第42話: 正しい英語を話そう（第4回）your / his / her / themなどの使い方

Sadly, he isn’t my dog. ☹

Fix your broken English TODAY! Part 4 – Possessive Pronouns

Before moving on to my fourth entry, I’ll be giving away the keys to last week’s editing quiz. I asked you to add quantifiers accordingly. Now, it’s time for you to see how you did.

I will go to the supermarket to buy some groceries. I am having a party at my house and I invited some people. A few friends, family and a few colleagues will be coming. I am looking forward to it! First, I have to grab some paper plates and plenty of paper cups. I also need to buy some wine and some beverages. Maybe I will also need some condiments. I will pick up some cheese, some dip, some sauces and a bit of salt and a bit of pepper. I have been so busy planning this party. I didn’t realize it will cause much stress. Anyway, I will be sure to have a lot of fun and make a lot of memories.

Did you miss any quantifiers?


カタコト英語をなおそう！　パート４：所有格「my / his / herなど」の使い方

さて、まずは前回の問題、適当な「数量詞」を入れて文章を完成させること、この答え合わせをしておこう。たとえばこんな感じで入れることができたかな？

I will go to the supermarket to buy some groceries. I am having a party at my house and I invited some people. A few friends, family and a few colleagues will be coming. I am looking forward to it! First, I have to grab some paper plates and  plenty of paper cups. I also need to buy some wine and some beverages. Maybe I will also need some condiments. I will pick up some cheese, some dip, some sauces and a bit of salt and a bit of pepper. I have been so busy planning this party. I didn’t realize it will cause much stress. Anyway, I will be sure to have a lot of fun and make a lot of memories.

About possessive pronouns, I hear this mistake many a time. A lot of my students tend to drop the possessives in their speech. Possessive pronouns (or possessive adjective in older grammars) examples are my, his, her, your, their and our.

For example, when they forget their umbrella at school. They would say, “Umbrella!” instead of “My umbrella!”

それでは今日のお題の「所有格」について。生徒さんたちも会話の中でこのミスをよくするんだよね。所有格（所有形容詞 / 所有代名詞ともいう）といえば「my / his / her / your / their / our」などだね。例えば学校に傘を忘れてきた場合、「my umbrella」と言わずにただ単に「umbrella」とだけ言う人が多いんだな。

What can I do about it?

Keep in mind that the information regarding whose something / someone is is also of great importance in expressing in English.

Think:                       Instead of:

 My shirt                  shirt                           whose shirt is it?

 This is my pet.        This is pet.               whose pet is it?

ではどうすればいいかというと、これを覚えておいて！
英語では「それが誰のなのか」という情報も重要だということ。

正:                                                        誤:　　　　　　　　　　　例：

              My shirt                                               shirt                                whose shirt is it?

              This is my pet.                                    This is pet.                     whose pet is it?

When introducing a family member or a friend, say:

  This is my mother.                     This is my colleague.

家族や友達を紹介するときは、こんな感じで表現します。
 　　　　This is my mother.                               This is my colleague.

One more thing, do NOT use articles (a, an or the) with possessives.

For example:                
         I lost the my bag.                                  I lost my bag.        

        A my relative is very kind.                 My relative is very kind.

もうひとつ、所有格を使ったときは冠詞「a / an / the」は使わないこと。
例えば、

                  I lost the my bag.                                  I lost my bag.        

                 A my relative is very kind.                 My relative is very kind.

See you next week! – Teacher Mina

今週はこれでおしまい。またね！