What is the difference between then and now? Is the day before the same as yesterday? Depending on the perspective from which a story is told, we need different words to identify the relevant place in time and physical location.
The correct word and meaning depend on the point of view.
Yesterday refers to the day before the present day in the story. The day before refers to whatever day precedes the current day in focus, which could be any day, even in the future.
What is the difference between these and those? The difference is in how you see the condition. These marbles are much closer to me than those marbles.
What is the difference between this and that? The difference is in how close the items are. This hailstone, the one I’m holding in my hand, is larger than that one over there.
What is the difference between here and there? Here we have something either in my hand or very close, but over there we have something that is more distant.
What is the difference between the articles a and the? We use a in generalization, the when referring to a specific object. The boy climbs a tree when it has no particular distinction from any other tree, but he is more likely to climb the big oak in his back yard because of its low branches.
If English is our first language, we tend to naturally use the correct words based on the story’s viewpoint. But in proofing, we may find that we inadvertently chose a word that has the wrong perspective.
