Tancs  +  119179 Mon, 18 Jul 05 12:25 AM Hi all, Is there a rule that I can use come to correct article to use before a acronym or abbrevation? For example, an FBI agent or a FBI agent? a NATO country or an NATO country? a NBA game or an NBA game? a MIT student or an MIT student? Thanks a lot! CS Tancs Joined on Sun, Jul 17 2005 New Member 03 Articles

	khoff  +  119192 Mon, 18 Jul 05 12:52 AM I would just go by the initial sound of the acronym (as it is pronounced): an FBI agent, an NBA game, an MIT student (because the initial sound in each of these is "eh", and using "a" instead of "an" would make it hard to pronounce) but --  a NATO country khoff Joined on Sun, Mar 6 2005 Senior Member 3,278 Native speaker of American English (but not a grammar expert)

	Clive  +  119194 Mon, 18 Jul 05 12:57 AM Hi Tancs, If you say the expression and it sounds like it starts with a vowel, use 'an'. For example, an FBI agent  a NATO country (NAYTOH)  an NBA game (ENBEEAY) an MIT student Best wishes, Clive   Clive Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004 Canada Veteran Member 29,680 El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo Vowels

	Tancs  +  119210 Mon, 18 Jul 05 02:13 AM Thanks for the replies, now it is getting clearer. So, I say: an FDA approved drug an H-bomb a LASER pointer an LED light a ROM memory an R & D campany an SAT test an X-ray machine Do I get them right? Thanks a bunch! CS       Tancs

	khoff  +  119252 Mon, 18 Jul 05 06:45 AM all correct! khoff

	Mister Micawber  +  119270 Mon, 18 Jul 05 09:16 AM You might want to note that there are sometimes options.  I almost corrected 'an SAT test' because it is also pronounced like the past tense of 'sit'-- making it 'a SAT test'; then I realized that many people say 'S-A-T'.  (You might notice, for instance, that in your examples 'laser' is pronounced like a word while LED is pronounced as a series of letters). Mister Micawber Joined on Wed, Aug 4 2004 Yokohama Veteran Member 30,869 'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master-- that's all.' Tenses