What I Realized Again

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Jun 19, 2011 16:42
One day, when I watched the scene that a man said, “Thanks for the ride.” in English to a woman who had driven him home, I thought, “Wow, it’s so simple.”
I realized again that hearing English spoken by native speakers as much as possible is important to speak natural English.
If I didn’t know the phrase and thought about it in Japanese and then translated it into English, it would be “Thank you for driving me home all the way.” or “Thank you for taking me home.”
Native speakers might understand what I mean, but those sentences sound less natural than “Thanks for the ride.”, don’t they?
If I know the phrase, it’s so easy that I don’t have to think it in Japanese.
tony
Thank you for your correction!
Jun 19, 2011 19:51
  • One day, when I watched the scene that a man said, “Thanks for the ride.” in English to a woman who had driven him home, I thought, “Wow, it’s so simple.”

  • One day, when I watched a scene in which a man said, “Thanks for the ride” in English to a woman who had driven him home, I thought, “Wow, it’s so simple.” ["The" scene implies that only one such scene exists, or that the reader already knows which scene you are talking about. Punctuation note: even though the quoted sentence "Thanks for the ride" would end with a period (.) if it stood alone, the period should be omitted when the sentence in which it is being quoted continues.]

 
  • I realized again that hearing English spoken by native speakers as much as possible is important to speak natural English.

  • I realized again that hearing English spoken by native speakers as much as possible is important for learning to speak natural English. [Alternative: "... for learning to speak English naturally."]

 
  • If I didn’t know the phrase and thought about it in Japanese and then translated it into English, it would be “Thank you for driving me home all the way.” or “Thank you for taking me home.”

  • If I didn’t know the phrase and thought about it in Japanese and then translated it into English, it would be “Thank you for driving me (all the way) home” or “Thank you for taking me home.” [Note: The phrase "all the way" can come either before or after "home," but it sounds more natural before. It can also be omitted. If it is said, it emphasizes the fact that the person being spoken to went a long way out of her way to do this for you.]

 
  • Native speakers might understand what I mean, but those sentences sound less natural than “Thanks for the ride.”, don’t they?

  • Native speakers might understand what I mean, but those sentences sound less natural than “Thanks for the ride,” don’t they? [Actually, the sentences you chose are very good. They sound just a bit more formal, so they might be used when the speaker wants to be less casual and more polite. The difference is small, however.]

 
  • If I know the phrase, it’s so easy that I don’t have to think it in Japanese.

  • If I know the phrase, it’s so easy that I don’t have to translate it from Japanese.

 

You came up with very natural alternatives!

Jun 21, 2011 21:06 mayumayu
Thank you for the corrections and explanations.
Personally, if a friend of mine drives me home, I usually say, “わざわざ送ってくれてありがとう。” in Japanese, even if it’s not so far away from her home.
If the phrase is translated into Japanese, I think it would be “Thank you for driving me all the way home.”
By the way, I thought something else about the scene.
Even though the woman was much older than the man (a teenager) and they seemed to be not so close (She was a nurse in a hospital where he had stayed for several days.), he said to her just, “Thanks for the ride.”
“Thanks for the ride” is a casual expression, isn’t it?
If I was in his shoes, I would say, “Thank you very much.” or something in a more formal way.

Jun 22, 2011 01:03 tony
It is, as you say, a casual expression, but a lot depends on how they interacted at the hospital, what happened during the car trip, and how it was said. It can convey more warmth of feeling than a more formal expression of thanks.

Jun 22, 2011 21:47 mayumayu
Thank you for the explanations.
To make a long story short, after driving the teenager home, the woman blackmailed his parents because she found out that his mother killed someone….lol

Jun 22, 2011 22:02 tony
Just because he didn't thank her politely enough? (瞬)
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One day, when I watched the scene that a man said, “Thanks for the ride.” in English to a woman who had driven him home, I thought, “Wow, it’s so simple.” I realized again that hearing English spoken by native speakers as much as possible is important to speak natural English. If I didn


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