Quote:
Using "A" or "An" with Acronyms
by Tina Blue
December 22, 2002
One reader has asked a question that a lot of people probably would like the answer to:
When using acronyms such as FTP, HTTP, and ASP it sounds weird to use "a" in front of "FTP". Are acronyms an exception to the rule of preceding a word beginning with a vowel with "a" and preceding any word beginning with a consonant with "an"? For example: "I have a FTP server" sounds better like "I have an FTP server."
Well, he is right. An acronym that begins with a vowel sound is treated like a word that begins with a vowel sound: it takes "an," not "a".*
Whether one uses "an" or "a" is determined entirely by the sound that follows the article, because the only reason for using "an" is to prevent the vowel sound of "a" from eliding into the vowel sound that begins the next word. That is why we use "a," not "an" before a word beginning with a long "u," because the word sounds as though it begins with a "y":
a U.S. decision in favor of a unilateral strike
On the other hand, if the word begins with a short "u", then that is a vowel sound, so the word would be preceded by "an":
an unlikely story
an unworthy opponent
by Tina Blue
December 22, 2002
One reader has asked a question that a lot of people probably would like the answer to:
When using acronyms such as FTP, HTTP, and ASP it sounds weird to use "a" in front of "FTP". Are acronyms an exception to the rule of preceding a word beginning with a vowel with "a" and preceding any word beginning with a consonant with "an"? For example: "I have a FTP server" sounds better like "I have an FTP server."
Well, he is right. An acronym that begins with a vowel sound is treated like a word that begins with a vowel sound: it takes "an," not "a".*
Whether one uses "an" or "a" is determined entirely by the sound that follows the article, because the only reason for using "an" is to prevent the vowel sound of "a" from eliding into the vowel sound that begins the next word. That is why we use "a," not "an" before a word beginning with a long "u," because the word sounds as though it begins with a "y":
a U.S. decision in favor of a unilateral strike
On the other hand, if the word begins with a short "u", then that is a vowel sound, so the word would be preceded by "an":
an unlikely story
an unworthy opponent
((Note: I do not know where I should have put this, if not here, so if I have mistakenly placed this in the wrong sections, would someone be kind enough to move this to its proper section. Thank you.))
