"A" or "An"?

   / "A" or "An"? #1  
J

Jstpssng

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I always have problems with this. The first example above is when the next letter starts with a consonant; the latter when it starts with a vowel.
But what about abbreviations? Today I wrote "I'm thinking about buying an LX25..."
Using the rule above my wording is wrong, yet it sounds much better than "I'm thinking about buying a LX25..."
Then again, if I have time to post this than I must have too much time on my hands. :D
 
   / "A" or "An"?
  • Thread Starter
#4  
bcp said:
"L" = "ell" starts with a vowel sound. Use "an."

Bruce
Click to expand...
Ah! That makes sense. Thank you. It's pretty trivial, but I hate it when I misspel, or make punctuation; errors.
 
   / "A" or "An"? #5  
Jstpssng said:
I always have problems with this. The first example above is when the next letter starts with a consonant; the latter when it starts with a vowel.
But what about abbreviations? Today I wrote "I'm thinking about buying an LX25..."
Using the rule above my wording is wrong, yet it sounds much better than "I'm thinking about buying a LX25..."
Then again, if I have time to post this than I must have too much time on my hands. :D
Click to expand...
It's not the letter that the word starts with that dictates the use, it's the sound. If it sounds like a vowel, use AN.

An or A?

An and a are easy to mix up. Use 'an' when the next word starts with a vowel sound. Use 'a' when it starts with a consonant sound. The word sound is important. Some abbreviations that start with consonants start with vowel sounds (e.g., RTA, NTU) and vice versa.
www.grammar-monster.com www.grammar-monster.com
 
   / "A" or "An"? #6  
The problem I have with proofreading is that my mind wants to read what I meant to write, instead of what's really there. I sometimes miss glaring errors and missing words that looked fine when I proofread.
 
   / "A" or "An"? #7  
drssg said:
The problem I have with proofreading is that my mind wants to read what I meant to write, instead of what's really there. I sometimes miss glaring errors and missing words that looked fine when I proofread.
Click to expand...

True. When I just started working full time, we always had someone different proofread our reports. You never proofed your own report for the reasons you state.

MoKelly
 
   / "A" or "An"? #8  
Proof reading works better if you actually say the words. Looking for typo's works better if you go backwards from bottom to top and right to left.

Doug in SW IA
 
   / "A" or "An"? #9  
So am I the only one that cringes when I see (what I expect to be) educated talking heads on TV use the phrase "An Historic....."

Just sounds so wrong.
 
   / "A" or "An"? #10  
MossRoad said:
It's not the letter that the word starts with that dictates the use, it's the sound. If it sounds like a vowel, use AN.

An or A?

An and a are easy to mix up. Use 'an' when the next word starts with a vowel sound. Use 'a' when it starts with a consonant sound. The word sound is important. Some abbreviations that start with consonants start with vowel sounds (e.g., RTA, NTU) and vice versa.
www.grammar-monster.com www.grammar-monster.com
Click to expand...
It's "an" Honor.......
not
It's "a" Honor.........
 
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