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Wed 25 Mar, 2015 08:24 pm
Here is a simple dialogue.
A : Is it necessary to wear a helmet on a bike?
B : Safety is a priority.
Sounds natural, right?
What's not clear to me, though, is the speaker B's intention.
Precisely put, I'd like to know if 'a priority' is different than 'top priority'.
Is he saying that safety is one of those priorities
or the only and the top priority?
There are lots of things considered important such as safety, pleasure and costs.
And safety is just one of those things that matter. Is this what he meant by saying 'a priority'?
Or is safety the most significant thing as he obviously uttered the term 'priority'
and it matters little whether if it's 'a' prority or 'the top' priority?
You know 'Tonight is THE night' is completely different from 'Tonight is A night', right?
'A' makes something just one of those ordinary things while 'the' makes something very special and unique.
I'm afraid I didn't explain good enough.
I'm dying for your answer.
Thank.
@SMickey,
This is the most appropriate take on the issue. The scenario could be one where if you don't wear a helmet while riding and have an accident where you hit your head and have a concussion or worse, all else becomes secondary.
Quote:Or is safety the most significant thing as he obviously uttered the term 'priority' and it matters little whether if it's 'a' priority or 'the top' priority?
You know 'Tonight is THE night' is completely different from 'Tonight is A night', right? 'A' makes something just one of those ordinary things while 'the' makes something very special and unique.
This is 'the' correct take ...not just 'A' correct take.
@Ragman,
Sorry but it's rather hard to understand.
What I wanted to know was if 'a priority' is something as important as 'the priority'. Could you please comment again? I wish I was better at English.
@SMickey,
SMickey wrote:
Here is a simple dialogue.
A : Is it necessary to wear a helmet on a bike?
B : Safety is a priority.
Sounds natural, right?
What's not clear to me, though, is the speaker B's intention.
Precisely put, I'd like to know if 'a priority' is different than 'top priority'.
Is he saying that safety is one of those priorities
or the only and the top priority?
There are lots of things considered important such as safety, pleasure and costs.
And safety is just one of those things that matter. Is this what he meant by saying 'a priority'?
Or is safety the most significant thing as he obviously uttered the term 'priority'
and it matters little whether if it's 'a' prority or 'the top' priority?
You know 'Tonight is THE night' is completely different from 'Tonight is A night', right?
'A' makes something just one of those ordinary things while 'the' makes something very special and unique.
I'm afraid I didn't explain good enough.
I'm dying for your answer.
Thank.
"Safety is a priority" is less emphatic than "Safety is (the) top priority." The indefinite article 'a' suggests that the noun is one of a number of others. It is not superlative, as is 'top.' Saying 'a priority' implies that there are or could be other things that are just as important. Saying 'top priority' strongly suggests that there is nothing else as important. Hope that helps.
@FBM,
I see. So it's obvious there's tremendous difference between 'a' and 'the', and
generally 'the' is more emphatic than 'a' or 'an', if I'm not mistaken.
Thanks FBM. It sure does help me a lot.
@SMickey,
You're right about that, SMickey. And you're very welcome. Glad that helped.
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