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Difference between a an

There is a simple way to know the difference between a an.

The letter a is used before words that begin with consonants.  A consonant is every letter that is not a vowel.  In other words, any word that begins with a letter that is not a, e, i, o, or u should have “an” before it. 

There are two exceptions to this rule. 

·         When u makes the same sound as the y in you or o

·         It makes the same sound as w in won

In both of the previous cases, an should be used rather than a. 

Here are some examples:

  • a union
  • a wonderful day
  • a used rag
  • a U.S. flag
  • a one-eyed dog

An is used before words that begin with, or sound like a vowel.  For instance, the letter “a” should go before an unsounded h. 

Here are a couple of examples of unsounded h’s. 

·         He is an honorable man.

·         It was an honest mistake.

To recap:

Use “a” before words that begin with a consonant.

Consonants are and letter other than vowels. 

Use “an” before words that begin or sound like a vowel. 

If you can remember these rules, you should be able to master whether to use a or an. 

If you have any questions recognizing with the difference between a an or any other grammar question, go to Grammar Perfection or email help@grammarperfection.com.  


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Comma Splice Example

Comma Splice Example

An example of a comma splice is where you have a comma between two independent clauses without using a coordinating conjunction (and, but, nor, or, etc.). 

Comma Splice Example: The monkey ate the bananas, he didn’t stop until he ate the entire bunch. 

Both halves of the sentence are independent clauses.  In other words, they can both be sentences.

Ways to correct a comma splice.

Add a coordinating conjunction. 

The monkey ate the bananas, but he didn’t stop until he ate the entire bunch.

Replace the comma with a period and start a new sentence.

The monkey ate the bananas.  He didn’t stop until he ate the entire bunch.

Replace the comma with a semicolon.

The monkey ate the bananas; he didn’t stop until he ate the entire bunch. 

As you can see, comma splices are easy to avoid if you find ways to change the sentence to make it correct. 

If you have any questions recognizing examples of comma splices or any other grammar question, go to Grammar Perfection or email help@grammarperfection.com.  

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A lot or alot alot a lot

Some people become confused about whether to use a lot or alot. 

Part of the confusion may happen because allot is a word and is similar to a lot.  Allot means to distribute.

The correct spelling is a lot.  Alot is not a word.    

Note that a lot is a casual word and should be used with caution on essays and formal papers.  “Many” or “much” (depending on how you are using it) is a more appropriate word for formal use. 

For instance, “I feel a lot better” can be written, “I feel much better.”

Also, “There are a lot of people on the bus,” can be, “There are many people on the bus.” 

Just remember that a lot is a word, alot is not. 

If you have any questions about alot a lot or any other grammar question, go to Grammar Perfection or email help@grammarperfection.com.

Its vs It's

Its vs It’s


Knowing how to use its vs it’s isn’t very hard if you remember the following. 


It’s

It's is a contraction for "it is" or "it has."  In other words, when someone writes it’s, they are abbreviating either “it is” or “it has.”


It’s wonderful weather today.


Something important to note is that if you are writing a formal paper or essay, you should avoid contractions.  Spell out either it is, or it has. 


Its

Its is the possessive form of "it."  This can be a little confusing, because in most cases, an apostrophe s (’s) stands for a possessive.  This is not the case with its.


That was a great movie; what did you think of its ending?


I was able to watch the boat on its launch.


The Bottom Line

The confusing part of it’s and its is that English has taught us that if something is possessive, you add an apostrophe s.  For example, “This is Joan’s car.” 

If you can replace the word with "it is" or "it has," use it's. If those doesn’t work, use its. 


If you have any questions about its vs it’s or any other grammar question, go to Grammar Perfection or email help@grammarperfection.com.  

How to spell “in lieu of”

I am posting a helpful article below on spelling "in lieu of."

If you have any questions about spelling or any other grammar question, go to Grammar Perfection or email help@grammarperfection.com.  

How to spell “in lieu of”

by Maeve Maddox

Whenever I come across an unusual misspelling, I do a search to see how common it is. This misspelling of in lieu of caught my attention:

…so i can run keynote in leu of having to use powerpoint.

A Google search for “in leu of” brought up about 23,600,000 hits.

The bank is asking if we would like to do a deed in leu of foreclosure.

I was told I could take jail time in leu of the fine.

Hair flower in leu of a veil

Anyone ever use duct tape in leu of rim tape?

How long can I leave potatoes in the ground? (in leu of storage)

To be fair, most of these examples are from forums and comments. Google does ask “Did you mean in lieu of?”

The expression came into English from French en lieu de, “in place of,” from the Latin phrase in loco, “in place of.” Our English word instead is a calque of these foreign expressions. It was written as two words, in stead, until the 17th century.

Stead means “place,” as in homestead.

Bottom line: If you’re not sure how to spell in lieu of, you can use instead ofinstead.

Your You're and Your vs You're

Your You’re

Knowing the difference between your and you’re isn’t very difficult if you can remember that you’re is short for “you are.” 

Your is used as a possessive adjective.  “Is this your bicycle?”  “You are free to leave when your test is complete.” 

With you’re, the apostrophe is a replacement for the letter a.  “You’re going to have a great time at the circus!”  “You’re my best friend.” 

If you can remember that you’re stands for you are, you will have no trouble remembering when to use your or you’re.

If you have any questions about writing your you’re or any other grammar question, go to Grammar Perfection or email help@grammarperfection.com. 

 

Now a little humor J 

 

Two To Too

Two To Too

Knowing how to use two, to, or too isn’t very difficult.  Let me explain when to use each.

Two

The spelling two is used when referring to a number. 

For instance, “I ate two bananas.”  “Two plus four is six.” 

It is important to note that spelling out two is preferred over writing the number symbol (2).  You generally should spell out any number less than 10. 

To

This is the most common use of the word. 

“I went to the store.”  "The letter is addressed to Michael."

Too

You use too when describing either an excess or when you mean also.

Example for writing about an excess:  “Molly ate too much ice cream.” 

When you mean also:  “Along with being fuel efficient, my new car is safe too.”  If you can replace too with also, the word is being used correctly. 

If you have any questions about writing two, to, too, or any other grammar question, go to Grammar Perfection or email help@grammarperfection.com.  

Whom vs Who

Whom vs Who

First, let’s get through the technical way to learning whom vs who.  You use who when referring to the subject of the sentence and who when referring to the object of the sentence.

That’s great, but what is the difference between a subject and an object? 

What is a subject pronoun?

A subject is the person or thing doing the action.

Example: Who ate the cake?  This is correct because who is doing the action (eating the cake). 

What is an object pronoun?

An object is the person or thing having the action done to them. 

Example: Whom are you going to vote for?  The action (voting) is being done to the nominee. 

Here’s a trick to help determine which to use, who or whom. 

Try answering the question with the words he/she or him/her.  If you can answer the question with he or she, then use who.  If you can answer it with him or her, use whom. 

he/she = who

him/her = whom

Who ate the cake?  He ate the cake, use who.

Whom are you voting for?  I am voting for him, use whom. 

Here is a mnemonic memory trick: Both him and whom end in M.  That will help to link he/she with who and him/her with whom.

If you have any questions about whom vs who or any other grammar question, go to Grammar Perfection or email help@grammarperfection.com.

 

 


What's the Right Way to Write Large Numbers?

Below is Grammar Girl's advice about how to write large numbers. 

If you have any questions about writing large numbers or any other grammar question, go to Grammar Perfection or email help@grammarperfection.com.

Millions, Billions, and Trillions


Different style guides will suggest different ways to write certain kinds of numbers.

A common way to write big numbers such as millions, billions, or trillions is to use a mix of numerals and words:
  • Approximately 82.5 million women are mothers in the United States. 
  • Police said thieves escaped with 1.2 million blank checks. 
When the number before the word "million" or "billion" is a big round number or less than 100, it depends on which style guide you follow:

Chicago Manual of Style Recommendation
  • Disney has sold more than four million movies through iTunes. 
  • Ukraine harvested thirty-four million tons of grain. 
  • More than three hundred million people live in the United States. 
Associated Press Recommendation
  • Disney has sold more than 4 million movies through iTunes. 
  • Ukraine harvested 34 million tons of grain. 
  • More than 300 million people live in the United States. 
Always check your style guide when you're unsure how to write numbers.

 

“Despite” or “In Spite of”?

Very helpful article on "Despite" of In "Spite of."

Go to Grammar Perfection today. 

“Despite” or “In Spite of?"

by Maeve Maddox

More than one reader has asked for a post on despite vs in spite of.

Joanna Gryglicki wants to know if there’s any difference.

or is it a matter of personal preference?”

T.J. Burkett says

I try not to use “in spite” because it sounds too harsh in most cases, but I’m unsure of the proper usage. Here’s an example: Despite the lack of clues, Connor said that the horse had probably spooked when he saw the rabbit. Should it be “despite” or “in spite of?” I always use “despite” because it simply uses fewer words.

The OED defines the preposition “despite” this way:

despite: prep. in spite of

The AP Style Guide prefers “despite” to “in spite of”:

in spite of Despite means the same thing and is shorter.

The Chicago Manual of Style likewise prefers one-word prepositions to phrasal prepositions like “in spite of.”

Many [...] phrasal prepositions are symptoms of officialese, bureaucratese, or other types of verbose style. If a one-word preposition will do in context, use it. For example, if about will serve as well as with regard to or in connection with, a judicious editor will inevitably prefer to use the simpler expression.

So, the short answer is: for prepositional use, despite and in spite of are interchangeable. Here are examples of acceptable usage:

Obama Is Pro-Business, In Spite Of What Conservatives Say

The Tea Party: Winning in spite of itself

Phil Sheridan: Despite what Reid says, Kolb doesn’t look like The Guy

Despite What You May Have Heard, Statins Don’t Cause Diabetes

Despite the fact that they’ve written some of the most famous songs of all time, Paul McCartney and John Lennon of The Beatles NEVER learned how to read music.

Despite celebration, Iraq war continues

That being said, it’s still possible to commit errors with despite and in spite of.

Misspelling:

Reason for Two People Having Different Weights Inspite of Eating Same Diet

Mercedes -Benz Sales Move Forward Inspite Of The Economy Up 10% In August

Despite is spelled as one word, but in spite is spelled as two words.

Unnecessary “of”

Wall-Mart [sic] has seen profits despite of fall in sales in the US market

Qantas airlines optimistic despite of fall in profits

The phrasal preposition in spite of includes the word “of,” but the prepositiondespite does its job without “of.”

NOTE: There is the phrase in despite of. It means “in defiance of.” It’s a bit old-fashioned, but one comes across it:

a play that stubbornly refused to evolve as a tragedy and which became in fact one of O’Neill’s two comedies, almost in despite of its author’s wishes.

The Dutch [made peace with Spain] in despite of the 1644 treaty of alliance between themselves and the French, under which they had pledged to make no separate peace with Spain.

I suppose that the feeling that “in spite…sounds too harsh” may arise from associating the unemotional prepositional use of “in spite of” with the noun spite: “action arising from, or displaying, hostile or malignant feeling.” For example: He said he loved long hair, so she cut hers short in spite.

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