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よくあるミス!過ごす and "Spend"

Lizzie H

Hello everyone!
 
Today I'm going to talk about a mistake that I see a lot from my Japanese students.
 
How do we say 「家族と過ごす」in English? How do we say 「過ごしやすい」?
 
過ごす can SOMETIMES be translated as "spend" in English. But not always!
 
Example 1:

今日は一日中彼氏と過ごしました。
X Today I spent with my boyfriend all day.
O Today I spent all day with my boyfriend.
 
北海道の夏は過ごしやすいです。
X Hokkaido's summers are easy to spend.
O Hokkaido's summers are comfortable.
 
 
IMPORTANT RULE:
 
In English, "spend" needs an object!
 
英語では、"spend"は目的語が必要です!


We can also use "spend" with money and energy, as well as time. But you have to spend something!
 
English examples:
 
"I spent most of the day listening to my favorite music."
 
"I've already spent half of my salary this month."
 
"Spending time outdoors is so relaxing!"
 
 
That's my pointer for today! See you next time!
 
-Lizzie

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