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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289
veteran
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veteran
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 1,289 |
There has long been a custom, with no well-defined rules that I know of, to use 'an' before a word beginning with H, as in, "an house not made with hands eternal in the heavens."
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 393
enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 393 |
Nancyk is entirely right: in speech there is never any doubt (except with some H-initial words). We use "an" before vowel sounds.
The written form "a FSH" comes from either writing it without saying it mentally to realize it's wrong; or just using the abbreviation in writing but mentally saying "a finite state hypothesis" (or whatever it was).
On origin of "a" vs "an", the earlier form is "an" (related to "one"), and the N was lost before a consonant - rather than being added before a vowel. Same with "mine" and "thine", which gave rise to alternatives "my" and "thy" in the Middle English period, originally on purely phonetic grounds, then grammaticalized.
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Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 4,757 |
grammaticalized
Please tell me I'm imagining this, Nicholas!
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803 |
No, mav, you're not imagining it; you're imaginalizing it.
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Posts: 544
addict
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addict
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 544 |
Well, at least he's not grammaticking it. I'd hate to think that of maverick.
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819
Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,819 |
I agree with "an FSH."
But my question is, do you use "a" or "an" preceding words that begin with "h"? Or is Charles Emerson Winchester III the only one who does that?
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Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 771
old hand
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old hand
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 771 |
To me, the question of "a" or "an" before an "h" word comes down to whether the "h" is pronounced... He received an honorarium for spending a hot night in a hotel with a halibut, which he quickly squandered on an hors d'ouevre.Who said examples have to make any sense? 
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Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439
Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Nov 2000
Posts: 3,439 |
Hi gmoore, welcome aBoard.
re your query : "an" if you pronounce the letters individually.
Oh, by the way, does it annoy anyone else when newscasters say things like (for example:) " The NTSB board ..." when the letters stand for National Transportation and Safety Board ?
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Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 218
enthusiast
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enthusiast
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 218 |
I frequently encounter people refering to transfering files into PDF format (Portable Document Format format). BUt it does help with the comprehension to have that kind of redundancy (or clarification). Long live Monte Python's Department of Redundancy Department.
Brandon
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Joined: Dec 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
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If the first syllable of a word with a pronounced h is stressed the proper article is a. Otherwise it is an.
Examples:
A) He wrote a history of World War Two.
2) They put on an historical re-enactment of the First Battle of Bull Run (Sorry, I couldn't spell Manassas)
Note: Application of this rule may vary from place to place. Please consult all pertinent state laws before attempting to follow this rule. The management takes no responsibility for mis(ab)use of this rule.
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