Vocabulary
Common Mistakes I
Word Choice/Usage
mistakes are marked with an asterisk* and are
printed in red
suggested corrections
are in bold
green
Play
Examples:
"What did you do on Saturday?"
"I played*." (遊んでた）
"What did you do on Saturday?"
"I went out and had fun."
"What did you do on Saturday?"
"I had a great time hanging out with
my friends."
"Please come to my house and
play*." (うちへ遊びに来てください)
"Please come to visit
me."
"Please come over to
chat / for
dinner."
Explanation:
Children play; adults have fun, or enjoy
themselves.
We can, however, use "play" when we are
talking about "games" or "sports".
For example:
"I played TV games all day on Saturday."
"Please come to my house and play Japanese
chess this evening."
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Enjoy
Examples:
"How was the concert?" "It was good.
I enjoyed*."
"How was the concert?" "It was good.
I enjoyed it."
"Are you having a good time?" "Yes, I am
very enjoy*."
"Are you having a good time?" "Yes, I am
enjoying myself very much."
Explanation:
You have to have an object after "enjoy", so
you can "enjoy the concert", "enjoy the party", or "enjoy yourself"
(meaning, have a good time).
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Free Time
Examples:
"Do you have a free time*
this weekend?"
"Are you free
this weekend?"
"What do you do when you
have a free time*?"
"What do you do in
your free time?"
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Pretty
Examples:
"Her boyfriend is pretty*."
"Her boyfriend is
good-looking / cute."
"His outfit is so pretty*!"
"His outfit is so nice."
Explanation:
The Japanese
translation for "pretty" is "かわいい" and can be
used to describe both men and women and things. In English,
however, "pretty" is used only to describe young women, girls, little
children and things which are feminine and/or small, e.g., a dress, a
doll, a small plant, etc. We do not use it to describe men or things men
wear or use. Also, we usually say that little boys and animals are
"sweet" or "cute".
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