毎日通える英会話教室‐English Garden の英会話ブログ

Hi everyone! The rainy season is here and the weather is very depressing, don't you think?

Starter Class (handout)
Beginner Class (handout)

In starter class we talked about what's near your house, using there is:

For example:
- There is a Coco store near my house (家の近くにココストーアがあります）
- It's a 5 minute walk from my house（落ちから歩いて５分です）

Be careful.  You cannot say things like:

- There is Main Place near my house
- Main Place is near my house. (家の近くにメインプレースがあります）

Main Place is a unique (唯一）thing.  We should not use "there is" with unique things.

In beginner class we talked about music and the different kinds of music. Some good phrases we learned:

Here are different past time expressions.  Try reading them out loud:

5 years ago
a long time ago
before I got married
after I got married
when I was 15

Here are some example sentences with the above:

When I was 15, I was crazy about video games.
Britney Spears came out a long time ago.
I started listening to classical music after I graduated from university.

similar to (似てる)
Bossa Nova is similar to Jazz.

We also talked about some good words to describe music:


upbeat 
depressing
cheesy
relaxing
mellow


In intermediate class we talked about very useful word: last (もつ)

For the present tense, we can use this word like this:

A new car lasts about 10 to 15 years.
Nitori furniture doesn't last very long.
Romantic love only lasts 4 years.
My cell phone battery only lasts about 8 hours.

For the future tense, we can use it like this (useful when you go shopping)

How long will this chair last?
These shoes will last three years.
This notebook computer will last you about four or five years.