Search results for 'tag:Abbreviations tag:Consonants' matching tags 'Abbreviations' and 'Consonants'

Re: "a" or "an" before a consonant acronym

Anonymous — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 09:26:41 GMT

I suppose any hard and fast rule is not warranted. Consider that others argued that acronym and abbreviation are not the same thing:

"There is a difference between acronyms and abbreviations. An acronym is usually formed by taking the first initials of a phrase or compounded-word and using those initials to form a word that stands for something. Thus NATO, which we pronounce NATOH, is an acronym for North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and LASER (which we pronounce "lazer"), is an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. FBI, then, is not really an acronym for the Federal Bureau of Investigation; it is an abbreviation. AIDS is an acronym; HIV is an abbreviation. URL is an abbreviation for Uniform Resource Locator (World Wide Web address), but many people pronounce it as "Earl," making it a true acronym, and others insist on pronouncing it as three separate letters, "U * R * L," thus making it an abbreviation. The jury is still out. (I vote for Uncle Earl.)

It appears that there are no hard and fast rules for using periods in either acronyms or abbreviations. More and more, newspapers and journals seem to drop the periods: NAACP, NCAA, etc. Consistency, obviously, is important."

Consider also that the article "the" would be pronounced differently as in "da" and "de" when it precedes different words. We do not spell "the" differently however. It would seem logical to use 'a' in writing except in the most obvious sitaution and leave how it should be pronounced to the reader depending on how s/he chooses to pronounce the word (be it acronym or abbreviation) that follows.

Re: Apostrophe

Alienvoord — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 23:05:16 GMT

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There was formerly a respectable tradition (17-19c) of using the apostrophe for noun plurals, especially in loanwords ending in a vowel (as in We do confess Errata's, Leonard Lichfield, 1641, and Comma's are used, Philip Luckcombe, 1771) and in the consonants s, z, ch, sh, (as in waltz's and cotillions, Washington Irving, 1804). Although this practice is rare in 20c standard usage, the apostrophe of plurality continues in at least five areas: (1) with abbreviations such as V.I.P.'s or VIP's, although such forms as VIPs are now widespread. (2) With letters of the alphabet, as in His i's are just like his a's and Dot your i's and cross your t's. In the phrase do's and don'ts, the apostrophe of plurality occurs in the first word but not the second, which has the apostrophe of omission: by and large, the use of two apostrophes close together (as in don't's) is avoided. (3) In decade dates, such as the 1980's, although such apostrophe-free forms as the 1980s are widespread, as are such truncations as the '80s, the form the '80's being unlikely. (4) In family names, especially if they end in -s, as in keeping up with the Jones's, as opposed to the Joneses, a form that is also common. (5) in the non-standard ('illiterate') use often called in BrE the greengrocer's apostrophe, as in apple's 55p per lb and We sell the original shepherds pie's (notice in a shop window, Canterbury, England).
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- The Oxford Companion to the English Language page 75

What's so wrong with some variation anyway?

Re: ufo

Conchita57 — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 12:38:09 GMT

Numbers 1 and 3 are correct.

Note that the abbreviation 'UFO' starts with a consonant sound:

[].

If you say 'unidentified flying object', though, the indefinite article is 'an':

[].

Re: "a" or "an" before a consonant acronym

Jemilio — Tue, 15 Nov 2005 11:47:16 GMT

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

instead of:

I received a call from the FBI

Could you comment me this point? for the previous example, the neccessity of the article is clear because of 'agent', but without it I am not so sure.

Jose Vila.

Anonymous wrote:
I thought I'd throw this up for the sake of discussion. Compare the following sentences:

"I received a call from a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent."

"I received a call from an FBI agent."

At first, I was confused as to whether to treat the acronym "FBI" as though it was merely just a representation of the full out "Federal Bureau of Investigation", rather than treating the acronym as though it was an actual word itself. In that context, one might want to argue in favour of "...from a FBI agent."

But, having come to understand that an acronym has become some kind of word itself, I can only expect therefore that "...from an FBI agent" is correct, while "...from a Federal Bureau...." is correct when the acronym is not used in place of the full name.

Duane Aubin

Re: 's in acronyms

Clive — Sat, 06 Aug 2005 18:30:49 GMT

Hi,

Point well taken. All I can do is throw myself on the mercy of the APOSTROPHE PROTECTION SOCIETY and have my counsel enter a plea in mitigation:

My Lords,

My client deeply regrets 'shooting from the hip' in this matter.

As regards the rude insertion of an apostrophe, he acknowledges the offence but claims that he was provoked by the deplorable modern habit of omitting to include a period after each letter in an abbreviation.

He states that he can accept cases where the abbreviation ends with a consonant (RFPs, VIPs, HQs, ICBMS) but that cases which end in a vowel (POs, BAs, CEOs, OBEs, DAs, NCOs) seem to him to resemble a tortured and unnatural word, not only an offence against nature but an abomination. He is, if you will, a victim of his own highly-developed aesthetic sensibility.

In closing, I draw the attention of Your Lordships to my client's fairly unblemished character and await that mercy which is the hallmark of all APSs (Apostrophe Appreciation Societies) throughout the civilized world.

Re: An versus a

Raul — Thu, 09 Oct 2003 18:35:56 GMT

Actually, the rule is pretty simple: it depends on the *initial sound* of the following word. If the sound is consonant, we use "a". If it is a vowel sound, we use "an".

an MP (pronounced "an em pee") = in Britain, a Member of Parliament

See? "A" Member (consonant sound) of Parliament.

What if the abbreviation had been like this:

an MOP (/an em ou pee/)
a MOP (/a mop/)

We do need to make the difference, don't we? ;-D

And this foolish joke leads me to:

NATO = North Atlantic Treaty Organization (pronounced as one word /neitou/)

a NATO member (/a neitou membr/)

It could also be "/an en ei tee ou membr/". The thing is either the abbreviations are pronounced letter by letter or as a single word, we must follow the a/an rule above.

Hope this helps!

Re: An versus a

wumanfu — Thu, 09 Oct 2003 17:16:26 GMT

Hi, you asked
Which is the correct usage please:
" I have ordered a / an MRI (magnetic resonance scan) and will review the patient following this."

Rule: With single letters and groups of letters that are pronounced as individual letters, be guided by the pronunciation: a B road, a TUC leader; but an A road, an FA Cup match, an SAS unit (assuming the abbreviations are not mentally expanded to their full forms, which would alter the "

Answer
I have ordered an MRIâ¦

Reference
"a" Pocket Fowler's Modern English Usage

a, an, called the indefinite article (or, by some grammarians, determiner). In origin, a and its by-form an are versions of the Old English an meaning
âoneâ. (1) Before all normal words or diphthongs an is required (an actor, an eagle, an illness, an Old Master, an uncle). Before a syllable beginning
in its written form with a vowel but pronounced with a consonantal sound, a is used (a eulogy, a unit, a use; a one, a once-only). Before all consonants
except silent h, a is usual: a book, a history, a home, a household name, a memorial service, a puddle, a young man; but, with silent h, an hour, an honour.
â¦
With single letters and groups of letters that are pronounced as individual letters, be guided by the pronunciation: a B
road, a TUC leader; but an A road, an FA Cup match, an SAS unit (assuming the abbreviations are not mentally expanded to their full forms, which would
alter the