๕คำพูดปกติที่ทำให้นักเรียนภาษาอังกฤษงง
How have you been? = How are you?
Asking, "How are you?", is sometimes too basic of a question for native speakers, but it seems that asking, "How have you been?", confuses some students of English because the Present Perfect tense doesn't exist in their language. เวลาถามคนไทยแบบนี้ผมสังเกตว่าพวกเขางงหลายรอบแต่ "How've you been?" แปลว่าชีวิตคุณเป็นยังไงบ้าง?
What's up? = How are you? (Most of the time)
When I ask some people, "What's up?" I've noticed they think they've annoyed me or something negative, but it just means we are asking about your life or situation. If said with an aggressive tone and body language, then it means we are angry. (It's hard to know this if it's a text message.) ตามปกติ "What's up?" แปลว่า ว่าไงครับ? แต่ถ้าเราพูดเหมือนโกรธมันแปลว่าทำแบบนี้ทำไมวะ?
Lost my touch = My Skills have decreased
I've told my students before that I've lost my touch and they told me that my fingers are fine. Losing your touch just means you are not as good as before. ถ้าคนต่างชาติบอกคุณว่า "You've lost your touch." มันแปลว่าคุณไม่เก่งเหมือนเดิม
Under the weather = Sick
I remember telling someone that I was under the weather and their reply was something like, but we have the air conditioning on. ถ้ามีคนต่างชาติบอกคุณว่า "I'm feeling under the weather." มันแปลว่าผมรู้สึกไม่สบายนิดนิด
Look Smart = Look Good
I'm an American and we don't really use this expression, so when a British person complimented that I was smart, my response was something like, you don't even know me and I haven't said anything yet. ถ้าคนอังกฤษบอกคุณว่า "You look smart." มันแปลว่าคุณดูเท่ไม่เกี่ยวกับความฉลาด