Nov. 18, 2024
Dialog 698
New expressions.
"That's about it."
"Tell me about it!"
Confusing expressions.
"Do you ever gone to ?"
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Skit (Dialog) 698 from Talking Marathon (not need to be corrected)
You: Why are all these people so dressed up?
Me: I think they just came out of church.
You: Oh, right. I didn't realize some people still dress nicely for church.
Me: I know. Do you ever go to church?
You: Me? No. How about you?
Me: I haven't gone since I was a kid.
You: Did your parents take you?
Me. Yes. But not every Sunday.
You: So, Christmas and Easter?
Me: Yeah, That's about it.
You: Well. at least we don't have to get up early on Sundays.
Me: Tell me about it!
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My impression (What I have in mind right now.)
1: I think "Do you every go to church" should be better if it was "Have you ever been to church?"
2: I'm Japanese and not a Christian. However, I've been to church when I was a kindergarten kid because I went to a mission kindergarten. And I went to chruch after I grew up to attend funeral ceremonies at church when the passed away peoples were Chirstians. Therefore, the answer "No" seems very weird, and wondered if that "No" meant that "You" have never been to church in their live. I don't think so.
3: The expression "That's about it" didn't make sense to me at first. I thought "about" meant "regarding." I understand that it meant "almost" or "close to" adding the basic expression "that's it."
4: The expression "Tell me about it!" seemed strange to me, too. I took it literally as "Please tell me about it (more in detail)," which sounded weird. I didn't know it means "I agree with you" or "You can say that" or something like that.
5: Finally, I think this conversation seems improper in this modern world's international conversations.
"Church" in this context would definitely means the Chirstian church. And maybe "You" and "Me" are Christians, too.
If they are very close friends, it would be okay, but if not, asking about how devoted Chirstian they are seemed rude or politically incorrect. Talking about religious matter seems politically incorrect, too. They might be a Muslim.
Just like asking about you are a Democrat or a Republican in the US, it would cause people devided into two or more groups.
Dialog 698
////////////////////////////////////// My impression (What I have in mind right now.)
1: I think "Do you every go to church" should be better if it was "Have you ever been to church?"
2: I'm Japanese and not a Christian.
However, I've been to church when I was a kindergarten kid because I went to a mission kindergarten.
And I w've beent to chrurch after I grew up to attend funeral ceremonies at churches when the people who passed away peoples were Chiristians.
Therefore, the answer "No" seems very weird, and I wondered if that "No" meant that "Yyou" have never been to church in theiyour livfe.
I don't think so.
3: The expression "That's about it" didn't make sense to me at first.
I thought "about" meant "regarding."
I now understand that it meant "almost" or "close to," adding to the basic expression "that's it."
4: The expression "Tell me about it!"
seemed strange to me, too.
I took it literally as "Please tell me about it (more in detail)," which sounded weird.
I didn't know it means "I agree with you" or "You can say that" or something like that.
5: Finally, I think this conversation seems improper in this modern world's international conversations.
"Church" in this context would definitely means the Chiristian church.
And maybe "You" and "Me" are Christians, too.
If they are very close friends, it would be okay, but if not, asking about how devoted Chira Christian they are seemeds rude or politically incorrect.
Talking about religious matters seems politically incorrect, too.
They might be a Muslim.
Just like asking about if you are a Democrat or a Republican in the US, it would cause people deto be divided into two or more groups.
Feedback
The questions "Do you ever go to church?" and "Have you ever been to church?" are slightly different questions. The first asks if the listener goes to church on a *current*, semi-regular basis, whereas the second is as you interpret it. Thus, "No, but I went as a kid" would be a valid answer to the first question, but a nonsensical answer to the second question.
If you're wondering what the 'ever' contributes to the first question, it is a concession of how infrequently the listener may go to church, i.e. "I know you may not go every week, but do you *ever* go to church, like once a month?".
Feedback
【1: I think "Do you every go to church" should be better if it was "Have you ever been to church?"】
"Have you ever been to church" means something like: "have you ever been to church once in your life before"? Because some people have never been into a church.
So, you could reply something like:
→ No, I have never been to church before
→ Yes, my grandparents took me to church once when I was young
ーーーーーーーーー
"Do you ever go to church?" means nowadays. Something like: "is it part of your life nowadays to ever go to church?"
So, you could reply something like:
→ No, I don't go to church anymore
◾️ Notice that the answer/response is negative, but you share that you have been to church before (i.e. "not anymore"). This is the difference between the two questions.
→ No, I don't go to church, but I used to when I was a kid
→ Yeah, sometimes with my family
→ Yes, I go every Sunday
ーーーーーーーーー
You can replace this idea with another location. Like Freshness Burger.
"Have you ever been to Freshness Burger?"
→ In your whole life, have you ever eaten at Freshness Burger?
"Do you ever go to Freshness Burger?"
→ Recently / these days / nowadays -- have you eaten at Freshness Burger?
Nov. 18, 2024
【3: The expression "That's about it" didn't make sense to me at first. I thought "about" meant "regarding." I understand that it meant "almost" or "close to" adding the basic expression "that's it."】
The reply "Yeah, That's about it." could be literally explained as
→ "Yes, those are about the only times that I ever go to church nowadays"
He's communicating that he only typically goes to church for events like Christmas and Easter.
ーーーーーー
Another way we might use "about" like this is perhaps at the end of a work meeting or a job interview:
◾️ "That's about all the questions I had. Do you have anything you want to ask me?"
◾️"I think that's about everything on the agenda. Does anybody have anything else to add before we wrap-up?"
Nov. 18, 2024
【4: The expression "Tell me about it!" seemed strange to me, too. I took it literally as "Please tell me about it (more in detail)," which sounded weird. I didn't know it means "I agree with you" or "You can say that" or something like that.】
I think "Tell me about it!" is a very good comparison to "そうですね！"
The expression is a contracted/shortened version of something like:
"You do not need to tell me that point, because I already know all about it!"
→ "Tell me about it!"
Examples:
”Everything is so expensive these days"
"Tell me about it!"
→ そうですね -- I know, I agree with you,
”That test was so difficult. I could barely answer any of the questions"
"Tell me about it.. I definitely failed"
"It's so hot today."
"Tell me about it.. I feel like I am going to melt"
Nov. 18, 2024
【5: Finally, I think this conversation seems improper in this modern world's international conversations.】
I think your point is becoming rapidly more accurate.
However, in places like US and UK, these are predominantly Christian countries. From my perspective, this question would only be asked if both parties in the conversation are white people. It's unusual to have a white/caucasian person in US/UK that practices a faith other than Christianity (of course, I'm generalizing).
In many communities, the only religious building is a church. For example, where I live, there are only churches -- there are zero mosques, synagogues, etc. So, it would not be considered insensitive/inappropriate to ask me only about church.
All of that said, I don't think a white person would ask a question like this to someone from a different ethnic group.
Nov. 18, 2024
【4: The expression "Tell me about it!" seemed strange to me, too. I took it literally as "Please tell me about it (more in detail)," which sounded weird. I didn't know it means "I agree with you" or "You can say that" or something like that.】
I think "Tell me about it!" is a very good comparison to "そうですね！"
>The expression is a contracted/shortened version of something like:
>"You do not need to tell me that point, because I already know all about it!"
> → "Tell me about it!"
It's no use crying over the logic of the language; any language is a language and I can't complain abou it, but:
"If it is "Don't tell me about it!" just like "Don't mention it!," it would be much easy for me to understand.
I have to compromise it, and probably I should think that "tell me about it" is as an "irony" grammatically speaking.
You're a native speaker, so it is obviously right, but it seemed funny for me, a non-native English speaker.
Thanks!
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No. |
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Me: Yeah, That's about it. |
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They might be a Muslim. This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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Just like asking about you are a Democrat or a Republican in the US, it would cause people devided into two or more groups. Just like asking about if you are a Democrat or a Republican in the US, it would cause people |
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Dialog 698 This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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New expressions. |
|
"That's about it." |
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"Tell me about it!" |
|
Confusing expressions. |
|
"Do you ever gone to ?" |
|
/////////////////////////////. |
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Skit (Dialog) 698 from Talking Marathon (not need to be corrected) You: Why are all these people so dressed up? |
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Me: I think they just came out of church. |
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1: I think "Do you every go to church" should be better if it was "Have you ever been to church?" 1: I think "Do you ever |
|
2: I'm Japanese and not a Christian. This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
|
However, I've been to church when I was a kindergarten kid because I went to a mission kindergarten. This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
|
And I went to chruch after I grew up to attend funeral ceremonies at church when the passed away peoples were Chirstians. And I |
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Therefore, the answer "No" seems very weird, and wondered if that "No" meant that "You" have never been to church in their live. Therefore, the answer "No" seems very weird, and I wondered if that "No" meant that |
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I don't think so. This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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3: The expression "That's about it" didn't make sense to me at first. This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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I thought "about" meant "regarding." This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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You: Oh, right. |
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I didn't realize some people still dress nicely for church. |
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Me: I know. |
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Do you ever go to church? |
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You: Me? |
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How about you? |
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Me: I haven't gone since I was a kid. |
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You: Did your parents take you? |
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Me. |
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Yes. |
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But not every Sunday. |
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You: So, Christmas and Easter? |
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You: Well. |
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at least we don't have to get up early on Sundays. |
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Me: Tell me about it! |
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////////////////////////////////////// My impression (What I have in mind right now.) This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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seemed strange to me, too. This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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I understand that it meant "almost" or "close to" adding the basic expression "that's it." I now understand that it meant "almost" or "close to," adding to the basic expression "that's it." |
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4: The expression "Tell me about it!" This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
|
I took it literally as "Please tell me about it (more in detail)," which sounded weird. This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
|
I didn't know it means "I agree with you" or "You can say that" or something like that. This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
|
5: Finally, I think this conversation seems improper in this modern world's international conversations. This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
|
"Church" in this context would definitely means the Chirstian church. "Church" in this context would definitely mean |
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And maybe "You" and "Me" are Christians, too. This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
|
If they are very close friends, it would be okay, but if not, asking about how devoted Chirstian they are seemed rude or politically incorrect. If they are very close friends, it would be okay, but if not, asking about how devoted |
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Talking about religious matter seems politically incorrect, too. Talking about religious matters seems politically incorrect, too. |
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