English grammar

[niggle]

Now, call me a sad b*****d if thou wilt but ... I have noticed over the years a move from the rule of 'a' being used before a consonant as in 'an historic victory'. Grammatically speaking, should this not be 'a historic victory'.
i await your response and fully acknowledge that I am a sad old git
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Curiosity killed the Quantum Cat

[BaaBaa.]

sad b*****d

[Nereus]

Have a look here mate:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/esl/esliart.html
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May you be in heaven half an hour before the devil know`s you`re dead!

[barrys]

Hi Niggle

The reason for this is that many of the words beginning with 'h' used in English are derived from Norman French.
"H" is not pronounced at all in French - which is why the phonetic representation of the letter in the French alphabet is "ash" and "aitch" in English, though in Ireland we normally refer to it as "haitch", which is much more logical despite often being criticised as incorrect.

Because 'h' is an aspirate (i.e. a sound pronounced while breathing out), it is somewhere between the sound of a vowel and a consonant, which is why 'an' is sometimes used as the indefinite article preceding it.

If you try it yourself, you will find that "a" followed by "h" does not flow as well in speech as it does with the hard and voiced consonants.
Maybe the cockneys have found the solution - do as the French do and don't pronounce it at all!

It is otherwise most often used in academic and other "highbrow" texts.
Hope this helps.
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Barry Stone
Mermaid Cruises
Tel. 032-632223 (office)
084-8007400 (mobile)

www.huahincruises.com

[spitfire]

Barrys is correct about his post and it just does not flow off the tougue properly(eg. a elephant, doesn't sound right). I think your initial example of 'an historic event' is simply grammatically incorrect, even if it is in common usage.

Think the simple rule is, does the noun start with a consonant or a long 'u' sound (the same as the name of the letter 'U').

YES use 'a'
eg. a disk
a unit
a hotel
No
use 'an'
eg an idoit
an egg
an urchin
BUT
use 'an' before a silent 'h'
eg an hour
an honour

[dtaai-maai]

There is nothing grammatically incorrect in writing (or even saying) 'an historic victory' or 'an hotel.'

You'd probably sound like a twat if you actually tried to pronounce them like that, but that could be said for quite a few English words...

Nor is there anything grammatically incorrect in writing 'a hotel' etc.

Having said that, listen to (British) people speaking - not only Cockneys - and I think you'll find most wouldn't say 'I went to a hotel'... or it may be 50/50.

An interesting tangent to this is that it is quite normal to write 'an MP' or 'an NCO'

Nereus - 'The Purdue University Online Writing Lab???'
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Never argue with a man carrying a water buffalo...

[barrys]

[quote="dtaai-maai"]

An interesting tangent to this is that it is quite normal to write 'an MP' or 'an NCO'

Yes, it is quite normal and correct since written language is just a means of representing spoken language on the page - after all, the word 'language' does come from 'lingua' in Latin, meaning tongue.
And when we read, we are simply speaking to ourselves, reproducing the sounds in our mind, i.e. converting back to true language.
'An' is merely a phonetic device to assist language flow and prevent two consecutive vowels or vocalic sounds.

So the simple rule is to use 'an' before a word, character, abbreviation, acronym etc. starting with a vowel sound and 'a' before a consonant sound.
_________________
Barry Stone
Mermaid Cruises
Tel. 032-632223 (office)
084-8007400 (mobile)

www.huahincruises.com

[Terry]

Sound advice that.


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Terry Theobald
Hua Hin Fishing Lodge
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089-837-4079 (Eng)

Come on over - you might get hooked.

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