THE JAPAN BIG 7

あなたには25個の問題があるわけではない。7つのパターンがあるだけ。 A Guide for Japanese Speakers - Scroll down for the Japanese language version.

JAPAN

-Paul

5/19/202614 min read

MyTHE JAPAN BIG 7

あなたには25個の問題があるわけではない。7つのパターンがあるだけ。 A Guide for Japanese Speakers

The Moment Something Changes

She sent me her first piece of writing from Tokyo.

I counted the errors. There were over forty.

She was embarrassed. I wasn't surprised — not because her English was bad, but because I'd seen this exact pattern hundreds of times before. The same mistakes, in the same places, from student after student. Different people, different lives, different reasons for learning English. The same seven problems.

I wrote back and told her the truth: you don't have forty problems. You have seven patterns that keep appearing. Fix those seven, and most of your errors disappear.

She didn't believe me at first. Most people don't.

But here's what I've learned after years of working with Japanese speakers: your errors are not random. They are not a sign that you're bad at English. They are the completely predictable result of your brain doing what brains are supposed to do — building a second language on the architecture of the first.

Japanese is a beautiful, precise language. But it works differently from English in seven specific ways. And until someone shows you exactly where those differences are, you will keep making the same mistakes — not because you aren't trying, but because they feel correct to you.

That's what this guide is for.

QUICK DIAGNOSTIC: Which Patterns Affect You?

Read each sentence. If it looks correct to you, circle the number.

  1. I bought book yesterday.

  2. She is nurse at hospital in Tokyo.

  3. Yesterday I to library went.

  4. Is difficult to study every day.

  5. The movie was very enjoy.

  6. I woke up and then I had breakfast and then I went to work and then I checked my emails.

  7. I want to go for shopping.

  8. Can you tell me where is the station?

Check your answers on the Answer Key (final page).

PATTERN 1: ARTICLES (a, an, the)

Why You Make This Mistake Japanese has no articles. When you say 本を読んだ (hon o yonda), there's no equivalent of "a" or "the" — context tells you which book you mean. English forces you to choose: a book (any book) or the book (specific book).

The Rules

Use A/AN for:

  • First mention: "I bought a book"

  • Jobs: "She is a nurse"

  • One of many: "That's a good idea"

Use THE for:

  • Second mention: "I bought a book. The book was interesting."

  • Unique things: the sun, the moon, the government

  • Specific things both people know: "the hospital" (where you work)

Use NO ARTICLE for:

  • Plural general: "Books are expensive" (books in general)

  • Uncountable nouns: "I need information" (not "an information")

  • Most countries: "I live in Japan" (not "the Japan")

Common Japanese Speaker Errors

  • ❌ "I bought book" → ✅ "I bought a book"

  • ❌ "She is nurse" → ✅ "She is a nurse"

  • ❌ "He works at hospital" → ✅ "He works at a/the hospital"

Practice Exercise 1 Add a, an, the, or nothing (Ø):

  1. I want to buy ___ new computer.

  2. ___ Mount Fuji is beautiful.

  3. She is ___ engineer.

  4. I need ___ advice.

  5. ___ book you recommended was excellent.

PATTERN 2: PLURALS

Why You Make This Mistake Japanese doesn't mark plurals. 本 (hon) means "book" or "books" — the number or context tells you how many. English requires you to add -s (or -es) to show more than one.

The Rule After numbers (except "one"), after "many," "several," "some," "a few" — add -s.

Common Japanese Speaker Errors

  • ❌ "I have three book" → ✅ "I have three books"

  • ❌ "Many student study here" → ✅ "Many students study here"

  • ❌ "I visited several country" → ✅ "I visited several countries"

The Check After you write ANY number or quantity word, look at the noun. Does it need -s?

Practice Exercise 2 Fix the plurals:

  1. I have five class today.

  2. She bought many book at the store.

  3. There are several problem with this plan.

  4. He has two sister and one brother.

  5. I visited three city in Australia.

PATTERN 3: WORD ORDER (SOV → SVO)

Why You Make This Mistake Japanese uses SOV order: Subject → Object → Verb 私は本を読んだ (I book read)

English uses SVO order: Subject → Verb → Object I read a book.

The Rule In English: Subject + Verb + Object

Common Japanese Speaker Errors

  • ❌ "Yesterday I to the library went" → ✅ "Yesterday I went to the library"

  • ❌ "I coffee drank" → ✅ "I drank coffee"

  • ❌ "She English well speaks" → ✅ "She speaks English well"

Time Words In Japanese, time words often come at the beginning. In English, they usually come at the beginning OR end — but the verb still comes before the object.

  • ❌ "Yesterday I homework did" → ✅ "Yesterday I did homework"

Practice Exercise 3 Fix the word order:

  1. I yesterday a movie watched.

  2. She Japanese food every day eats.

  3. He to his friend an email sent.

  4. We last week to Osaka went.

  5. They English in the office speak.

PATTERN 4: MISSING SUBJECT

Why You Make This Mistake Japanese is a "pro-drop" language — you can drop the subject when context makes it clear: おいしい (oishii) = "[It] is delicious" — no subject needed 読んだ (yonda) = "[I] read [it]" — no subject needed

English always needs a subject.

The Rule Every English sentence needs a subject. Even when it feels unnecessary.

Common Japanese Speaker Errors

  • ❌ "Is delicious" → ✅ "It is delicious"

  • ❌ "Is difficult to study" → ✅ "It is difficult to study"

  • ❌ "Is raining" → ✅ "It is raining"

Expressions That Need "IT"

  • It is important to...

  • It is difficult to...

  • It seems that...

  • It is raining/snowing/cold/hot

Practice Exercise 4 Add the missing subject:

  1. Is very important to practice every day.

  2. Was fun to visit Australia.

  3. Is raining heavily today.

  4. Seems that he is busy.

  5. Went to the store yesterday.

PATTERN 5: -ED vs -ING ADJECTIVES

Why You Make This Mistake Japanese doesn't distinguish between "bored" and "boring" the way English does. 楽しい (tanoshii) covers both "fun" and "enjoying" — context tells you which. Japanese speakers also sometimes use "enjoy" as an adjective because of how 楽しかった (tanoshikatta) works.

The Rule

  • -ED = how YOU feel (the effect on you)

  • -ING = the quality of the thing (what causes the feeling)

Common Japanese Speaker Errors

  • ❌ "The movie was very enjoy" → ✅ "The movie was very enjoyable"

  • ❌ "I was boring" → ✅ "I was bored" (unless you ARE a boring person!)

  • ❌ "The news was shocked" → ✅ "The news was shocking"

Memory Trick I am borED (something made me feel this way) The movie is borING (it causes boredom)

Practice Exercise 5 Choose -ed or -ing:

  1. The lecture was very (bored / boring).

  2. I was (interested / interesting) in the topic.

  3. The test results were (disappointed / disappointing).

  4. She felt (exhausted / exhausting) after work.

  5. The news was (surprised / surprising).

PATTERN 6: THE "AND THEN" CHAIN

Why You Make This Mistake Japanese narrative flows naturally through そして (soshite) and それから (sorekara)— both meaning roughly "and then." This structure is natural in Japanese. It sounds warm, clear, and logical. So when Japanese speakers write in English, the same pattern transfers directly onto the page.

The result looks like this:

"I woke up and then I had breakfast and then I went to work and then I checked my emails and then I had a meeting."

Every event connected in exactly the same way. A chain with no variation.

The problem isn't grammar. It's range. When a reader — any reader, not just an examiner — sees the same connector repeated throughout a piece of writing, it signals one thing: the writer only knows one way to link ideas.

Good writing shows the relationship between ideas, not just the order of them. "And then" only tells us that something happened next. It doesn't tell us why, or as a result of what, or despite what.

The Rule Use "and then" a maximum of once per piece of writing. Replace it with connectors that show how two ideas are connected.

Common Japanese Speaker Errors

  • ❌ "I studied hard and then I passed the exam and then I celebrated." → ✅ "After studying hard, I passed the exam — and celebrated."

  • ❌ "The population grew and then the cities became crowded and then the government built new roads." → ✅ "As the population grew, cities became increasingly crowded. In response, the government invested in new infrastructure."

Your Replacement Toolkit

Instead of "and then..."Use thisWhen...and thensubsequentlyformal sequenceand thenfollowing thisafter an actionand thenas a resultcause → effectand thenafter thatneutral sequenceand thenconsequentlylogical outcomeand thenthis led toone thing causes anotherand thenonce...when timing mattersand thenmeanwhiletwo things happening at the same time

The Key Question Before you write "and then," stop and ask: why does the second thing follow the first?

  • Because of it? → "as a result" / "consequently"

  • Right after it? → "following this" / "subsequently"

  • At the same time? → "meanwhile" / "simultaneously"

  • Despite it? → "nevertheless" / "even so"

If you can answer why, you can replace "and then" with something that shows real understanding of how ideas connect. That's not just better English — it's better thinking on the page.

Practice Exercise 6 Rewrite each sentence without using "and then":

  1. The factory closed and then many workers lost their jobs.

  2. She studied hard and then she passed the exam and then she celebrated with her family.

  3. The government raised taxes and then people had less money to spend.

  4. I arrived at the airport and then I checked in and then I waited for my flight.

  5. Technology improved and then communication became easier and then the world felt smaller.

PATTERN 7: PREPOSITIONS

Why You Make This Mistake Japanese uses particles (は、が、に、で、を) that work completely differently from English prepositions. に (ni) can mean "to," "at," "in," or "on" depending on context. で (de) can mean "at," "by," or "with." There's no direct mapping. You have to learn English prepositions as fixed combinations.

The Hard Truth There are no simple rules. You must memorise these combinations.

Common Japanese Speaker Errors

  • ❌ "go for shopping" → ✅ "go shopping" (no preposition) or "go to the shops"

  • ❌ "listen music" → ✅ "listen to music"

  • ❌ "wait to him" → ✅ "wait for him"

  • ❌ "arrive to Tokyo" → ✅ "arrive in Tokyo"

  • ❌ "discuss about" → ✅ "discuss" (no preposition)

Key Combinations to Memorise

VerbCorrect prepositionExamplelistenlisten to"listen to music"waitwait for"wait for the train"arrivearrive in (city) / arrive at (place)"arrive in Tokyo" / "arrive at the station"interestedinterested in"interested in Japanese culture"dependdepend on"it depends on the weather"

Verbs That DON'T Need Prepositions

  • discuss (NOT discuss about)

  • enter (NOT enter to)

  • marry (NOT marry with)

  • attend (NOT attend to)

Practice Exercise 7 Fix the prepositions (or remove unnecessary ones):

  1. I like to listen music.

  2. She is waiting to the train.

  3. We discussed about the problem.

  4. He entered to the building.

  5. I'm interested for Japanese culture.

BONUS PATTERN: EMBEDDED QUESTION WORD ORDER

Why You Make This Mistake In Japanese, question word order stays the same whether it's a direct question or embedded inside another sentence. The particle か (ka) signals the question, but word order doesn't change.

駅はどこですか？ = "Where is the station?" 駅はどこか教えてください = "Please tell me where the station is" — same word order.

In English, embedded questions flip back to statement word order.

The Rule

  • Direct question → question word order: "Where is the station?"

  • Embedded question → statement word order: "Can you tell me where the station is?"

Common Errors

  • ❌ "Can you tell me where is the station?" → ✅ "Can you tell me where the station is?"

  • ❌ "I wonder what time is it." → ✅ "I wonder what time it is."

  • ❌ "Do you know who is she?" → ✅ "Do you know who she is?"

The Trigger When you see these phrases, check the word order that follows:

  • Can you tell me...

  • Do you know...

  • I wonder...

  • I don't know...

  • Could you explain...

Bonus Exercise Fix the word order:

  1. Can you tell me where is the library?

  2. I don't know what time does the train leave.

  3. Do you know who is the new manager?

  4. I was wondering if could you send me the file.

  5. Could you explain what does this word mean?

YOUR 5-MINUTE SELF-CHECK

Before you submit ANY piece of writing, scan for these 7 patterns (+1 bonus):

  • ☐ Articles: Check every noun. Does it need a/an/the/nothing?

  • ☐ Plurals: After numbers or "many/several/some" — did I add -s?

  • ☐ Word order: Subject + Verb + Object (not SOV)

  • ☐ Missing subject: Every sentence has a subject? Check "Is..." sentences.

  • ☐ -ed/-ing: Feelings = -ed, Causes = -ing

  • ☐ "And then" chains: Used more than once? Replace with varied connectors.

  • ☐ Prepositions: Double-check listen to, wait for, interested in

  • ☐ Embedded questions: Check word order after "Do you know..." or "Can you tell me..."

A FINAL THOUGHT

The student in Tokyo — the one I mentioned at the beginning — sent me her third piece of writing last week.

I counted the errors. There were eleven.

She hasn't been studying English longer. She hasn't taken more exams. She's just learned to see seven patterns that were always there, hiding in plain sight, feeling completely correct.

That's available to you too.

This is one post. One direction out of many.

Every week, students ask questions that open new doors — an exception that turns out not to be an exception, a rule that works until it doesn't, a sentence that's technically correct but sounds wrong to every native speaker in the room. Each of those moments is a post. Each of those posts goes somewhere different.

If you want to follow where this goes, you know where to find me.

Paul Collins is the creator of The Open Letter Co and The IELTS Love Letters. He has spent over 20 years helping people from around the world improve their English — and coaching exceptional people to close the gap between where they are and where they know they should be.

📧 [your email] 📱 [your Instagram/WhatsApp]

ANSWER KEY

(Print this page separately)

DIAGNOSTIC ANSWERS

  1. ❌ I bought a book yesterday. (missing article)

  2. ❌ She is a nurse at a/the hospital in Tokyo. (missing articles)

  3. ❌ Yesterday I went to the library. (word order + article)

  4. ❌ It is difficult to study every day. (missing subject)

  5. ❌ The movie was very enjoyable / I enjoyed the movie very much. (wrong word form)

  6. ❌ See Pattern 6 replacement examples. (repetitive connector)

  7. ❌ I want to go shopping. (no preposition needed)

  8. ❌ Can you tell me where the station is? (embedded question word order)

How many did you catch?

  • 0-3: These patterns are invisible to you right now. That's okay — now you know what to look for.

  • 4-6: You know some rules but don't apply them automatically yet.

  • 7-8: You're close to where you want to be. Keep building awareness.

EXERCISE 1: Articles

  1. a new computer

  2. Ø Mount Fuji

  3. an engineer

  4. Ø advice (uncountable)

  5. The book

EXERCISE 2: Plurals

  1. five classes

  2. many books

  3. several problems

  4. two sisters

  5. three cities

EXERCISE 3: Word Order

  1. Yesterday I watched a movie.

  2. She eats Japanese food every day.

  3. He sent an email to his friend.

  4. We went to Osaka last week.

  5. They speak English in the office.

EXERCISE 4: Missing Subject

  1. It is very important to practice every day.

  2. It was fun to visit Australia.

  3. It is raining heavily today.

  4. It seems that he is busy.

  5. I went to the store yesterday.

EXERCISE 5: -ED vs -ING

  1. boring

  2. interested

  3. disappointing

  4. exhausted

  5. surprising

EXERCISE 6: "And Then" Chains

  1. When the factory closed, many workers consequently lost their jobs.

  2. After studying hard, she passed the exam and celebrated with her family.

  3. Following the tax increase, people had less disposable income.

  4. After arriving at the airport, I checked in before waiting for my flight.

  5. As technology improved, communication became easier — and the world felt smaller.

EXERCISE 7: Prepositions

  1. listen to music

  2. waiting for the train

  3. We discussed the problem. (no preposition)

  4. He entered the building. (no preposition)

  5. interested in Japanese culture

BONUS EXERCISE: Embedded Question Word Order

  1. Can you tell me where the library is?

  2. I don't know what time the train leaves.

  3. Do you know who the new manager is?

  4. I was wondering if you could send me the file.

  5. Could you explain what this word means?

"あなたには25個の問題があるわけではない。7つのパターンがあるだけ。"

THE JAPAN BIG 7

あなたには25個の問題があるわけではない。7つのパターンがあるだけ。 日本語話者のためのガイド

何かが変わる瞬間

彼女が東京から最初の文章を送ってきた。

私は間違いを数えた。40個以上あった。

彼女は恥ずかしそうにしていた。私は驚かなかった——彼女の英語が悪かったからではなく、全く同じパターンを何百回も見てきたからだ。違う人たち、違う人生、英語を学ぶ違う理由。しかし、同じ場所に、同じ間違いが、何度も何度も現れる。

私は返信して、真実を伝えた：あなたには40個の問題があるわけではない。繰り返し現れる7つのパターンがあるだけだ。その7つを直せば、ほとんどの間違いは消える。

最初、彼女は信じなかった。ほとんどの人がそうだ。

しかし、長年日本語話者と仕事をしてきてわかったことがある：あなたの間違いはランダムではない。それはあなたが英語が苦手だというサインではない。それは、脳が当然すべきことをしている、完全に予測可能な結果だ——第一言語の構造の上に第二言語を構築している。

日本語は美しく、正確な言語だ。しかし、7つの具体的な点で英語とは異なる働きをする。そして、誰かがその違いがどこにあるかを正確に示してくれるまで、同じ間違いを繰り返すことになる——努力していないからではなく、それが正しいと感じるからだ。

このガイドはそのためにある。

簡単な診断：どのパターンがあなたに影響していますか？

各文を読んでください。正しいと思ったら、番号を丸で囲んでください。

  1. I bought book yesterday.

  2. She is nurse at hospital in Tokyo.

  3. Yesterday I to library went.

  4. Is difficult to study every day.

  5. The movie was very enjoy.

  6. I woke up and then I had breakfast and then I went to work and then I checked my emails.

  7. I want to go for shopping.

  8. Can you tell me where is the station?

解答は解答欄（最終ページ）で確認してください。

パターン1：冠詞（a, an, the）

なぜこの間違いをするのか 日本語には冠詞がない。本を読んだと言うとき、"a"や"the"に相当するものはない——どの本を意味するかは文脈が教えてくれる。英語では選択を迫られる：a book（どの本でもいい）か the book（特定の本）かを。

ルール

A/ANを使う場合：

  • 初めて言及するとき："I bought a book"

  • 職業："She is a nurse"

  • 多くの中の一つ："That's a good idea"

THEを使う場合：

  • 2回目の言及："I bought a book. The book was interesting."

  • 唯一のもの：the sun, the moon, the government

  • 両者が知っている特定のもの："the hospital"（あなたが働いている病院）

冠詞なしの場合：

  • 複数形の一般："Books are expensive"（一般的な本）

  • 不可算名詞："I need information"（"an information"ではない）

  • ほとんどの国名："I live in Japan"（"the Japan"ではない）

日本語話者によくある間違い

  • ❌ "I bought book" → ✅ "I bought a book"

  • ❌ "She is nurse" → ✅ "She is a nurse"

  • ❌ "He works at hospital" → ✅ "He works at a/the hospital"

練習問題1 a、an、the、または何もなし（Ø）を入れてください：

  1. I want to buy ___ new computer.

  2. ___ Mount Fuji is beautiful.

  3. She is ___ engineer.

  4. I need ___ advice.

  5. ___ book you recommended was excellent.

パターン2：複数形

なぜこの間違いをするのか 日本語では複数形を示さない。本（hon）は"book"も"books"も意味する——数や文脈がいくつあるかを教えてくれる。英語では複数を示すために -s（または -es）を加える必要がある。

ルール 数字（"one"を除く）の後、"many"、"several"、"some"、"a few"の後には -s を加える。

日本語話者によくある間違い

  • ❌ "I have three book" → ✅ "I have three books"

  • ❌ "Many student study here" → ✅ "Many students study here"

  • ❌ "I visited several country" → ✅ "I visited several countries"

確認ポイント 数字や量を表す言葉を書いた後は、名詞を確認してください。-s が必要ですか？

練習問題2 複数形を直してください：

  1. I have five class today.

  2. She bought many book at the store.

  3. There are several problem with this plan.

  4. He has two sister and one brother.

  5. I visited three city in Australia.

パターン3：語順（SOV → SVO）

なぜこの間違いをするのか 日本語はSOV語順を使う：主語→目的語→動詞 私は本を読んだ（I book read）

英語はSVO語順を使う：主語→動詞→目的語 I read a book.

ルール 英語では：主語＋動詞＋目的語

日本語話者によくある間違い

  • ❌ "Yesterday I to the library went" → ✅ "Yesterday I went to the library"

  • ❌ "I coffee drank" → ✅ "I drank coffee"

  • ❌ "She English well speaks" → ✅ "She speaks English well"

時を表す言葉について 日本語では、時を表す言葉はよく文頭に来る。英語では通常、文頭か文末に来る——しかし、動詞は依然として目的語の前に来る。

  • ❌ "Yesterday I homework did" → ✅ "Yesterday I did homework"

練習問題3 語順を直してください：

  1. I yesterday a movie watched.

  2. She Japanese food every day eats.

  3. He to his friend an email sent.

  4. We last week to Osaka went.

  5. They English in the office speak.

パターン4：主語の欠落

なぜこの間違いをするのか 日本語は「主語省略」言語だ——文脈から明らかな場合、主語を省略できる： おいしい（oishii）= "[It] is delicious"——主語は不要 読んだ（yonda）= "[I] read [it]"——主語は不要

英語は常に主語が必要だ。

ルール すべての英語の文には主語が必要だ。不要に感じる場合でも。

日本語話者によくある間違い

  • ❌ "Is delicious" → ✅ "It is delicious"

  • ❌ "Is difficult to study" → ✅ "It is difficult to study"

  • ❌ "Is raining" → ✅ "It is raining"

"IT"が必要な表現

  • It is important to...

  • It is difficult to...

  • It seems that...

  • It is raining / snowing / cold / hot

練習問題4 欠けている主語を加えてください：

  1. Is very important to practice every day.

  2. Was fun to visit Australia.

  3. Is raining heavily today.

  4. Seems that he is busy.

  5. Went to the store yesterday.

パターン5：-EDと-ING形容詞

なぜこの間違いをするのか 日本語は英語のように"bored"と"boring"を区別しない。楽しい（tanoshii）は"fun"も"enjoying"も両方カバーする——どちらかは文脈が教えてくれる。また、楽しかった（tanoshikatta）の働き方から、"enjoy"を形容詞として使うこともある。

ルール

  • -ED = あなたがどう感じるか（あなたへの影響）

  • -ING = ものの性質（感情を引き起こすもの）

日本語話者によくある間違い

  • ❌ "The movie was very enjoy" → ✅ "The movie was very enjoyable"

  • ❌ "I was boring" → ✅ "I was bored"（あなた自身がつまらない人でない限り！）

  • ❌ "The news was shocked" → ✅ "The news was shocking"

記憶のコツ I am borED（何かが私をこう感じさせた） The movie is borING（それが退屈を引き起こす）

練習問題5 -ed か -ing を選んでください：

  1. The lecture was very (bored / boring).

  2. I was (interested / interesting) in the topic.

  3. The test results were (disappointed / disappointing).

  4. She felt (exhausted / exhausting) after work.

  5. The news was (surprised / surprising).

パターン6："AND THEN"の連鎖

なぜこの間違いをするのか 日本語の物語は「そして」や「それから」——どちらもおよそ"and then"を意味する——を通じて自然に流れる。この構造は日本語では自然だ。温かく、明確で、論理的に聞こえる。そのため、日本語話者が英語で書くとき、同じパターンが直接ページに現れる。

結果はこのようになる：

"I woke up and then I had breakfast and then I went to work and then I checked my emails."

すべての出来事がまったく同じ方法で繋がっている。変化のない連鎖。

問題は文法ではない。幅だ。読者——試験官だけでなく、どんな読者でも——同じ接続詞が文章全体に繰り返されているのを見ると、一つのことを示す：書き手はアイデアを繋ぐ方法を一つしか知らない。

良い文章はアイデアの関係を示す——ただの順序ではなく。"And then"は次に何かが起きたことしか伝えない。なぜ、何の結果として、何にもかかわらず——ということは伝えない。

ルール "And then"は一つの文章で最大一回使用する。二つのアイデアがどのように繋がっているかを示す接続詞に置き換える。

日本語話者によくある間違い

  • ❌ "I studied hard and then I passed the exam and then I celebrated." → ✅ "After studying hard, I passed the exam — and celebrated."

  • ❌ "The population grew and then the cities became crowded and then the government built new roads." → ✅ "As the population grew, cities became increasingly crowded. In response, the government invested in new infrastructure."

代替ツールキット

"and then"の代わりに使う言葉使う場面and thensubsequently公式な順序and thenfollowing thisある行動の後and thenas a result原因→結果and thenafter that通常の順序and thenconsequently論理的な結果and thenthis led to一方が他方を引き起こすときand thenonce...タイミングが重要なときand thenmeanwhile二つのことが同時に起きているとき

重要な質問 "And then"を書く前に、立ち止まって考えてください：なぜ2番目のことが1番目の後に続くのか？

  • それのために？→ "as a result" / "consequently"

  • その直後？→ "following this" / "subsequently"

  • 同時に？→ "meanwhile" / "simultaneously"

  • それにもかかわらず？→ "nevertheless" / "even so"

なぜを答えられれば、"and then"をアイデアがどのように繋がるかの本当の理解を示すものに置き換えられる。それは単により良い英語というだけでなく——ページ上でのより良い思考だ。

練習問題6 "and then"を使わずに各文を書き直してください：

  1. The factory closed and then many workers lost their jobs.

  2. She studied hard and then she passed the exam and then she celebrated with her family.

  3. The government raised taxes and then people had less money to spend.

  4. I arrived at the airport and then I checked in and then I waited for my flight.

  5. Technology improved and then communication became easier and then the world felt smaller.

パターン7：前置詞

なぜこの間違いをするのか 日本語は英語の前置詞とはまったく異なる働きをする助詞（は、が、に、で、を）を使う。に（ni）は文脈によって"to"、"at"、"in"、"on"を意味することができる。で（de）は"at"、"by"、"with"を意味することができる。直接的な対応関係はない。英語の前置詞は固定された組み合わせとして学ぶ必要がある。

厳しい真実 簡単なルールはない。これらの組み合わせを暗記しなければならない。

日本語話者によくある間違い

  • ❌ "go for shopping" → ✅ "go shopping"（前置詞不要）または "go to the shops"

  • ❌ "listen music" → ✅ "listen to music"

  • ❌ "wait to him" → ✅ "wait for him"

  • ❌ "arrive to Tokyo" → ✅ "arrive in Tokyo"

  • ❌ "discuss about" → ✅ "discuss"（前置詞不要）

覚えておくべき重要な組み合わせ

動詞正しい前置詞例listenlisten to"listen to music"waitwait for"wait for the train"arrivearrive in（都市）/ arrive at（場所）"arrive in Tokyo" / "arrive at the station"interestedinterested in"interested in Japanese culture"dependdepend on"it depends on the weather"

前置詞が不要な動詞

  • discuss（"discuss about"ではない）

  • enter（"enter to"ではない）

  • marry（"marry with"ではない）

  • attend（"attend to"ではない）

練習問題7 前置詞を直してください（または不要なものを取り除いてください）：

  1. I like to listen music.

  2. She is waiting to the train.

  3. We discussed about the problem.

  4. He entered to the building.

  5. I'm interested for Japanese culture.

ボーナスパターン：埋め込み疑問文の語順

なぜこの間違いをするのか 日本語では、直接疑問文でも別の文に埋め込まれた場合でも、疑問文の語順は同じだ。助詞「か」が疑問を示すが、語順は変わらない。

駅はどこですか？= "Where is the station?" 駅はどこか教えてください = "Please tell me where the station is"——同じ語順。

英語では、埋め込み疑問文は平叙文の語順に戻る。

ルール

  • 直接疑問文 → 疑問文の語順："Where is the station?"

  • 埋め込み疑問文 → 平叙文の語順："Can you tell me where the station is?"

よくある間違い

  • ❌ "Can you tell me where is the station?" → ✅ "Can you tell me where the station is?"

  • ❌ "I wonder what time is it." → ✅ "I wonder what time it is."

  • ❌ "Do you know who is she?" → ✅ "Do you know who she is?"

確認が必要なフレーズ これらのフレーズを見たら、続く語順を確認してください：

  • Can you tell me...

  • Do you know...

  • I wonder...

  • I don't know...

  • Could you explain...

ボーナス練習問題 語順を直してください：

  1. Can you tell me where is the library?

  2. I don't know what time does the train leave.

  3. Do you know who is the new manager?

  4. I was wondering if could you send me the file.

  5. Could you explain what does this word mean?

5分間のセルフチェック

どんな文章でも提出する前に、この7つのパターン（+1ボーナス）をチェックしてください：

  • ☐ 冠詞： すべての名詞を確認。a/an/the、または何もなし——どれが正しいか？

  • ☐ 複数形： 数字や"many/several/some"の後——-s を加えたか？

  • ☐ 語順： 主語＋動詞＋目的語（SOVではない）

  • ☐ 主語の欠落： すべての文に主語があるか？"Is..."の文を確認。

  • ☐ -ed/-ing： 感情は*-ed*、原因は*-ing*

  • ☐ "And then"の連鎖： 2回以上使っていないか？多様な接続詞に置き換える。

  • ☐ 前置詞： listen to、wait for、interested in を再確認。

  • ☐ 埋め込み疑問文： "Do you know..."や"Can you tell me..."の後の語順を確認。

最後に

東京の生徒——最初に言及した彼女——は先週、3回目の文章を送ってくれた。

私は間違いを数えた。11個だった。

彼女は英語をより長く勉強してきたわけではない。より多くの試験を受けてきたわけでもない。ただ、ずっとそこにあった、見えているのに気づかず、完全に正しいと感じていた7つのパターンが見えるようになっただけだ。

それはあなたにも可能だ。

これは一つの投稿だ。多くの方向性の中の一つ。

毎週、生徒たちは新しい扉を開く質問をする——例外ではないとわかる例外、ある時点まで機能するルール、技術的には正しいが部屋のすべてのネイティブスピーカーにはおかしく聞こえる文。そういった瞬間それぞれが一つの投稿になる。それぞれの投稿は異なる場所へ向かう。

これがどこへ向かうか追いたければ、どこで私を見つけられるかわかるだろう。

ポール・コリンズはThe Open Letter CoとThe IELTS Love Lettersの創設者だ。20年以上にわたって世界中の人々の英語向上を助け、並外れた人々が目標と現実の差を縮めるコーチングを行っている。

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解答欄

（このページは別に印刷してください）

診断の解答

  1. ❌ I bought a book yesterday.（冠詞の欠落）

  2. ❌ She is a nurse at a/the hospital in Tokyo.（冠詞の欠落）

  3. ❌ Yesterday I went to the library.（語順＋冠詞）

  4. ❌ It is difficult to study every day.（主語の欠落）

  5. ❌ The movie was very enjoyable / I enjoyed the movie very much.（語形の間違い）

  6. ❌ パターン6の代替例を参照。（接続詞の繰り返し）

  7. ❌ I want to go shopping.（前置詞不要）

  8. ❌ Can you tell me where the station is?（埋め込み疑問文の語順）

何問正解しましたか？

  • 0〜3問： これらのパターンは今のあなたには見えていない。大丈夫——何を探せばいいかわかった。

  • 4〜6問： ルールは知っているが、まだ自動的には適用できていない。

  • 7〜8問： 目指す場所に近づいている。意識を高め続けよう。

練習問題1：冠詞

  1. a new computer

  2. Ø Mount Fuji（固有名詞、冠詞なし）

  3. an engineer

  4. Ø advice（不可算名詞）

  5. The book

練習問題2：複数形

  1. five classes

  2. many books

  3. several problems

  4. two sisters

  5. three cities

練習問題3：語順

  1. Yesterday I watched a movie.

  2. She eats Japanese food every day.

  3. He sent an email to his friend.

  4. We went to Osaka last week.

  5. They speak English in the office.

練習問題4：主語の欠落

  1. It is very important to practice every day.

  2. It was fun to visit Australia.

  3. It is raining heavily today.

  4. It seems that he is busy.

  5. I went to the store yesterday.

練習問題5：-EDと-ING

  1. boring

  2. interested

  3. disappointing

  4. exhausted

  5. surprising

練習問題6："And Then"の連鎖

  1. When the factory closed, many workers consequently lost their jobs.

  2. After studying hard, she passed the exam and celebrated with her family.

  3. Following the tax increase, people had less disposable income.

  4. After arriving at the airport, I checked in before waiting for my flight.

  5. As technology improved, communication became easier — and the world felt smaller.

練習問題7：前置詞

  1. listen to music

  2. waiting for the train

  3. We discussed the problem.（前置詞不要）

  4. He entered the building.（前置詞不要）

  5. interested in Japanese culture

ボーナス練習問題：埋め込み疑問文の語順

  1. Can you tell me where the library is?

  2. I don't know what time the train leaves.

  3. Do you know who the new manager is?

  4. I was wondering if you could send me the file.

  5. Could you explain what this word means?

「あなたには25個の問題があるわけではない。7つのパターンがあるだけ。」

CREATED ON

The Gold Coast - Australia

WRITE TO ME

paul@ieltsloveletters.com

WORKING HOURS

Always and Never

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