Awhile vs A While

"Awhile" vs. "A While"

"A while" is a time, a noun. The article "a" before "while" is a sure sign that you're dealing with a noun. Notice in the following sentence that you could replace "a while" with another article-noun combination such as "a year":

It's been a while since Squiggly tried marmite.

"Awhile" means "for a time" and it's an adverb. Notice in the following sentence that you could replace "awhile" with another adverb such as "quietly":

Go play awhile.

Finally, just to make it confusing, if you rephrase the previous sentence and replace the adverb with a prepositional phrase, you need the noun again because an adverb can't be the object of the preposition.

Go play for a while.

from http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/?WT.mc_id=0

Confusing uses

- a vs the vs (nothing)
- accord vs concord
- discussion on vs discussion of / argument
- reference on vs reference of
- compare to vs compare with / connect
- seventeenth-century vs seventeenth century
- Includes an analysis of a number of etchings by Van Ostade. -- An analysis or analyses?

Books On Grammar: The Elements of Style and Advanced Grammar In Use

E.B. Whites and William Strunk Jr's The Elements of Style is an easy book to learn how to write well. http://www.amazon.com/Elements-Style-Fourth-William-Strunk/dp/020530902X

Steven King highly recommends this book, saying which is unlike many books on how to write, has very little or no bullshit!! Well, I've been reading it a bit, and I am willingly taking King's advice!

Another great book on writing is by Steven King himself, On Writing. I admire his simple and straightforward style.

Website: Englishpage.com

GRAMMAR. The bane of my life. Well, I have troubles with all other areas of English language, but since I write (God help me), grammar matters the most. I've got to get the basics right.

I found a website today http://www.englishpage.com which I think provides nice grammar tutorials (and also listening and reading). I like that it also offers simple grammar exercises here.
I took a couple of tests today, and I found them pretty straightforward and interesting. The tests are also short -- so I guess I could use the website when I am convenient. :)

A sample of an exercise from the website. The site does not look ultra-modern.. but, well, as long as it gives you what you want. :)