'a' or 'an' for acronyms and abbrevation

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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!

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

Denver, Colorado, USA, Earth

Senior Member (2,571)

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

Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004

Canada

Veteran Member (21,212)

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

Expressions, 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!

Tancs

khoff

#119252 Mon, 18 Jul 05 06:45 AM

all correct! Big Smile [:D]

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 (21,271)

'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master-- that's all.'

Tenses

Anonymous

#202171 Wed, 01 Mar 06 04:55 PM

A and an signal that the noun modified is indefinite, referring to any member of a group. These indefinite articles are used with singular nouns when the noun is general; the corresponding indefinite quantity word some is used for plural general nouns. The rule is:

a + singular noun beginning with a consonant: a boy
an + singular noun beginning with a vowel: an elephant
a + singular noun beginning with a consonant sound: a user (sounds like 'yoo-zer,' i.e. begins with a consonant 'y' sound, so 'a' is used)
some + plural noun: some girls

If the noun is modified by an adjective, the choice between a and an depends on the initial sound of the adjective that immedately follows the article: