Hi,
1. The author, a Japanese student visiting America, is talking about how he encountered some unfamiliar English words/expressions from his American classmates:
その多くは、日常生活やテレビなどで頻繁に使われるものだったから、辞書を引くよりは、「この言葉は、こんな風に使うのかー」と文脈から判断しながら、徐々にそれらを自分のものにしていった気がする。
Several things I don't understand about this sentence:
a) その多く is presumably referring to the words/expressions mentioned previously, but how does その grammatically combine with 多く? Does it mean "Many of these words (were frequently used ... etc.)", or does it mean more like "There were many such words (and they were frequently used ... etc.)"?
b) What is the purpose of より? Is it saying that the words were encountered in daily life etc. rather than by looking in a dictionary?
c) I'm not certain of the overall sense of 「この言葉は、こんな風に使うのかー」. Is it asking "Can this word be used in this way"? Also, what is the meaning of the character "ー" here?
d) I'm very unsure about 自分のものにしていった気がする. Does it mean (literally) something like "came to feel that (these words) were my own" (i.e. he could use them confidently)? What verb is いった?
2. 飛行機に載せる荷物は、２０キロに制限されています。
Translation given: "The luggage of air passengers is restricted to 20 kilos."
This is typical of a bunch of examples where I'm unclear about the choice between passive and active (in this case with respect to the verb 載せる, not 制限されています which seems clear-cut).
In 飛行機に載せる荷物, do we assume an unstated subject like "one", as in "luggage which one loads onto an aircraft"? Would it be equally possible to write 飛行機に載せられる荷物, corresponding to the English "luggage which is loaded onto an aircraft"?
1. The author, a Japanese student visiting America, is talking about how he encountered some unfamiliar English words/expressions from his American classmates:
その多くは、日常生活やテレビなどで頻繁に使われるものだったから、辞書を引くよりは、「この言葉は、こんな風に使うのかー」と文脈から判断しながら、徐々にそれらを自分のものにしていった気がする。
Several things I don't understand about this sentence:
a) その多く is presumably referring to the words/expressions mentioned previously, but how does その grammatically combine with 多く? Does it mean "Many of these words (were frequently used ... etc.)", or does it mean more like "There were many such words (and they were frequently used ... etc.)"?
b) What is the purpose of より? Is it saying that the words were encountered in daily life etc. rather than by looking in a dictionary?
c) I'm not certain of the overall sense of 「この言葉は、こんな風に使うのかー」. Is it asking "Can this word be used in this way"? Also, what is the meaning of the character "ー" here?
d) I'm very unsure about 自分のものにしていった気がする. Does it mean (literally) something like "came to feel that (these words) were my own" (i.e. he could use them confidently)? What verb is いった?
2. 飛行機に載せる荷物は、２０キロに制限されています。
Translation given: "The luggage of air passengers is restricted to 20 kilos."
This is typical of a bunch of examples where I'm unclear about the choice between passive and active (in this case with respect to the verb 載せる, not 制限されています which seems clear-cut).
In 飛行機に載せる荷物, do we assume an unstated subject like "one", as in "luggage which one loads onto an aircraft"? Would it be equally possible to write 飛行機に載せられる荷物, corresponding to the English "luggage which is loaded onto an aircraft"?