There was a big earthquake around 10:30 PM today.

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Apr 08th 2011 01:12

There was a big earthquake around 10:30 PM today.

Although I was really scared, I and my family are safe. At that time, I went out, holding my cat in my arms. That's because my cat who has been kept in my house couldn't escape alone! And, The earthquake registered the intensity of 3 in my neighborhood. But, The earthquake registered the intensity of 6 in Miyagi prefecture. It's the strongest in Japan. I hope all the people in Miyagi are safe.

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English

Apr 08th 2011 01:15 jupiter827

English
French , Japanese

Although I was really scared, I and my family are safe.
Although I was really scared, my family and I are safe. (It's only said this way... Hopefully someone else can provide a better explanation as to why)

That's because my cat who has been kept in my house couldn't escape alone!
That's because my cat who has been kept in my house couldn't escape alone (by himself)!

And, The earthquake registered the intensity of 3 in my neighborhood.
And, the earthquake registered the intensity of 3 in my neighborhood.

But, The earthquake registered the intensity of 6 in Miyagi prefecture.
But, the earthquake registered an intensity of 6 in Miyagi prefecture.

I hope everyone is ok, too!

Apr 08th 2011 12:46 takaya

Thank you for correcting my sentences, jupiter.^^

Apr 08th 2011 01:28 Martyn

English
Japanese

Although I was really scared, I and my family are safe.
Although I was really scared, my family and I and my family are safe. [We always put the other person first and ourselves second to be polite. Some people do say "I and my friend" or "me and my friend" but it is not really correct, or polite, to do this.]

At that time, I went out, holding my cat in my arms.
At that time, I went out, holding my cat in my arms.

That's because my cat who has been kept in my house couldn't escape alone!
That's because my cat, who is kept in my house, couldn't escape alone! [Makes the previous and this sentence one sentence. I think that 'is' is better because I imagine your cat is always kept indoors. If not, you may want to say why, for example 'because my cat, who has been kept in my house recently due to the earthquakes, couldn't escape alone!']

And, The earthquake registered the intensity of 3 in my neighborhood.
And, The earthquake registered an intensity of 3 in my neighborhood. [Try not to start a sentence with 'and' because it is grammatically incorrect. We sometimes do it for effect, but I would not advise it.]

But, The earthquake registered the intensity of 6 in Miyagi prefecture.
But, the earthquake registered an intensity of 6 in Miyagi prefecture.

It's the strongest in Japan.
It was(?) the strongest in Japan. [If you mean 'it was' it is best not to abbreviate.]

Nice English. Glad to hear that you, your family and your cat are safe :)

Apr 08th 2011 12:42 takaya

Hi, Martyn! Your explanation is easy to understand. I learned that"We always put the other person first and ourselves second to be polite." for the first time. I'm very happy to learn that! Thank you, Martyn^^

Apr 08th 2011 02:01 markbellis

English
Japanese

If you want to write in conversational style, the most natural way is to say "Me and my family" - people will correct you because it's what their school teachers used to tell them, but if you just google the two phrases, you will see that "Me and my family" is used far more often than the other way.

Apr 08th 2011 13:01 takaya

Thank you for usual support, mark.^^ I googled "Me and my family".
After that, I found this website.↓
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=443305
I think I understand that. I'm going to use the word "Me and my family"or"My family and I" next time. Thank you, mark!
By the way, Is it ok if I use "google" as a standard verb?

Apr 08th 2011 16:42 Martyn

Apologies in advance for the long comment.

Perhaps it is a generational or dialect difference (I am British), however I would certainly not encourage people to say "me and my family" or "I and my family". On the site mentioned, one person quite correctly says that it is not strictly a grammatical issue, more one of politeness.

Incidentally, using "I" or "me" is most certainly a grammatical issue. For example:

"My friend and I went shopping" is correct, whereas "Me and my friend went shopping" or "My friend and me went shopping" is not. Equally "My mum received a present from I and my brother" or "My mum received a present from my brother and I" are both wrong whereas "My mum received a present from my brother and me" is correct.

To work out the correct word to use you can think of each person separately, for example:

My friend went shopping. I went shopping. -> Correct
My friend went shopping. Me went shopping. -> Incorrect

Therefore: My friend and I went shopping.

My mum received a present from my brother. My mum received a present from me. -> Correct
My mum received a present from my brother. My mum received a present from I. -> Incorrect

Therefore: My mum received a present from my brother and me.

Hope this helps a little :)

Oh, and to answer your other question, yes. Many people use "to google" as a verb now.

Apr 08th 2011 18:11 markbellis

Welcome - if you were writing a formal document, document, the "I and..." construct would be used, but since you're writing an informal blog, you want to use natural spoken English.

Apr 08th 2011 18:43 Martyn

Thanks. I will leave it to takaya to decide what he feels is more appropriate. To me, natural spoken English is to say "xxx and I" or "xxx and me". As I mentioned, I don't think that it is just about formality but also politeness. I am happy to accept that others may prefer a different speech pattern.

Apr 09th 2011 00:34 takaya

Thank you so much, Martyn and mark. I'm happy to know a lot of things. But, I need more time to understand. So, I'll write my message again after I perfectly understand the sentences. I really appreciate Martyn and mark.

Apr 09th 2011 01:48 markbellis

I majored in linguistics at university but I don't want to give a long explanation that you'd have to spend a long time trying to understand - the "Me and my family..." form has always been used in English, and is not grammatically incorrect - the "My family and I..." and "I and my family.." form is also correct - The "Me and my .." form is used in spoken and written English, particularly in popular songs and movies. You can use any of them in a blog.

Apr 09th 2011 08:24 Martyn

To keep it simple, takaya, I would say that if you visited Great Britain, it is good to say "my family and I" or "my family and me" if you want to appear polite. Choose "I" or "me" carefully based on what I said above.

If you are with friends, it probably will not matter what order you use. In fact, because you are a non-native speaker, most people would not worry at all.

As for other countries, I am afraid I cannot comment on what sounds good or bad.

Apr 09th 2011 10:59 takaya

Thanks to mark and Martyn, I perfectly understand how to use the word. That's really true. I'll be careful next time.^^ Thank you so much, mark and Martyn.(^^)

Apr 08th 2011 02:51 azurei

English
Japanese

Although I was really scared, I and my family are safe.
Although I was really scared, I and my family (and I) are safe. [note: I think the rule is to place all the first person pronouns at the end of lists. Yeah. I guess this is to be polite. Though, not sure if this a firm rule of grammar.]

Apr 08th 2011 13:11 takaya

Thanks for your help, azurei^^

Apr 08th 2011 16:11 freshbread3

English
Japanese

At that time, I went out, holding my cat in my arms.
... I ran out of my home ... ("went out" sounds like you were going to the movie or something)

You took care of your cat! ^_^

Apr 08th 2011 17:57 takaya

Thank you, freshbread3^^. By the way, may I ask you a question? Which is better, "I run out of my home" or "I run outside my home"? I googled the word"run out of～". It means "lack" in my dictionary. So, I'm not sure which to use.(^_^;)

Apr 09th 2011 12:13 freshbread3

"run out of" does mean "lack" ... as in ... "I ran out of milk so now I have to go buy more." or "We are about to run out of sugar, so we won't have enough for the recipe."

But if you run out of your home in a hurry ... we know you are running away. Actually maybe it would be better to say "I ran out FROM my home". Another way could be "I ran outside of my home". Any are ok I think.

Finally:
ran - past tense
run - present tense

Apr 09th 2011 03:18

I'm glad you and your family (cat included!) are safe! I don't actually have any corrections to add onto the ones already made^^

takaya

Japanese
English

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