Enjoy Yourself!
Enjoy is a common word in both English
and Japanese. But like most Japanese-English phrases,
it's easy to make a mistake when using it in English.
Enjoy is a transitive verb (他動詞) , which
means you must have an object (目的語) after it. Look at
these examples:
| WRONG |
I went to Tokyo Disneyland last week.
I enjoyed ( ) very much. |
| RIGHT |
I enjoyed it very much. |
| RIGHT |
I enjoyed myself very much. |
Another common mistake is to say something like this:
I could enjoy it very much.
Could is not necessary in this sentence. In fact,
there are many examples of Japanese sentences with the
meaning of was able to do... (楽しめることができた、誰かに会えた、何かが見えた)
. Usually in English you don't need to say can
or could in sentences like these. For example:
| ニューヨークの友だちに会えました。 |
I met my friends in New York. |
| 山中湖に行って富士山が見えた。 |
We saw Mt. Fuji from Lake Yamanakako. |