Back when I was in college, I had many friends from around the world.

One day, a friend from Taiwan sent me a hand-made card.

On the inside, he had written, "I am boring, so I will make a card for you."

It was a beautiful handmade card, and it was very kind, so I was very happy to receive it!

Although his English was not perfect, I understood what he wanted to say from the context(文脈, 文中の言葉の前後関係).

So there was no problem with communication!

私が大学生だった頃、世界中から来た友人がたくさんいたのよ。

ある日、台湾出身の友人が、私に手作りのカードをくれたの。

中にはこう書いてあったわ。
"I am boring, so I will make a card for you."
（僕は退屈な人間だからあなたにカードを作るよ）
綺麗な手作りのカードで、とても優しいわよね。だから本当に嬉しかったわ！

彼の英語が完璧ではなくても、文脈から彼が何て言いたいのかがわかったから
コミュニケーションに問題は全くなかったのよ！

However, there was a little grammar mistake in the card which I later realized was very common for people learning English.

"Boring" and "bored," as well as "interesting" and "interested," are often confused.

So, for today's One Point English lesson, please remember: NEVER say "I am boring!"

This means that you, the subject of the sentence, are a boring, or uninteresting, person.

However, I am sure that is not true!

Every single individual in the world is a unique and special person!

Therefore, "you" are most definitely not boring!

後で気が付いたのだけど、そのカードには、英語を勉強している人が非常に共通して間違いやすい小さな文法の間違いがあったの。

"boring" と"bored" 、それに　"interesting" と"interested" はよく混乱されがちよね。

そこで今日のワンポイント・イングリッシュ・レッスンはこれよ、
『決して"I am boring"　(私は退屈です)と言わないで！！』
文章の主語である"あなた"が、"退屈"、"面白くない人"って意味になるわ。

でもそれって間違っているでしょう！
世界中の全てのあらゆる人はユニークで特別なのよ！

だから"あなた"は決して"退屈"ではないわ！

However, you may occasionally FEEL bored!

It may be a rainy day when you don't have anything to do.

Or the movie you are watching may not be interesting.

Or perhaps you're even listening to a classroom lecture which is putting you to sleep!

However, in those cases, ALWAYS remember to say, "IT is boring" . . . and not "I am boring"!!!

After all, you don't want to put yourself down! 🙂

でもね、時々あなたは退屈に感じることはあるわよね！

雨の日で何もすることがない日や、つまらない映画を観ている時や
眠たくなるような授業を聞いている時！

そんな時、いつもこう言うように覚えていてね、
"I am boring"　ではなくて、"It is boring"よ！！

自分のことを悪く言いたくはないでしょう！

The same thing goes with "interesting" and "interested."

Do not say "I am interesting" but "It is interesting."

Unless, of course, you want to give yourself a compliment and tell everybody what an interesting person you are! In that case, you could always say, "I am very interesting!"

But then, that's kind of bragging, isn't it?

同じ事が"interesting" と "interested." でも言えるわ。

"I am interesting" ではなく、　"It is interesting."と言ってね。

もちろん自分を褒めて人にあなたがどれだけ面白い人かを伝えたいのなら
いつでも"I am very interesting!"（わたしはとても面白いです！）と言ってね！でもね、それって自慢よね？

Have a great day and be sure to remember today's One Point English!

素敵な一日を過ごしてくださいね。
そして今日のワンポイント・イングリッシュ・レッスンをしっかり覚えていてね！

Brenda