Booker's Blog

Stop awhile

PenPal says:

A while or awhile? How do you know which to use?

I find that many writers often use these words incorrectly. There is an easy way to tell which you should use:

1. Awhile (one word) is an adverb; therefore, it modifies a verb.

Examples (corresponding verbs have been underlined):

a. I might stay here awhile and watch the sunset with you.
b. Let’s visit awhile with your grandchildren before we drive home.

2. A while (two words) contains both the article “a” and the noun “while.” The two-word version is a noun phrase, and it will be preceded by a preposition (for, after, in).

Examples (corresponding prepositions have been underlined):

a. If you would like to travel for a while, consider signing up for the cruise.
b. I will meet Steven at the theater in a while.

Check your understanding:
A. Mary rode the bus for (awhile / a while).

B. The birds hung around my feeder (awhile / a while) before flying away.

C. Please be aware that the office manager will speak to us in (awhile / a while).

D. Mark searched his memory, and after (awhile / a while) he recalled the correct solution to the math problem.

Simple as that! More PenPal tips will be coming your way in a while.

[Answers: A. a while / B. awhile / C. a while / D. a while]

________

About PenPal…
Cathy Kodra works as an independent editor in Knoxville, TN. Her poetry and short stories have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies including Roanoke Review, New Millennium Writings, Common Ground Review, Now & Then, Cavalier Literary Couture, Slow Trains, Still Crazy, The Medulla Review, Prime Mincer, Yemassee, and others. She is a contributing editor for New Millennium Writings and past guest poetry editor for The Medulla Review. She was first runner up in Prime Mincer’s 2011 Poetry Contest, judged by Rodney Jones, and took first place in the 2012 Old Gray Cemetery Poetry Contest. Cathy’s first poetry chapbook, Thin Ice, was published in 2011 by Medulla Publishing.

Cathy is a member of the Knoxville Writers’ Guild and of two local writing groups. An avid reader and writer, she is currently working on two poetry collections and a collection of short stories. Her hobbies include gardening and vegan cooking, and she lives happily with her husband Ron, two dogs, and a cat. She can be reached at www.cathykodra.com.