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storm_norm · Joined: 18 Oct 2007 Posts: 1741

I am curious to know what the posters and readers think about the use of "a" and "an" before a technique name. maybe there are some grammar aficianados that have an opinion?

for example,

"... a x-wing"

"...an x-wing"

"...a xy-wing"

"...an xy-wing"

"...a m-wing"

"...an m-wing"

etc...

sometimes I feel caught in between using one or the other. am I the only one?

wapati · Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 7:35 pm Post subject:

An is correct before a "word" where the initial sound is that of a vowel, regardless of the actual letter.

IMHO. Razz

Marty R. · Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 9:16 pm Post subject:

wapati · Posted: Mon Jun 08, 2009 9:29 pm Post subject:

English is apparently the hardest language to learn.

Yep, I can believe it!

storm_norm · Joined: 18 Oct 2007 Posts: 1741

what would spark my interest in this matter is if posters whose primary language isn't english also had an opinion and posted it.

that would be priceless.

wapati · Posted: Thu Jul 09, 2009 8:01 pm Post subject:

I answered your question.

You seem to be vacant.

I would next ask not doctors for medical opinions?

storm_norm · Joined: 18 Oct 2007 Posts: 1741

storm_norm · Joined: 18 Oct 2007 Posts: 1741

daj95376 · Joined: 23 Aug 2008 Posts: 3854

[Withdrawn]

storm_norm · Joined: 18 Oct 2007 Posts: 1741

Danny,
the question is how you write "a xy-wing" or how you write "a x-wing"

do you write:
a x-wing
or
an x-wing

and yes I mean you personally.
??
-------

no grammar officionados present reading this? no one interested in giving a straight answer? Rolling Eyes

Marty R. · Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 1:34 am Post subject:

nataraj · Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2009 6:42 pm Post subject:

Since you asked, Norm, here's my "priceless" opinion Smile

...

English is not my foist language. Guess I qualify to give an answer ...

I write "an" x- xy- xyz- and m- wing.
I write "a" w-wing.

The rule "an" before vowel applies. And not just for grammar aficionados, I am sure:

Google search.:
Find "did a x-ray": appprox. 47.900 hits
Find "did an x-ray" approx. 182.000 hits

And, yes, I do A u-turn.

LOL, today I wrote: "first step, m-wing". Saying it and writing it is different after all, it seems...

___

edit 2051 GMT+2:

interesting things happen to Google's hit statistics once you follow through all pages:

"is a x-wing", initially "approx. 24.300 hits", after three pages, in fact 25 (!!!) hits

"is an x-wing", initially "approx 75.900", after 16 pages: 152 hits

Mogulmeister · Joined: 03 May 2007 Posts: 1151

So much to contribute but I fear this one died quite a while ago....pity.

Pat · Joined: 23 Feb 2010 Posts: 207

peterj · Joined: 26 Mar 2010 Posts: 974 Location: London, UK

Pat
I suffer from the same affliction as you - sadly I was taught when to use apostrophes at school and, try as I might, I can't forget it!

In the outside world you see such horrors as " its' ": someone clearly thought they needed some punctuation but weren't sure where to put it. But even the Times and Telegraph in London frequently get the third person singular neuter possessive pronoun wrong!

My advice take a deep breath and move one!

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds"! Smile

One can argue the case as to whether consistent use of the apostrophe is foolish or not!
Peter

DonM · Joined: 15 Sep 2009 Posts: 51

This is addressed in Wikipedia under the heading of English_articles:

Discrimination between a and an
The choice of "a" or "an" is determined by phonetic rules rather than by spelling convention. "An" is employed in speech to remove the awkward glottal stop (momentary silent pause) that is otherwise required between "a" and a following word. For example, "an X-ray" is less awkward to pronounce than "a X-ray," which has a glottal stop between "a" and "X-ray".

daj95376 · Joined: 23 Aug 2008 Posts: 3854

keith · Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2010 3:53 am Post subject:

How dare you get glottal with me! Stop!

An yak?

Or, when are we going to debate swordfishes?

Keith Razz

Mogulmeister · Joined: 03 May 2007 Posts: 1151

Mogulmeister · Joined: 03 May 2007 Posts: 1151

The "y" in"yak" is a consonant sound so no glottal stop ! Same as the "U" in "U-turn", the opening sound is identical to the "y" in yak. Laughing

However, there are some subtleties which vary by country and even within country:

"An" hotel or "a" hotel ? "An" historic moment or "a" historic moment?

In England, because the h is omitted by some -both upper and working class- the use of "an" is preferred. The upper classes drop the "h" in hotel because it originates from a French word, "hôtel". The working class do it, because that accent drops its "xx".

Maddeningly, the French rule doesn't continue, so, unlike our American cousins, who in a noble bid to respect Les Francais, say "'erb", the English tend to use "herb" which, as any American will tell you, is a man's name! Smile

When all is said and done it depends on what you do with the "h".