M-K-G's entry (13)
emphasis ~do / very~
(a) He does look tired.
(b) He looks very tired.
In many textbooks in Japan, both "do" in (a) and "very" in (b) a...
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should
Ichiro and Kunio talks about a friend of theirs, Taro.
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Ichiro: Taro seems to be irritated. What h...
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conversation 1
This is a conversation between a son and his mother.
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SON: Mummy, I've been thin...
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to prepare for the exam / to get ready for the exam
(a) If Tom had prepared for the exam, he could have got much better marks.
(b) If Tom had got ready for the exam, he could have got much...
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to shock somebody
I know that if you "shock" somebody, it means that you "make them surprised or upset".
Does it furthurmore mean th...
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learn / know / find
Suppose a friend of yours who lives in a distant place wrote you a letter saying he wants to visit the place you live, and you write in r...
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"to" or "of"
(a) He's been a good friend to me over the years.
(b) He's been a good friend of mine over the years.
Do these both sound nat...
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Had S better ~?
Do you usually use the phrase "had S better ~?" as the interrogative
form of "had better ~"?
I've almost never ...
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to buy A B / to buy B for A
(a) I went to the bookstore with my son, and I bought him "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows".
(b) I went to the bookstore ...
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to be afraid of ~ing / to be afraid to do~
Suppose the writer saw a suspicious person, then he says,
(a) He looked around as if he was afraid of being seen by others.
(b) He lo...
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the singular or the plural
(a) If we try to be really a good person, first of all, we must not break a promise [our promise].
(b) If we try to be really a good p...
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come / go
Suppose you saw your friend in your office Tom leave it for home about an hour ago, and you know that it takes him about an hour to commu...
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to write in / to fill in / to enter
Suppose you find these directions on the beginning of your examination paper.
(a) You may write in the paper either in ink or with a p...
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