In Consonants^x, Articles^x

Guest wrote: Use "a" if the next word begins with a consonant, and "an" if the next word begins with a vowel. A tiger, an angel, a book, etc. A historical character. This is not completely correct. The indefinite article a is used when the following word starts with a consonant sound ...

Hi, I have one question regarding acronyms: Following Michael Swan book (Practical English Usage) articles are usually drop in acronyms, considering acronyms the abbreviations that are pronounced as words. So, if 'FBi' is a word, we should write: I received a call from FBI ...

Anonymous wrote: I remember being taught that the letter "h" was a consonant and there for should go with the indefinate article "a", and yet ever since President Bush's new speach writer started using the indefinate article "an" before "historic" (I suspect because the president drops the "h"...

I remember being taught that the letter "h" was a consonant and there for should go with the indefinate article "a", and yet ever since President Bush's new speach writer started using the indefinate article "an" before "historic" (I suspect because the president drops the "h" when he speaks...

Bee, As a guide, pay more attention to the initial sound instead of the initial letter. So, if the starting letter of the acronym is "S" then the article to be used is "an" because "S" sounds like /es/. The same goes for "LG". You should say, "I bought an LG TV." As a rule, use "A" before a...

hello, Martine, It's "a" nominee The indefinite article is "a" when before a word beginning with a consonant

Hi Lyn, Here is one of my posts from a previous thread on the topic of articles. It might help. Posted: 03-30-2005 12:26 PM The correct use of articles is acknowledged to be one of the most difficult points of English grammar, so don't be despondant Ali; mistakes don't usually...

Hi Jazz, Thanks for saying I could correct your post on line. Re: your reply to Ali; 1. In English we always begin a new sentence with a capital letter, and we use a capital letter for people's names, and for names of places such as London, the Indian Ocean etc. So your greeting should...

An excellent reply, Jazz. I hope you won't mind if I expand on it a little. The correct use of articles is acknowledged to be one of the most difficult points of English grammar, so don't be despondant Ali; mistakes don't usually matter too much, as you will still be understood. First, we...

I agree with other observers that B is the correct answer. Rulewise, I've read somewhere that it's the phonetic (sound) quality of a word's first syllable that determines the modifying article -- not the word's orthographic (written) character. Though seldom mentioned, it seems to me that the...