NY Eigo （NY英語）

Go with the flow

Culture ~The key to having fun!~


じゃあ、

Go with the flow

Do you try and do things
the way others do them??

If so, then you like to
go with the flow!!

The meaning is that you
try not to stand out.

This is a good phrase
for Japanese People to learn.
It can be very important, sometimes,
to go with the flow.




"At work, I try to go with the flow."

"Obama seems to be going with the flow."

"What would happen if Obama went against
the current??"





This is the opposite meaning!

To go against the current is to
do things different than
everybody else!

It can also be inspiring when someone
goes against the current!!




If you are perceptive, then you
know when to go with the flow
and when not to!!!

Picky

Adjectives ~The Key to expressing yourself~




じゃあ、

Picky

Are you picky?

To pick means to choose!!

"Pick out something nice, because
I'm taking you out tonight!!"

The adjective, picky, means that
you are very careful about what
you choose!!

We can also say selective or choosy,
but picky is really the most popular
way to say it.

If you aren't picky, then you might
be easy to please! This is the opposite.


"I am picky about food! My mom
always calls me a picky eater."

"Are you picky about clothes? I'm not."

"I hope you are picky about who you date!"




I was even pickier when I was a kid!!!

Perceptive

Adjectives ~The Key to expressing yourself~



じゃあ、

Perceptive


Do you always know what's
going on?

Can you "read between the lines?"

This means that you know
what's going on, even if it's
not obvious. Obvious means easy to see!! The picture with the fingers
is an old joke. Can you get it??



In Japanese, you might say
"read the atmosphere." We don't
use the word atmosphere for that
phrase, we say "read between the
lines," or "perceptive."

Perceive means to see
and understand!!

Perceptive is the adjective version.
Check out these examples:



"She is so perceptive. She always
knows what I'm feeling, even if
I don't tell her."

"My boss is not perceptive, at all.
He never knows what's going on."


"My grandmother was very perceptive.
I could never get anything on her."



Do you know what oblivious means??

Jaw-dropping

Adjectives ~The Key to expressing yourself~







じゃあ、



Jaw-dropping

This is a fun adjective!
It means that something was
really amazing, but it has
the nuance that it was
also surprising!!!

In other words, it was
so amazing that you
were completely surprised!!



Have you ever seen someone
so surprised that their mouth
fell open??

Your jaw bone is the bottom
part of your mouth. This is
why the adjective is called
jaw-dropping!



"The fair was jaw-dropping."

"Brazil was really a jaw-dropping experience."

"When I saw her art, my jaw dropped!"





Awe-struck is very similar!!!
畏敬の念に打たれた


For those of you who take my class,
jaw-dropping is a giver and awe-struck is a receiver!

Character

Culture ~The key to having fun!~


じゃあ、

Character

This is word that can
often be misused!!

Character, in English, doesn't
equal someone's personality!!

We don't want to say, for example,
that someone has a fun character.
We would say he has a fun personality.

Character is a deeper thing.
It is connected to morals, which
is a sense of right and wrong.
A person is usually said to have
a good/bad character or a
strong/weak character!



A person who has character
has integrity!!!

This was defined by J.C. Watts,
a famous football player
and congressman who said this:


"Integrity/character is doing the right thing when no one else is looking!!!"



Activities that make your character
stronger are called character builders!!!