“All the sudden” or “all of a sudden”: which is correct?
all of a sudden
The short answer
All of a sudden is the correct expression, which indicates something happening unexpectedly or abruptly.
Phrase misconstruction
Why people get it wrong
People often mishear or conflate all of a sudden as all the sudden, likely due to the similarity in sound and casual speech patterns.
Examples with all of a sudden
- All of a sudden, the lights went out.
- It started raining all of a sudden.
- All of a sudden, she stood up and left the room.
Quick check
, the lights went out.
All of a sudden is the correct expression, which indicates something happening unexpectedly or abruptly.
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