ESL General English Grammar Questions

Re: 'a' or 'an' for acronyms and abbrevation

Anonymous — Wed, 01 Mar 2006 16:55:48 GMT

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:

a broken egg
an unusual problem
a European country (sounds like 'yer-o-pi-an,' i.e. begins with consonant 'y' sound)

Note also that in English, the indefinite articles are used to indicate membership in a profession, nation, or religion.

I am a teacher.
Brian is an Irishman.
Seiko is a practicing Buddhist.

Re: 'a' or 'an' for acronyms and abbrevation

Mister Micawber — Mon, 18 Jul 2005 08:16:12 GMT

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).

Re: 'a' or 'an' for acronyms and abbrevation

khoff — Mon, 18 Jul 2005 05:45:05 GMT

all correct!

Re: 'a' or 'an' for acronyms and abbrevation

Tancs — Mon, 18 Jul 2005 01:13:58 GMT

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!

Re: 'a' or 'an' for acronyms and abbrevation

Clive — Sun, 17 Jul 2005 23:57:15 GMT

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

Re: 'a' or 'an' for acronyms and abbrevation

khoff — Sun, 17 Jul 2005 23:52:15 GMT

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

'a' or 'an' for acronyms and abbrevation

Tancs — Sun, 17 Jul 2005 23:25:06 GMT

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!