In Vowels^x, Consonants^x, Nouns^x

CB's explanation is 100% right on. It is a linguistic question dealing with phonology. By the way, the same principle is in play with the plural noun ending 's/es': 's' after a non-voiced consonant (lamps, desks); 'z' after a voiced consonant or a vowel (dogs,...

Hi Mathew,Yes, as Mister Micawber says, native English-speakers instinctively know which pronunciation of 'the' to use before a noun (or an adjective + noun), but I can see that it may be a problem for some people learning the language.As you have yourself noted, we generally use the...

Tissues? >> No, but you can keep two vowels and a consonant.Traffic? >> No, but in my word there's a double consonant in the same place as in "traffic" (not an "f," though).Toenail? >> Mm ... somewhat (indirectly) related to my noun.Trouble? >> No,...

Thank you very much CJ, Zerox, and Carson. You all have given me very valuable advices. After reading through all you said carefully, and then watching a couple of English TV programmes, I believe I can now tell the difference! The ending /z/ in most cases are much shorter, voiced but less...

She has a part-time job in a (not an) convenience (not convenient) store. The noun-phrase is not convenient store. It's "convenience store." In addition, we traditionally use "AN" when the next word begins with a vowel sound, and we use "A" when the next word begins with a consonant sound. an...

Pronunciation is the only determining factor. If the noun or adjective being used starts with a VOWEL SOUND, then it should be preceded by "an." Here are some examples: An apple, an argument, an uncle, an old man, an amazing story, an autobiography. If the noun or adjective being used starts...

--- 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...

The rule with a and an is that you use a when the word that follows it starts with a consonant sound, and you use an when the word that follows it starts with a vowel sound. You probably knew that given you used an correctly in your sentence, but I thought I'd mention that for others who may...

A / AN Use 'a' with nouns starting with a consonant (letters that are not vowels), 'an' with nouns starting with a vowel (a,e,i,o,u) Examples: A boy An apple A...

What is the verb form of the noun media? I've seen mediated but that means something else, doesn't it? ...and mediaed is goofy. What is the combining form rule when the root and suffix are juxtaposed vowels? ... insert a consonant? e.g., "t" Thanks bob