Why we have both 'a' and 'an.' What does it mean to be lonely? Sufficiency.

Why we have both 'a' and 'an.' What does it mean to be lonely? Sufficiency.

920. Once you start thinking about it, it's weird that we have both "a" and "an." It gets even weirder from there! Plus, modern loneliness, and its solutions, are quite different from what they were when the word was first coined. We look at the history of this formerly rare word.

The segment on "a" versus "an" was written by Neal Whitman, an independent writer and consultant specializing in language and grammar and a member of the Reynoldsburg, Ohio, school board. You can search for him by name on Facebook, or find him on his blog at literalminded.wordpress.com.

The segment on the word "loneliness" was written by by Amelia Worsley, an Assistant Professor of English, Amherst College. It was originally published in The Conversation and appears here through a Creative Commons license.

| Transcript: https://grammar-girl.simplecast.com/episodes/a-an-loneliness/transcript

| Subscribe to the newsletter for regular updates.

| Watch my LinkedIn Learning writing courses.

| Peeve Wars card game.

| Grammar Girl books.

| HOST: Mignon Fogarty

| WRITER: Mignon Fogarty

| VOICEMAIL: 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475) or https://sayhi.chat/grammargirl

| Grammar Girl is part of the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network.

  • Audio engineer: Nathan Semes
  • Editor: Adam Cecil
  • Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson
  • Marketing and Publicity Assistant: Davina Tomlin
  • Digital Operations Specialist: Holly Hutchings
  • Intern: Kamryn Lacy

| Theme music by Catherine Rannus.

| Grammar Girl Social Media Links: YouTube. TikTok. Facebook. Instagram. LinkedIn. Mastodon.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Episoder(967)

113 Writing with Slang

113 Writing with Slang

Writing with Slang Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

27 Jun 20084min

110 When to Leave Out "That"

110 When to Leave Out "That"

When to Leave Out "That" Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

6 Jun 20086min

108 Whose for Inanimate Objects

108 Whose for Inanimate Objects

Whose for Inanimate Objects Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

23 Mai 20085min

107 Graduated versus Graduated From

107 Graduated versus Graduated From

Graduated versus Graduated From Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

15 Mai 20084min

100 How to Write Numbers

100 How to Write Numbers

How to Write Numbers Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

28 Mar 20084min

007 Which Versus That

007 Which Versus That

Which Versus That Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

21 Mar 20084min

098 Who Versus Whom--Advanced

098 Who Versus Whom--Advanced

Who Versus Whom--Advanced Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

7 Mar 20083min

096 May Versus Might

096 May Versus Might

May Versus Might Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

21 Feb 20083min

Populært innen Fakta

fastlegen
dine-penger-pengeradet
hanna-de-heldige
relasjonspodden-med-dora-thorhallsdottir-kjersti-idem
fryktlos
treningspodden
foreldreradet
rss-strid-de-norske-borgerkrigene
dypdykk
jakt-og-fiskepodden
hverdagspsyken
takk-og-lov-med-anine-kierulf
rss-kunsten-a-leve
sinnsyn
rss-sunn-okonomi
mikkels-paskenotter
gravid-uke-for-uke
rss-impressions-2
doktor-fives-podcast
rss-var-forste-kaffe