Shinya Yamanaka: The Worst Surgeon
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EN: The verb 'dream' is often followed by the preposition 'of' or 'about' to indicate the content of the dream. When followed by an action, the gerund form (verb + -ing) must be used.
She dreams of traveling around the world.
EN: The gerund 'healing' functions as the object of the preposition 'of'. Gerunds allow us to treat an action as a noun or a concept.
Healing takes time after a major surgery.
EN: Shinya Yamanaka is a famous Japanese scientist who won the Nobel Prize for his work on iPS cells. This sentence highlights his initial motivation, which is a common theme in biographies of great achievers—starting with a simple, noble goal.
EN: The Present Participle (-ing) as a Reduced Relative Clause: The phrase 'fixing broken bones...' functions as an adjective modifying 'orthopedic surgeon'. It is a shortened version of 'who fixes' or 'whose job is fixing'.
She works as a volunteer, helping elderly people in her neighborhood.
EN: Infinitive as Direct Object: The verb 'want' is followed by a 'to-infinitive' (to become) to indicate a desire or goal.
They want to travel around the world next year.
EN: In many cultures, including Japan and the West, becoming an orthopedic surgeon is considered a prestigious and highly demanding career path, requiring precision and physical stamina.
EN: The prepositional phrase 'With great ambition' functions as an adverbial of manner, describing the state or attitude with which the action was performed. Placing it at the beginning of the sentence adds emphasis to the subject's motivation.
With heavy hearts, they said goodbye to their hometown.
EN: The verb 'enter' is used here as a transitive verb meaning 'to become a member of an institution'. In this context, it does not require a preposition like 'into'.
She entered the university at the age of eighteen.
EN: Kobe is a major Japanese city known for its prestigious medical institutions. In Japanese culture, entering medical school is a highly respected achievement that often carries significant family and social expectations.
EN: The preposition 'as' is used here to indicate a role, function, or capacity. It describes the identity or status of the person in the future.
She works as a consultant for a large firm.
EN: The Past Simple tense ('had') is used to describe a state or situation that existed at a specific time in the past within the narrative.
They had a beautiful house in the countryside.
EN: The term 'healer' is a broad term that can refer to doctors, but it often carries a more spiritual or holistic connotation than 'physician' or 'surgeon'. In this context, it emphasizes Yamanaka's noble motivation to help people beyond just the technical aspect of surgery.
EN: Sentence Adverbs: The word 'Unfortunately' is a sentence adverb used to express the speaker's attitude or evaluation of the entire situation described in the sentence.
Luckily, the rain stopped before the game started.
EN: Subjective Complement: In the structure 'Subject + Linking Verb (was) + Noun Phrase', the noun phrase 'a very clumsy surgeon' serves as a subjective complement, providing more information about the subject 'Shinya'.
She was a talented musician in her youth.
EN: In medical contexts, 'clumsy' is a particularly strong word because precision is the most critical skill for a surgeon. This highlights the severity of Shinya Yamanaka's struggle before he found his true calling in research.
EN: The relative clause 'that should have taken thirty minutes' uses the relative pronoun 'that' to modify the noun 'Operations'. The structure 'should have + past participle' expresses a past expectation or obligation that was not fulfilled.
The project that should have finished yesterday is still ongoing.
EN: The verb 'take' is used here to indicate the amount of time required for an activity. The structure is 'Activity + take + person + time'.
The drive to the airport took us forty minutes.
EN: In medical contexts, efficiency is highly valued. The contrast between 'thirty minutes' and 'two hours' emphasizes the character's struggle with the manual dexterity required for surgery, which is a key part of his backstory before moving to research.
EN: The present participle 'meaning' is used here as a reduced relative clause (which means) to provide a definition or explanation of the preceding noun. It functions as a post-modifier.
He received a letter meaning he was accepted.
EN: This is a pun on the scientist's surname 'Yamanaka'. In Japanese, 'Jama' (邪魔) means obstacle or hindrance. His colleagues combined 'Jama' with the end of his name to mock his clumsiness in surgery.
EN: Linking Verbs (Sense Verbs): The verb 'feel' acts as a linking verb here, connecting the subject 'He' to the adjectives 'discouraged' and 'like a complete failure' which describe his state of mind.
She felt confident and like a professional after the presentation.
EN: Parallel Structure: The conjunction 'and' connects two complements of the verb 'feel'. The first is an adjective ('discouraged') and the second is a prepositional phrase ('like a complete failure').
The athlete was exhausted and in need of a long rest.
EN: The term 'operating room' (OR) is a high-pressure environment where precision is expected. In Japanese culture, which Shinya Yamanaka belongs to, there is often a strong societal pressure to excel in one's chosen profession, making his feeling of being a 'failure' particularly poignant.
EN: The prepositional phrase 'Instead of' is followed by a gerund (V-ing) to indicate an action that was replaced by another. It functions as a contrastive modifier.
Instead of ordering pizza, we cooked dinner at home.
EN: The verb 'decide' is followed by a 'to-infinitive' (to + base verb) to express a choice or a plan for a future action.
She decided to study law after graduation.
EN: Shinya Yamanaka's story is a famous example of 'pivoting' in one's career. In many cultures, especially in Japan, switching paths after failing in a prestigious field like surgery can be seen as a difficult social challenge, but his success highlights the value of persistence in a different direction.
EN: The 'to-infinitive' (to + base verb) is used here as an adverbial of purpose to explain 'why' the action in the main clause was performed.
She studied hard to pass the exam.
EN: Prepositional phrases (in San Francisco) act as modifiers to provide specific details about location or direction.
They live in a small apartment in Tokyo.
EN: The Gladstone Institutes are real, world-renowned independent biomedical research organizations located in San Francisco, closely affiliated with UCSF. This highlights the international nature of high-level scientific research.
EN: Present Participle Phrase (V-ing): The phrase 'causing him to become depressed' is a participle phrase that functions as a result clause. It describes the consequence of the preceding main clause.
The heavy rain lasted for hours, flooding the streets.
EN: Idiomatic Expression 'one after another': This phrase is used to describe a series of events happening in quick succession or sequence.
The guests arrived one after another.
EN: The use of the auxiliary verb 'did not' followed by the base form of the verb ('bring') is the standard way to form the simple past negative. It indicates that an action did not occur in the past.
The new strategy did not solve the problem.
EN: Adverbs of manner or time, like 'immediately', are often placed between the auxiliary verb and the main verb to modify the timing or way the action occurs.
He did not immediately realize his mistake.
EN: The sentence reflects a common theme in biographical narratives: the 'plateau' or 'valley of disappointment' where initial efforts do not yield results. In English-speaking academic and professional cultures, emphasizing that success is not 'immediate' is a way to highlight perseverance.
EN: Present Participle Phrase (V-ing): This sentence uses a participle phrase ('Returning to Japan') to indicate an action that happens at the same time as, or immediately before, the main action. It functions as an adverbial modifier, and the subject of the participle must be the same as the subject of the main clause (Shinya).
Walking into the room, she saw her friends waiting for her.
EN: Gerund as Object: The verb 'begin' can be followed by a gerund (V-ing) or an infinitive (to V). Here, 'studying' acts as a gerund, functioning as the direct object of the verb 'began'.
He began playing the piano when he was five.
EN: Shinya Yamanaka is a Japanese Nobel Prize-winning scientist known for discovering iPS cells. His career path from a 'clumsy' surgeon to a world-renowned researcher is a famous example of perseverance in Japanese educational contexts.
EN: Relative Clause (Adjective Clause): The word 'that' introduces a relative clause that modifies the noun 'question'. It functions as the object of the verb 'asked'.
She found a solution that everyone thought was perfect.
EN: Object Complement: The verb 'consider' is followed by an object ('question', represented by the gap in the relative clause) and an adjective ('impossible'), which describes the state or quality of the object.
The jury considered the evidence sufficient.
EN: In scientific contexts, 'asking the right question' is often considered more important than finding the answer itself, as it challenges established paradigms.
EN: The phrasal verb 'turn (something) back into (something)' describes a process of transformation or reversion to a previous state. 'Turn' acts as the action of changing, while 'back into' indicates returning to an original form.
The magician turned the rabbit back into a hat.
EN: Interrogative sentence structure with 'Could': This sentence uses the modal verb 'Could' at the beginning to form a question about possibility or feasibility in a hypothetical or polite context.
Could you explain this theory again?
EN: This sentence refers to the groundbreaking research on iPS cells (induced pluripotent stem cells). In a scientific context, 'ordinary adult cell' refers to a specialized cell (like a skin cell) that has already finished its development, making the idea of reversing it to a 'stem cell' revolutionary.
EN: The sentence uses a 'Noun Clause' (that-clause) as the direct object of the verb 'believed'. The word 'that' is omitted here, which is common in informal or concise writing when the meaning remains clear.
Many people thought the project was impossible.
EN: The word 'definitive' is an adjective used to emphasize that something is final and not subject to change or doubt.
The judge gave a definitive ruling on the case.
Key vocabulary words with IPA pronunciation, definitions, example sentences, and interactive quizzes.
Phrases with type tags, bilingual definitions, usage notes, and example sentences.
To stop trying to do something.
Happening in succession; many things occurring in a sequence.
A shift in the course of action or career path.
A room in a hospital where surgical operations are performed.
Medical procedures involving surgery to treat a disease or injury.
Special human cells that have the ability to develop into many different cell types.
A cell that has already specialized into a specific type (like a skin or blood cell) and is no longer a stem cell.