thus the verb "watch" implies intentionality on the part of the person who is watching, and also implies that the action of watching takes place over a period of time rather than a single moment.
Sincerely,
YESusa
Dear Jung Si Uk,
Please accept our apologies for the oversight. In the sentence you propose (i.e. The painter came to be aware of the crowd gathering around him to see him paint.), the word "paint" is correct, while the word "painting" is generally not
used. Similarly, other sentences would read:
I watched my father cook.
He watched the workers unload the furniture.
She saw them leave at midnight.
Sincerely,
YESusa
