Why Double Subjects Make You Sound Like a Documentary

The Narrator Voice Problem

A student was describing her weekend trip to Kyoto.

"Kyoto, it is very traditional," she said.

She sounded like she was narrating a PBS documentary.

Not having a casual conversation.

The grammar was correct. But the feeling was completely wrong.

The Topic-Comment Transfer

Japanese uses a topic-comment structure that doesn't exist in English.

Japanese pattern: "Kyoto wa, sore wa totemo dentouteki desu." Direct translation: "Kyoto, it is very traditional." Natural English: "Kyoto is very traditional."

When students transfer this pattern, they create double subjects.

Why It Sounds Formal

Double subjects create an unnatural pause and emphasis:

"My teacher, he is very kind."

This sounds like:

• You're giving a speech
• You're being overly dramatic
• You're pointing at something for emphasis

Not like you're chatting with a friend.

Common Double Subject Patterns

Here are the mistakes I hear most often:

❌ "The book, it is on the table." ✅ "The book is on the table."

❌ "My friend, she lives in Tokyo." ✅ "My friend lives in Tokyo."

❌ "This restaurant, it serves good sushi." ✅ "This restaurant serves good sushi."

❌ "The movie, it was very interesting." ✅ "The movie was very interesting."

The Listening Confusion

When students expect double subjects, they misinterpret natural English.

They hear: "The meeting starts at 3 PM." They expect: "The meeting, it starts at 3 PM."

This expectation slows down their comprehension.

The Emphasis Problem

In Japanese, the topic-comment structure shows what you're talking about.

In English, we show emphasis through:

• Stress patterns
• Word choice
• Context

Not through double subjects.

How Native Speakers Actually Emphasize

Instead of double subjects, English uses:

Stress emphasis: "THAT restaurant is expensive." Contrast emphasis: "This book is good, but that one is better." Cleft sentences: "It's the red car that I like."

Never: "The restaurant, it is expensive."

The Listening Strategy

To hear natural English subject patterns:

1. Expect single subjects
   • One subject per clause
   • No pronoun repetition
   • Direct subject-verb connection
2. Listen for stress, not structure
   • Emphasis comes from pronunciation
   • Not from grammatical patterns
   • Context provides the focus
3. Train your ear for conversational flow
   • Natural speech moves quickly
   • No dramatic pauses between subjects and verbs
   • Smooth, connected rhythm

Practice Recognition Exercise

Can you hear the difference in conversational tone?

1. "The teacher, he explains well" vs "The teacher explains well"
2. "My car, it needs repair" vs "My car needs repair"
3. "This coffee, it tastes bitter" vs "This coffee tastes bitter"

(Note: Audio would demonstrate the formal vs conversational feeling)

The single subjects sound natural and conversational. The double subjects sound formal and distant.

Practice with The Less Said Podcast

This week's podcast episode contains natural conversational English.

Try this exercise:

1. Listen for how subjects connect directly to verbs
2. Notice the absence of pronoun repetition
3. Feel the smooth flow of single-subject sentences
4. Practice repeating natural subject-verb patterns

Remember:

English subjects stand alone.

They don't need pronoun backup.

When you expect single subjects, conversation sounds more natural and easier to follow.

Tomorrow, we'll explore the floating verb problem that makes students sound like they're speaking in incomplete thoughts!