What's new

Excercise for Lesson 5 Part 3

hirashin

Sempai
Donor
8 Apr 2004
2,720
63
63
Dear native English speakers,
Here's translation excercise for Lesson 5 Part3.
Would you check my sentences?
問 次の英語を日本語に訳しなさい。
① He's still following his old dream. He hasn't given it up yet.

② "You should have told me about that." "But I did tell you." (did+V原形)

③ Many people around me said I should stop dreaming, just as my parents did.

④ It's impossible for me to run 100 meters in ten seconds.

⑤ My parents allowed me to study art in Paris. At last my dream will come true. (Paris =パリ)

⑥ He seemed to be telling a lie to me. (tell a lie =嘘をつく)[be ~ing は進行形]

⑦ He seemed to have been telling a lie to me.

⑧ It seems to me that Mike is telling the truth. (tell the truth = 本当のことを言う)

⑨ I'm afraid there is little chance of your success in this field. (I'm afraid = 残念ながら)

⑩a Whenever I failed in exams, my English teacher told me not to give up.
⑩b Whenever they face a challenge, they easily give it up.

⑪ I wondered what to use in developing a powerful rocket engine.

⑫ I joined the company in 1990 and left it in 2010. I worked there for 20 years.

⑬ I doubt what they explained about the new product. (product =製品)

⑭ When I said we would develop a new type of rocket engine, everyone considered it impossible.

⑮ My uncle has managed a trading company in Nagoya for over thirty years. (trading = 貿易)

⑯ He drinks too much. But I can't stop him from drinking. (drink =酒を飲む)

⑰ We finally overcame the difficulty and managed to build the rocket engine.

⑱ I often heard people say "That's impossible." But I didn't like it. I wanted them to stop saying that.

⑲ I was really impressed when I actually saw our rocket go up into the sky.

⑳ Though everybody said it was impossible for me to do that, I continued to follow my dream.

Thanks in advance.
Hirashin
 
'Exercise' is spelled wrong.

③ is unclear. Did your parents stop dreaming themselves, or tell you to stop dreaming? If it's the latter, the final part of the sentence should be relocated, for clarity.

In ⑤, if the permission is still in effect at the time of writing, it is more natural to say either "are allowing" or "have allowed". 'Allow' is a state verb (I think).

For ⑥ and ⑦, "telling me a lie" or "lying to me" are more natural.

In ⑩b, "give it up" should be changed to "give up".

In ⑪, the grammar is fine, but "what to use" is very vague. What materials to use? What fuel to use?

⑬ is somewhat awkward, and does not sound completely natural. Changing it to "I doubt their explanation about..." makes it a little better. Using a word other than 'explanation' would be helpful, too. For example: "I doubt their claims about the new product."
 
Thank you for your help, joadbres. いつも直していただいてありがとうございます。

③ is unclear. Did your parents stop dreaming themselves, or tell you to stop dreaming? If it's the latter, the final part of the sentence should be relocated, for clarity.

I 'd like to use "just as" as in the original "People around him often told him his dream was impossible, just as the teacher had done." How about this one?
3B) Many people advised me to give up my dream, just as my parents did.
 
I 'd like to use "just as" as in the original "People around him often told him his dream was impossible, just as the teacher had done." How about this one?
3B) Many people advised me to give up my dream, just as my parents did.

The original sentence does not have the same ambiguity, and so is superior to yours. Furthermore, it is obvious from the way it is constructed that it is intended to closely follow another sentence which makes the context clear: that a teacher had previously advised him that his dream was inpossible. Your sentence, as a standalone sentence, is unable to do that.

You can't always just copy a pattern you see and make new sentences, as in some cases doing so results in a loss of context -- and an introduction of ambiguity.

If you want to use it as-is, though, you can.
 
How about this one, then?
You said it was impossible to build a rocket, just as many other people said. But, you see, I've built one. You shouldn't say "That's impossible" any more.
 
Back
Top Bottom