Three Little Words

Roxy Writer here, coming to you from the Stone Writing Center @ Del Mar College.

A, an, the…three little words that make a big difference!

I admit to going back to some grammar books for this topic, especially since what I remembered about articles was pretty much limited to using “an” before nouns beginning with soft sounds (“an essay”) and “a” before nouns beginning with hard sounds (“a laptop”). There is a little more to it than that!

Here are some basics on using articles correctly:

If the noun is definite (a specific person, place, or thing), the article “the” will come before it. If the noun is indefinite (a general noun), the articles “a” or “an” will come before it. “A” is used before a noun beginning with a hard sound (“a beach” or “a seagull”), while “an” is used before a noun beginning with a soft sound (“an essay” or “an assignment”).

Why is it important to know the difference between these three little words? Allow me to give you an illustration:

“Seven foot swells are in a gulf.” –vs- “Seven foot swells are in the Gulf.”

Now, you wouldn’t run and grab your board if someone told you that huge swells were in a gulf. The world is a big place and filled with many gulfs!

But, if you lived in Corpus Christi, like I do, and someone said “Seven foot swells are in the Gulf,” you would be headed to the beach faster than you can say “Roxy Writer rocks at the Stone Writing Center!”

Roxy’s tip: Pay attention to the “little” words in your writing. They make a “big” world of difference in meaning!

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! My next entry is coming soon. ‘Til then, hang ten!