一日一文英訳してみましょう！ 以下、解答例と僕の英作文に対してネイティブからもらったアドバイスも載せました。
ムムッ～、このお題、どう訳そうか。
解答例
I think it would be a poor token of our gratitude after what he’s done for us.
解説
問題文 もっと早くお手紙を差し上げられなくて残念に思っています。
・もっと早く：earlier
→ 僕は「もっと」を表現するために “much”を付けた方が良いと考えていたのですが、「手紙を早くに出せなかった」など自分にとってあまり注意を引きたくない事には使わないようです。
・手紙を出す：send a letter
・残念に思う：I am sorry that …
→ “I am sorry that I couldn’t send you…” と “I am sorry but I couldn’t send you…” のニュアンスの違いをネイティブに教えてもらいました。
“I am sorry that I couldn’t send you…” means that you were unable to do something, possibly (but not necessarily) something that you had previously said you would do.
“I am sorry, but I couldn’t send you…” means that you had agreed to send something but were unable to do so.
Both expressions convey an apology (and disappointment). However, the real difference is in what came BEFORE these expressions. The first one can either begin or continue a conversation. The second one can only be a continuation of a conversation. This is clear from the conjunction “but”, used to introduce information that is in contrast to previous information.
→ 前者は「残念に思う」という後悔を表していて、後者はできなかったことに対する謝罪の気持ちを表していると理解していたのですが、どちらも謝罪も後悔も含んでいて、それほど違いが無いようです。
僕の英作文
I am sorry that I could not send you a letter much earlier.
ネイティブからのアドバイス
I removed “much”. This is because don’t need it. We use “much” to emphasize “a great amount (or quantity)”.
In this sentence, you would not emphasize “earlier” because you are apologizing for it. In other words, you do not want to draw attention to it.
We use “much” to emphasize that “a great amount” is of benefit or of interest.
– “I am coming home much earlier than I thought tonight.” (A lot earlier)
– “The distance to the park was much less than they said.” (A lot less)
– “He was much later than he said he was going to be.” (A lot later)
そうなのか～！
