THE WONDERFUL TEAKETTLE: QUIZ ANSWERS

Here are the answers to the quiz on the Japanese story, The Wonderful Teakettle:

Answers:

1. Why was the old priest so happy? Because he had found a new treasure - his "new" teakettle.
2. What was his new teakettle made of? Brass
3. What did the third boy see whenhe peeped through the screen? He was just in time to see the new teakettle give a spring into the air, turn a somersault, and come down in the form of a furry, little badger.
4. What did all the boys see when they looked through the screen together? Only a teakettle.
5. What did the teakettle do when the old priest put it on the fire to heat? The kettle gave a leap up into the air, spilling the hot water all over the floor! “Hot, hot! I’m burning!” it cried. And, like a flash, it was no longer a kettle but a little furry badger.
6. Who did the old priest sell the teakettle to? The tinker.
7. Where did he take the teakettle to after he bought it? He took it home with him, where he bent it back into shape and mended it.
8. What did the badger say he liked to eat now and then? The badger said, "Oh! I like a little sugar now and then.”
9. What did the people who saw the dancing badger on the tightroop do after they saw it? Those who had seen it once came to see it again.
10. Where did the owner of the teakettle put the teakettle after he bacame rich? He put his beloved teakettle in a little temple on top of a hill.

11. Bonus question: Using the story, describe what a badger looks like. It was furry, had four feet, and a bushy tail.

How did you do?

Could, Could Have Been, Could Be

Hi! It's me, Professor Panda, PhD. Today I wanted to answer a question about the word "could" from a reader. Because this word and its uses can cause a lot of confusion, I thought I would share this question with everyone! So here it is!

Could is what is known as an AUXILIARY VERB; that is, a verb used to help form the tenses, aspects, or moods of other verbs such as, have, do , be, should must, can. The word could is used in verb phrases that have a past, present, or future time reference and is generally equal to can in meaning and use, with the following functions:

1. Expressing a shade of doubt or a smaller degree of ability or possibility such as in: It could be so.
2. Expressing permission, as in: Could I go?
3. Forming the present condition as in: It would help if he could wait.
4. Forming the past condition as in: He would have left if he could.
5. Expressing or suggesting politely less certainty than the word can, as in: Could you wait?

Now as to your question:

I often see or listen to the following phrase: " a could have been. " For example, “He is a could have been;” or, “It is a could have been story;” or “a could have been beauty Queen.” What is the meaning " a could have been? "

First let us look at the present tense of the world can, as it applies to your phrases:

1. He can be…
2. He is a can be…
3. It is a can be story…
4. … can be beauty queen

In these phrases, the subjects (he, it, and she (which is implied here) have the ability to do or to be something: he has the ability to be, the story can be, she can be a beauty queen. Could refers us back to the past. While your phrases are idiomatic, that is, they are used as idioms (the usual way in which words of a particular language are joined together to express a thought, with particular reference to a dialect of a population or community, region, social class, etc.) they are still acceptable forms of English for conversation as well as informal forms of writing (news articles, essays, short stories, etc. – almost everything except formal research papers or a high school and university thesis). What these phrases say are as follows:

1. He is a person who could have been (what ever it is, a ball player, actor, student, etc.).
2. It could have been a story (if/but…….).
3. (She) could have been a beauty queen (if/but…..).

although, each of these idioms tend to be a bit negative or critical in their use.

Next time, we will discuss the phrase “wanna be” or more clearly “want to be,” which is similar in its use.

P. Panda, PhD.

MORE ABOUT NOUNS

MORE ABOUT NOUNS

So, as we learned last time, a noun is a word that names or refers to a person, a place, or a thing. To make things even more clear, I hope, a thing, can actually be not just an object or a person, but also a quality or even a concept.

We also leaned about common nouns, which name any one of a class of persons, places or things, and proper nouns, which name a specific person, place, or thing.

Let’s talk for just a moment about “number”. Number means that a word can be singular (which means that it referrs to one person, place or thing) or plural, which means that it refers to more than one person or place or thing. Of course, in Japanese, we don’t bother with number because the same word can be used for one or for more than one person, place, or thing. Here are some examples:

· Hon = book or books
· Shinbun = newspaper or newspapers
· Uchi = house or houses
· Ki = tree or trees
· Te = hand or hands
· Hon o motte imasu. ( I have a book) or
· Hon o motte imasu. (I have some books).

We should also begin to think a little bit about articles! In Japanese we do not use articles before nouns. There are no words in Nihongo that correspond to the English a, an, or the. For right now, just be aware that English does use articles a lot and that they are an important part of learning to both speak and write in English well. A major mistake that is often made is to forget to use articles when speaking or writing in English because Japanese people don’t normally use them or even give them a thought.

Some English nouns also show gender. Not so much in Japanese right? There are no special endings to show masculine, feminine, or neuter forms, but there are in English, so for now, just be aware that they exist.

Now, let’s talk a little bit about two “new” kinds of nouns. The are compound nouns and collective nouns. Please don’t be intimidated by these new names. The ideas behind them are pretty simple.

Compound nouns are two or more nouns that function or work together as a single unit. They are partners! A compound noun can be two individual words, words that are joined by a hyphen (-), or two words that are combined into one “new” word.

· Individual words: time capsule
· Hyphenated words: great-uncle
· Combined words: basketball (basket + ball)
Collective nouns name groups of people or things.

· Audience
· Family
· Herd
· Crowd.

Don’t forget, as you learn to read, write and to speak English, a really good dictionary is an important thing to have close by to refer to. My favorite is the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language which I always keep at my desk (yes, even I need a dictionary, often!!!). You can see it here for yourself:

http://www.amazon.co.jp/American-Heritage-Dictionary-English-Language/dp/0618701737/ref=sr_1_26?ie=UTF8&s=english-books&qid=1209238747&sr=8-26

Another really good dictionary is the Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, available in several forms:

http://www.amazon.co.jp/s/ref=nb_ss_fb/250-4870713-0556251?__mk_ja_JP=%83J%83%5E%83J%83i&url=search-alias%3Denglish-books&field-keywords=webster+collegiate+dictionary

Well, we have covered a lot of material today so take a minute to relax! After you have done that, we have a short quiz for you! Oh, it’s not too hard and it is good practice for you.

QUIZ

If you can, print out a copy of this quiz onto paper. Underline the nouns in each of the following sentences.

1. In ancient China, a hungry tiger was roaming through the jungle looking for something to eat.

2. He came across two men.

3. One man was sitting under a tree and reading a book; the other man was writing on a piece of paper.

4. The tiger quickly pounced on the man reading the book and devoured him.

5. Even a tiger knows that readers digest and writers cramp.

Give yourself 5 points for each noun you find. Also, there are two puns in this quiz. Yes, even English speaking people have fun with puns. Can you find them? If you can, give yourself an extra 5 points for each one.