Lesson Dialogues
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* Hover over or tap words to see definitions:
Situation 1
Suzuki-san and his colleague Yamada-san are talking during lunch at the office.
Comprehension Quiz (Skip if you don't understand the conversation yet)
山田さんはもう食べましたか？
A はい
B いいえ
山田：もう食べました？ご飯。
鈴木：はい、ラーメン食べました。
山田：そうですか。
鈴木：山田さんは？
山田：まだです。仕事、終わらなくて。
Situation 2
At home, Yuya and his girlfriend Saki are eating cake.
Comprehension Quiz (Skip if you don't understand the conversation yet)
ユウヤはそのケーキを____。
A お店で買った
B よく食べた
C 自分で作った
D 最近見た
ユウヤ：どう？このケーキ。
サキ：すごい美味しいよ。
ユウヤ：ほんと？
サキ：うん。どこで買ったの？
ユウヤ：これ、自分で作ったんだ。
サキ：ほんとに？すごいね。
Situation 3
Matsui-san is talking with her neighbor Ohnishi-san.
Comprehension Quiz (Skip if you don't understand the conversation yet)
松井さんの子供たちのクリスマスプレゼントは、たぶん____だ。
A ゲーム
B スマホ
C ケーキ
D バッグ
松井：クリスマスプレゼント何にします？子供達の。
大西：考えてる所です。松井さんのうちは？
松井：うちはゲームにします。たぶん。
Situation 4
Ami is talking with her mother.
Comprehension Quiz (Skip if you don't understand the conversation yet)
アミのスマホは、今、使えますか？
A はい
B いいえ
アミ：今度、スマホ買って。
母：え？今の、使えなくなったの？
アミ：使えるけど…。
母：やっぱり。じゃ、まだ買わなくていいよね。
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Also this one 今の、使えなくなったの？
Translates: You can’t use your current one anymore?
But then なった is “to become; to be; to get; to come; to do; to start; to do; to turn into;” – this word seems incredibly contextual…
So it’s like something to think of “current [one], can’t be [used]?”
The phrase “xxxになる” means “as a result, something ends up being xxx.”
So, 使えなくなる means it ends up being unusable. In other words, it is no longer working or available.
The sentence means “Is the phone (you currently use) not working?”
How do you go about this translation?
大西：考えてる所です。
I was understanding TOKORO is place, or even situation, but here is it like… “thinking taking place [now]”
In the translation is “I’m thinking now.” but is the now anywhere in the sentence?
所 alone means “a place”.
But xxxしている (verb) + ところ means “in the process of doing xxx”.
So 考えているところ means “I’m thinking (about something).”
xxxている is the progressive form, so it can be translated as “doing xxx now.”
Thank you for updating Yuya-san’s voice! This is much easier to listen to.