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Rants etc.....

sswilson

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Damn, you HAD to point out the "a" vs "an", but completely overlooked the "their" vs "there" vs "they're" gems in the other post above..... 😜 ;)


Heh... I wasn't pointing out grammar of other peoples' posts... I was mostly commenting on my own struggles with "a" vs "an" when it comes to acronyms.... I'm with Sagath on this one... I can't use "a" when the acronym sounds like it starts with a vowel... it hurts my head to do so.... :)
 

Cannon Fodder

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Ooooh, I see.... yeah, I know what you mean with that one, i.e. on one hand you'd think it SHOULD be "a", but when sounding it out, it seems like it ought to be "an". That, and without actually looking it up, I believe Sagath MAY be correct. :unsure:
 

Sagath

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I asked a friend of mine that teaches English at Nippising University.

First; That was a mistake. Asking her I mean 🤣 It went down a rabbit hole I was not prepared for...

Second; the TLDR is that the vowel sound is correct for 'an', but that sound works for consonants too, that have a vowel sound.

An FBI (eff-bee-eye) agent
but not an one (won) toed sloth.
A university is also correct, as its pronounced 'Yu-niversity'

Yet;

An hotel (an 'otel) can be correct, depending on local dialects and pronunciation...Or it could be A hoe-tel.

My brain hurts.
 

sswilson

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I asked a friend of mine that teaches English at Nippising University.

First; That was a mistake. Asking her I mean 🤣 It went down a rabbit hole I was not prepared for...

Second; the TLDR is that the vowel sound is correct for 'an', but that sound works for consonants too, that have a vowel sound.

An FBI (eff-bee-eye) agent
but not an one (won) toed sloth.
A university is also correct, as its pronounced 'Yu-niversity'

Yet;

An hotel (an 'otel) can be correct, depending on local dialects and pronunciation...Or it could be A hoe-tel.

My brain hurts.

Yeah, those "rules" work with what my brain accepts as the correct usage. Makes me wonder if it was taught as a hard and fast rule (a or an depending on sound as opposed to consonant/vowel) or as one of those wishy washy "do what sounds right" rules. :)
 

JD

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Yeah, those "rules" work with what my brain accepts as the correct usage. Makes me wonder if it was taught as a hard and fast rule (a or an depending on sound as opposed to consonant/vowel) or as one of those wishy washy "do what sounds right" rules. :)
...and I think that's what makes English so challenging to learn, a lot of it comes from just hearing what others say/write.

I'll agree though, I use "a" and "an" whenever it sounds "right", not so much dependent on it being a vowel or not. Never really thought about it from a pronunciation aspect.
 

Coach

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...and I think that's what makes English so challenging to learn, a lot of it comes from just hearing what others say/write.

I'll agree though, I use "a" and "an" whenever it sounds "right", not so much dependent on it being a vowel or not. Never really thought about it from a pronunciation aspect.

use "an" when the word after starts with what phonetically sounds like a vowel and "a" when it does not. ie "an" apple, "a" pickel.

THIS IS TRUTH
 

Herne

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Dell $100 Promo Visa® Prepaid Card* Included (bought a laptop for my school bound daughter)

Except not 'included' as in 'given to you' or 'sent to you along with the damn thing I bought'. The '*' doesn't actually go anywhere on the page that is showing it. By 'included' they seem to mean 'you have a very limited time to claim a pre-paid Visa that willl expire very quickly (90 days)'. Claim is done by supplying them information they already have, at least I think it does as they have asked for more, which I sent and now it just says 'rejected'.
 

Izerous

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Dell $100 Promo Visa® Prepaid Card* Included (bought a laptop for my school bound daughter)

Except not 'included' as in 'given to you' or 'sent to you along with the damn thing I bought'. The '*' doesn't actually go anywhere on the page that is showing it. By 'included' they seem to mean 'you have a very limited time to claim a pre-paid Visa that willl expire very quickly (90 days)'. Claim is done by supplying them information they already have, at least I think it does as they have asked for more, which I sent and now it just says 'rejected'.

Even after you claim it there is a catch that they are not allowed to expire but they are allowed to charger you a monthly fee for outstanding balance. So could have $50 on it one month and $40 remaining the next.
 

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