Many English speakers who probably use the indefinite article an
in front of a vowel when speaking seem to encounter a mental disconnect when it
comes to writing.
The following examples were found on major news sites or on sites offering
professional services or advice:
Pieces of the bag recovered have been sent to a FBI lab
for forensic testing.
The 404 or Not Found error message is a HTTP standard
response code.
Step-by-step tutorial on how to add a LED to a
USB thumb drive.
Applying to a MBA program can help you advance in your
career or switch careers entirely.
A NBC executive indicated that the independent formatted
Nonstop channels were doing well but needed separate 24/7 programming.
There are several benefits to being a RSVP Volunteer.
Did you setup and assign a STMP server for this
account?
The problem lies in an incomplete understanding of the rule for the use of a
and an.
Many speakers retain the rule as “Use an before words that begin
with a vowel and a before words that begin with a consonant.”
The complete rule is “Use an before words that begin with a
vowel sound and a before words that begin
with a consonant sound.”
The 26 letters of the alphabet are sound symbols, but the symbols
have names. And several of the consonant letters have names that begin
with vowel sounds:
F [ef]
H [aitch]
L [el]
M [em]
N [en]
S [es]
R [ar]
Here’s the correct way to write the words and initialisms given in boldface
above:
Pieces of the bag recovered have been sent to an FBI lab
for forensic testing.
The 404 or Not Found error message is an HTTP standard
response code.
Step-by-step tutorial on how to add an LED to a
USB thumb drive.
Applying to an MBA program can help you advance in your
career or switch careers entirely.
An NBC executive indicated that the independent formatted
Nonstop channels were doing well but needed separate 24/7 programming.
There are several benefits to being an RSVP Volunteer.
Did you setup and assign an STMP server for this
account?
In deciding whether to write a or an in front of an
initialism, say the name of the first letter. If the letter name begins with a
vowel sound, use an.
From: Daily Writing Tips
