Hello Jeongwon!

Thank you very much for wonderful questions. Let’s see if I can help!

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Module 3-1 K to E Sentences
7. 이 아파트는 채광이 잘 되고 바람이 잘 통해 젊은 맞벌이 부부에게 이상적입니다.
-> This apartment is well-lighted and well-ventilated which is ideal for young double-income couples.

I have translated this sentence as above, but teacher Grace said the past tense of 'light' is 'lit' thus we cannot translate it as 'well-lighted'.
However, as I look up a dictionary I found both 'lit' and 'lighted' are indicated as past tense of the word 'light'.
Is it totally wrong when I say 'well-lighted'?


-> I wouldn’t say “well-lighted” is totally wrong; however, I believe “lit” is used more often as past tense of the word “light.”

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20. 그 사무실 직원은 몇 가지 가구 모델을 살펴 본 후 어떤 것을 구입할지 결정했다.
-> A staff from the office decided which to purchase after browsing a few samples of furniture.

My original translation was as above, but now I know that 'staff' is uncountable noun so we cannot put 'a' before it.
Thus, the right answer would be 'The office staff decided which one to buy after browsing a few samples of furniture.' or so.

In this sentence, I found one more uncountable noun 'furniture', so I would like to double check if my opinion is right.
As the word is also an uncountable noun , it is wrong if I make it plural like 'furnitures'. Am I right..?


-> You are absolutely correct! Instead of “a staff, you would say either “an office staff”, “a staff member” … etc. FYI, if you say “a staff” it means 지팡이 :) Same logic goes for furniture, since it is a mass noun, you cannot put “a” in front, or “s” at the end. Good work!


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Module 3-2 K to E Passages
2. ... 고객은 이러한 재고정리 세일을 반가워한다. 이러한 세일 행사는 몇 주 혹은 수개월 동안 계속 진행된다.
-> Customer welcomes this kind of clearance sale. This sale event lasts for a few weeks or months.

I wonder if above translation sounds awkward using 'welcome' and 'last'.

-> Nope, here “welcome” and “last” do not sound awkward at all. :)


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Module 4-1 K to E Sentences
19. 성과급을 주는 것이 제재를 가하는 것보다 직원들의 업무효율에 더 효과적이다.
->Providing incentive is more effective to employees’ work efficiency than imposing sanctions.

I have translated as above but teacher Grace translated '제재를 가하다' to giving sanctions.
I am confused because 'giving sanction' is found as '재가하다' in dictionary which means 'approve' or 'authorize'.
Could you please clarify this?


-> A great question! This must be confusing because the word “sanction” indeed has two different meanings that are almost opposite to one another!

1. Punishment, penalty, ban …(제재, 처벌)
2. Authorization, approval … (허가, 허용)

So, just saying “to give sanctions” can be either 허가를 하다 or 처벌을 가하다.

Yes. Very confusing. I know.

But let’s just look at our sentence,

Providing incentive is more effective to employees’ work efficiency than imposing sanctions.

Then your sentence can be translated to either,

1. 성과급을 주는 것이 제재를 가하는 것보다 직원들의 업무효율에 더 효과적이다.

or

2. 성과급을 주는 것이 허용을/허가를 하는것보다 직원들의 업무효율에 더 효과적이다.


Now it should be clear that the word “sanctions” indeed means #1 rather than #2 because simply the sentence #2 doesn’t make much sense. In other words, when you use the word “sanction”, you can correctly identify the usage of the word by understanding the context.

“Giving sanctions” can mean either “제재를 가하다” or “허가를 내리다” and both need extra information on what kinds of 제재 or 허가 we are talking about. Once we have this information, it shouldn’t be too difficult to tell the difference! :)


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Feel free to ask more questions. I hope it helps!

Best regards,

- Mason (Instructor)


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Jeongwon Mun님의 댓글

Jeongwon Mun 쪽지보내기 메일보내기 자기소개 아이디로 검색 전체게시물 Date 21-02-28 01:00

Dear Mason,
Thank you for your response.
Everything you explained to me was very helpful.
So for the last question, you mean it does not really matter if I use either expression 'giving sanction' or 'imposing sanction', and what matters is the context. Is it right?

Thank you and regards,
Jeongwon

Mason 님의 댓글

Mason 쪽지보내기 메일보내기 자기소개 아이디로 검색 전체게시물 Date 21-02-28 01:24

Hello Jeongwon,

First thing first, generally speaking, you would say "giving/imposing sanctions" rather than just "giving/imposing sanction." Just another weird English moment.

I feel like "imposing sanctions" should only be for 제재/처벌을 가하다. The verb "to impose" is often followed with a negative thing.

For "giving sanctions", yes I think what matters is the context, so depending on the context you can use it for either "제재를 가하다" or "허가를 내리다" in my opinion.

I hope that helped!

- Mason (Instructor)