Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[stevenukd]

Dear Teachers,

1. My friend has been fainted for three days, and when I see him open his eyes, I�ll say these, right?
- �you�re finally up, hah!�, �finally up, hah!�

2. � �Enjoy the evening!� and �Have a good evening!�
- Are these natural and the same meaning?

3. Just forget your blue past and blue things. Look forward to / head for a bright future.
- Is this natural?

Thanks a lot to Teachers,

Stevenukd

[pugachevV]

In 1.) I would substitute "unconscious" rather than fainted.
I think "faint" refers to a brief period of unconsciousness, perhaps a few seconds.
Unconscious refers to loss of cosciousness for a longer period.
As a matter of fact if your friend were unconscious for three days, you might say that he was "in a coma" .

[pugachevV]

2.) They are natural and correct.
3.) If by blue you mean "sad", I think sad or unhappy sounds better, but there's nothing wrong with it otherwise.

Blue can also mean rude, or indecent.

[CP]

1. Pretty close. If your friend were unconscious for three days, you could say either, "Finally up, huh?" or "So, you're finally up, huh?" If you said (or wrote) "hah" instead of "huh," it could be interpreted as a derisive laugh, while "huh?" is interpreted as, "right?" or "aren't you?" or "isn't that so?", etc.

2. Usually you would say, "Enjoy your evening" rather than "Enjoy the evening." It is pretty much the same as, "Have a good evening."

3. You would not say "blue past" or "blue things." I think you are thinking of the term "blue" to mean melancholy, sad, depressed, down in the dumps, etc. It is more used to say, "Don't be blue," or "I've been blue since you've been gone," or "Sad movies just make me blue." That is the origin of the blues, the type of music that dwells on heartbreak and bad luck.

But "blue" also means "off color," of questionable taste, or risque. Comedians who use foul language or tell naughty jokes used to be called "working blue" or were said to be using "blue material," although nowadays they are just comedians. "Blue movies" is a term applied to films focusing on s e x, stag films -- at least it was so applied when nudity and s e x u a l activities in films was more forbidden and less common. So one's "blue past" might imply that someone used to act in naughty movies, or perhaps perform on stage telling racy jokes or wearing little clothing, etc.

Try this: "Just try to forget about the sad things. Look to the future / look to a bright future." "Try to put the blues behind you, and look ahead to a happier future." Something like that.
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You live a new life for every new language you speak. -Czech proverb

[Proofer]

3.) You could easily just say 'Forget the past and look forward'. English speakers will presume you mean a sad past and a better future.