I WENT to high school in the same school that I went to for grade school. I suppose you can say that I'm a creature of habit or just plain loyal. Growing up in an all-boys school, it was hard to miss all the good-looking teachers of the female persuasion. And one of the most memorable ones was Mrs. Dela Cruz, our English teacher. Mrs. Dela Cruz smelled like fresh flowers even after lunchtime, which was very hard to come by in my school. She was always so tidy that she managed not to have chalk dust on her fingers despite writing a thousand words on the blackboard all day. Mrs. Dela Cruz was every high school boy's dream come true. One afternoon, while she was discussing idiomatic expressions, she went around the room and asked for examples. And since I was feeling extra smart that day, I excitedly raised my hand so high that I almost touched the ceiling fan. After being called, I stood up and, with a smug look on my face, blurted, 'Break the ice.' I had pronounced 'the' as 'thuh' before Mrs. Dela Cruz gave me a smirk and replied, 'Say what?' I repeated what I said in the same way that I did the first time, thinking that Mrs. Dela Cruz just misheard. She turned her head the other way and gave me the same confused look, but this time, making sure she wrinkled her nose and said, 'What was that?' My seatmates came to my rescue and, under their breath, said, 'thee.' And that's when I realized that there were two ways to pronounce the word 'the.' And I chose the wrong one. So, remember, we say 'thee' if the word 'the' is followed by a vowel or a vowel sound or even just for emphasis, and 'thuh' otherwise. Thank you, Mrs. Dela Cruz! Or should I say, THE Mrs. Dela Cruz!
