Grammar Girl Q/D Lesson 1.2 A/An, The, and A Lot
Jul 1, 2021 7:21:10 GMT -6
Post by ScienceGirl on Jul 1, 2021 7:21:10 GMT -6
When I first read the title of this chapter, I was completely hooked on Mignon's quirky style. I could tell this wasn't some boring text-book style drivel that I'd just forget. She brings up all those little exceptions that we stumble over. And I'm going to summarize and give examples and such, but I HIGHLY recommend reading either her book or blog. If you listen to her podcasts, you'll grow to feeling like you know her. Super entertaining!
"Dirty Words"
As I'm sure you guessed from the quotations, "dirty words" are not those nasty little bits we like to exclaim when we've stubbed a toe. Rather, these are those little words like affect and effect that we often misuse without even meaning to. Usage is so important! Improper usage steals our credibility and can earn a rejection letter before anyone has even read what we poured our heart and soul into sending. I love how Mignon puts it:
So true! Let's face it. Sometimes there are things we just FORGET! And remember, and forget, and remember, and forget. For a lot of us, no matter how many times we learn that we affect change and things have an effect, we have to look it up one more time just to make sure. No shame in that! Just know that when you put yourself out there for public writing it's important to follow through and take the extra time to double check.
A vs. An
Mignon points out that many of us learned this rule as "start with a consonant" vs. "start with a consonant sound" and hence the misuse.
She tells us, for example, the letter h is technically a consonant, but we wouldn't say someone waited a hour but rather an hour. We would say a hopeless situation, however, rather than an hopeless situation. This is because in the word hour, the "h" has a vowel sound, and in the word hopeless, it has a consonant sound.
The letter u sometimes has a consonant y sound, as in a utopia, but other times the vowel sound as in an umbrella.
The letter o can sound like a consonant w, as in a one-time deal, and the letter m can sound like a vowel, as in an MP3.
If you are trying to decide between use of a or an, say the words out loud and listen for the vowel or consonant sounds. Hopefully then, it will be clear.
Side note from Mignon:
She references, for example, the British pronounciation of herb with the consonant h, vs. the American English pronounciation of erb. In British English, you'd say a herb, and in American English, you'd say an herb.
The
Mignon entitles this section "Tweedle Thee and Tweedle Thuh," pointing out that there are two pronounciations to the word follow the same rule as a vs. an. She also explains why there are two versions of a and an, but only one of the. There are definite and indefinite articles. Who knew? (I once did!) A/an are indefinite because they don't imply anything special about the subject. "I need a pen" means I need something to write in ink with, and it can be any available pen. "I need the pen" means that specific pen. She says it's called a definite article because "you want something definite."
All that said, let's go back to the pronounciation and try it out.
Thee dog is under thuh umbrella sounds painful to my ears. Hopefully it does to yours, too, because the rule says:
Thuh dog is under thee umbrella. Much better!
Of course, there DOES have to be an exception. Isn't there always?
Sometimes, the is pronounced "thee" to emphasize something. Mignon's example is that "Twitter is 'thee' hot social networking tool." Even though hot has the consonant sound, the speaker is wanting to be completely sure that the listener understands that they consider Twitter to be at the top of this list.
Now, let's consider the use of a/an vs. the in our sentence.
The dog is under an umbrella. (A specific dog is under some random umbrella)
A dog is under the umbrella. (A random dog is under a specific umbrella)
A dog is under an umbrella. (A random dog is under a random umbrella)
The dog is under the umbrella. (A specific dog is under a specific umbrella)
A LOT vs. ALOT vs. ALLOT
According to Mignon, the correct spelling is "a lot."
Alot is not a word. 'nuff said. Allot is a word, but it means to hand out something. You might, for example, allot money to people in a group, or give an allotment of product. To say you have a lot of something is saying you have a large number of something. The a here is still an article, and the word lot itself means "large number."
That's enough for one post! We will look at some other "dirty words" in the next lesson.
"Dirty Words"
As I'm sure you guessed from the quotations, "dirty words" are not those nasty little bits we like to exclaim when we've stubbed a toe. Rather, these are those little words like affect and effect that we often misuse without even meaning to. Usage is so important! Improper usage steals our credibility and can earn a rejection letter before anyone has even read what we poured our heart and soul into sending. I love how Mignon puts it:
Usage is about choosing the right word or phrase. It's something teachers generally expect you to pick up on your own, and it's the thing you're most likely to get skewered for if you screw up.
So true! Let's face it. Sometimes there are things we just FORGET! And remember, and forget, and remember, and forget. For a lot of us, no matter how many times we learn that we affect change and things have an effect, we have to look it up one more time just to make sure. No shame in that! Just know that when you put yourself out there for public writing it's important to follow through and take the extra time to double check.
A vs. An
The rule: "You use a before words that start with a consonant sound and an before words that start with a vowel sound.
Mignon points out that many of us learned this rule as "start with a consonant" vs. "start with a consonant sound" and hence the misuse.
She tells us, for example, the letter h is technically a consonant, but we wouldn't say someone waited a hour but rather an hour. We would say a hopeless situation, however, rather than an hopeless situation. This is because in the word hour, the "h" has a vowel sound, and in the word hopeless, it has a consonant sound.
The letter u sometimes has a consonant y sound, as in a utopia, but other times the vowel sound as in an umbrella.
The letter o can sound like a consonant w, as in a one-time deal, and the letter m can sound like a vowel, as in an MP3.
If you are trying to decide between use of a or an, say the words out loud and listen for the vowel or consonant sounds. Hopefully then, it will be clear.
Side note from Mignon:
Since pronounciation is what guides the choice between a and an, people in different regions, where pronounciations are different, can come to different conclusions about which is the appropriate word.
The
Mignon entitles this section "Tweedle Thee and Tweedle Thuh," pointing out that there are two pronounciations to the word follow the same rule as a vs. an. She also explains why there are two versions of a and an, but only one of the. There are definite and indefinite articles. Who knew? (I once did!) A/an are indefinite because they don't imply anything special about the subject. "I need a pen" means I need something to write in ink with, and it can be any available pen. "I need the pen" means that specific pen. She says it's called a definite article because "you want something definite."
All that said, let's go back to the pronounciation and try it out.
Thee dog is under thuh umbrella sounds painful to my ears. Hopefully it does to yours, too, because the rule says:
The is pronounced "thuh" when it comes before a word that starts with a consonant sound and "thee" when it comes before a vowel sound.
Thuh dog is under thee umbrella. Much better!
Of course, there DOES have to be an exception. Isn't there always?
Sometimes, the is pronounced "thee" to emphasize something. Mignon's example is that "Twitter is 'thee' hot social networking tool." Even though hot has the consonant sound, the speaker is wanting to be completely sure that the listener understands that they consider Twitter to be at the top of this list.
Now, let's consider the use of a/an vs. the in our sentence.
The dog is under an umbrella. (A specific dog is under some random umbrella)
A dog is under the umbrella. (A random dog is under a specific umbrella)
A dog is under an umbrella. (A random dog is under a random umbrella)
The dog is under the umbrella. (A specific dog is under a specific umbrella)
A LOT vs. ALOT vs. ALLOT
According to Mignon, the correct spelling is "a lot."
Alot is not a word. 'nuff said. Allot is a word, but it means to hand out something. You might, for example, allot money to people in a group, or give an allotment of product. To say you have a lot of something is saying you have a large number of something. The a here is still an article, and the word lot itself means "large number."
That's enough for one post! We will look at some other "dirty words" in the next lesson.
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