Cherry Blossoms are Blooming

今日の問題です：

• Cherry blossoms are blooming here and there, breeze is nicely blowing.

Good Points:

• ...here and there...
• あちこちに[で], あちらこちらに, そこかしこに, ここかしこに, そちこちに
• breeze
• そよ風
• 朝飯前[楽勝]にできること, ちょろいこと
• すいすいと進む, 楽々と手早くやってしまう 〈through〉

Check Points:

• "Subject" is/are "doing something" + "where", "new subject" is/are "doing something"

We cannot say:

• "Chip is running in the field, Sarah is studying."

You can say:

• "Chip is running in the field, and Sarah is studying."

So, today's sentence should read like this:

• Cherry blossoms are blooming here and there, and a breeze is nicely blowing.

But what about "breeze is nicely blowing"? Well this might be OK. For example, we can say "The clouds are slowly moving." But in the second example, we can visualize how slow the clouds are moving across the sky. But what about "nicely blowing"?

I probably wouldn't use "nicely" as an adverb--to modify an active verb like "blowing."
The word nicely is more commonly used to express these meanings:

• うまく, よく, 立派に, 見事に：
• The report was nicely done.
  
• 親切に, 気持ち良く：
• I got along nicely with my new boss!
  
• 正確に, 精密に, 厳重に, きちんと：
• All the parts of the model fit nicely together.

My suggestion to the writer is as follows:

• Cherry blossoms are blooming here and there, and a nice breeze is blowing.

Here, "a nice breeze is blowing" creates a very nice and good feeling. A nice breeze could be slightly cool or slightly warm depending on where you are or how warm or cold the day is. The point is that the breeze is nice--not how it is blowing.


アンミ英会話教室
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tel 045-841-4218
fax 045-841-4288
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Hyphenate

Can you tell where to put the hyphens in these sentences?

1. I have a so so memory these days. (まあまあの記憶力)
   
2. She was more determined to live her life than he was. (彼より真剣に生きていくつもり)
   
3. I tried to make a delicious sweet and sour pork dish. ( 酢豚)
   
4. I had a quite trying day.

Suggested answers:

Select with your mouse to see the answer.
Start here →　｜

1. _I have a so-so memory these days.
   
2. _OK (determined/more determined/most determined)
3. _I tried to make a delicious sweet-and-sour pork dish.
   
4. _OK (I had a very tough day)

Stop here →　｜

アンミ英会話教室
〒234-0053神奈川県横浜市港南区日野中央2-6-3
パークサイド日野102号室

tel 045-841-4218
fax 045-841-4288
cell 070-5084-9592
http://www.anmi-eikaiwa.com/

Prepositions Related to Time

IN
Use in for nonspecific times during a day, a month, a season, or a year.

• Times of the day:　in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening (but, we say at night)
• I like to go jogging in the morning.
• I like to take a nap in the afternoon.
• Month: in May, in January, in March
• I will start looking for a job in May.
• The days are short in December.
• Season: in winter, in spring
• There is so much pollen in spring.
• The cherry blossoms will bloom in spring.
• Years: in 1978, in 2004
• More than 771,000 business travelers visited Australia in 2005.
• Jenkins came to Japan in 2004.
• Her album was released in 2004.

Other uses of in + a time

• Decade: in the twenties, in the '90s
• Future: in a few weeks, in a couple of days, in six hours
  

ABOUT

Use about the + date (for approximate dates):

• about the 25th of December

Use around the + date (for approximate dates):

• around the 25th of December

ON

• Days of week: on Friday, on Monday, on Sundays
• The expo begins on Friday.
• Calendar days: on New Year's Day, on Christmas Day
• I stayed home on New Year's Day.
  
• Use on + ordinal of the day: on October 22nd, on April the 19th
• I will see you on Tuesday the 6th.
• Weekend(s): on the weekend, on weekends
  

AT

• Precise time: at 7 o'clock, at 6:15, at six o'clock, at 10:30, at two p.m.
• My flight departs at 2:30 p.m.
• The movie will start at 8:00.
• Night: at night
• Specific places: at school, at Roppongi Hills, at Starbucks
• Weekend(s): at the weekend, at weekends (British English)
  

OF

• Use of in this structure: at + the + a particular time in a week/month/year
• Meet me at a quarter of four. (Meet me at 3:45)
• I felt sick at the end of the week.
• I will quit my new job at the start of July.
• I graduated in the fall of 2005.
• I studied ikebana from August through November of 2005.
  

(This post is an updated version of an earlier post.)

アンミ英会話教室
〒234-0053神奈川県横浜市港南区日野中央2-6-3
パークサイド日野102号室

tel 045-841-4218
fax 045-841-4288
cell 070-5084-9592
http://www.anmi-eikaiwa.com/