How to teach children the difference between a, there and there
Our language is very rich and sometimes, using it correctly gives real headaches. In Guiainfantil.com we will learn how to write well the words there, there and ay. We know that they are three homophones because their pronunciation is similar but their meaning is completely different, how to learn t
Our language is very rich and sometimes, using it correctly gives real headaches. In Guiainfantil.com we will learn how to write well the words there, there and ay.
We know that they are three homophones because their pronunciation is similar but their meaning is completely different, how to learn to write them correctly in each case?
Teach children to write "there"
Hay is written with initial hache, it is from the verb to have, conjugated in its impersonal form of the third person singular. It tells us that there is or that we have something.
Examples:
There are very valuable objects in the corner store.
There are no tickets to go to the theater.
In that restaurant there is a paella menu.
There is a lot of money at stake.
We do not know if there is for everyone.
A trick to know if the word "there" is written correctly is to change the verb to another time, for example:
In the corner store there were very valuable objects.
There were no tickets to go to the theater.
In that restaurant there was paella menu.
Teach children to write there
There, it is an adverb of place that indicates a medium distance, (between here and there).
Examples:
There are handkerchiefs in the drawer.
My puppy always hides behind there.
There comes Pedro.
The beep comes from there.
I'm going to walk around for a while.
To check if "there" is written correctly we can change it to other place adverbs like "there" or "here", for example:
In the drawer there are handkerchiefs.
My puppy always hides behind here.
There comes Pedro.
Teaching children how to write well ay
Ay written without hache is an exclamation expressing different moods, surprise, grief or pain.
Examples: Ay Ay! what a blow you have given me. Ay Oh! I did not see you.
Carlos is coming to eat, alas! how good.
The bull is coming Oh, what a fear! Ay Oh, I was stung by a wasp.
We should note that the interjection "ay" is usually accompanied by a special intonation and usually goes between exclamation marks.
There is a phrase that is always set as an example because it contains the three words together in the same sentence and can serve as an aid to remember your writing clearly:
There is a man who says oh!
Exercises to fill in with the correct word
Have you seen by ... my hat?
... many more apples in the basket.
... what pain, I cut myself with the knife.
Only ... five buses at the station.
Is ... my jacket?
... my puppy always hides.
... to rest for a while before leaving.
The tickets are ... on the table.
... I love that bag.
... several dresses of the same size.
And remember: "there is" is from the verb to have, "there" is a place, "ay!" It is an exclamation.
To finish I leave you a phrase by Richard North Patterson, narrator:
"Writing is not a product of magic, but of perseverance"
