Gugny Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 (edited) ... historic chain of events. Do you begin that phrase with "A" or "An?" Edited August 9, 2021 by Gugny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgewaycynic2013 Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 Depends how breathy I am when enunciating 'history'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted August 9, 2021 Author Share Posted August 9, 2021 10 minutes ago, Ridgewaycynic2013 said: Depends how breathy I am when enunciating 'history'. I know you were trying (A for effort) to be funny, but you actually brought up a good point. If the phrase is "... history lesson," I would say "a history lesson." But with "historic," I use "an." 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teef Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 i assume the rules are the same that you use "a" when the next letter starts with a consonant. that being said, it may be that both are acceptable at this point. at one point i was an ace with grammar. it's weird. graduate school ruined me in many ways. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted August 9, 2021 Author Share Posted August 9, 2021 12 minutes ago, teef said: i assume the rules are the same that you use "a" when the next letter starts with a consonant. that being said, it may be that both are acceptable at this point. at one point i was an ace with grammar. it's weird. graduate school ruined me in many ways. i think both are acceptable and grammatically correct. Truly one's personal preference. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snafu Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 You use "A". The "h" in "historic" isn't silent unless you're Eliza Doolittle. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhoTom Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 It depends on how pretentious my audience is. The same goes for the pronunciations of "niche" (nitch /neesh) and homage (AHmij/ohMAHZH). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted August 9, 2021 Author Share Posted August 9, 2021 13 minutes ago, WhoTom said: It depends on how pretentious my audience is. The same goes for the pronunciations of "niche" (nitch /neesh) and homage (AHmij/ohMAHZH). I pronounced homage "HAHmij," and was quickly "corrected," by a co-worker. She turned around and asked, "do you mean ohMAHZH?" to which I quickly responded, "No. I said HAHmij and I meant to say HAHmij." Skank. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgewaycynic2013 Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 19 minutes ago, Gugny said: I pronounced homage "HAHmij," and was quickly "corrected," by a co-worker. She turned around and asked, "do you mean ohMAHZH?" to which I quickly responded, "No. I said HAHmij and I meant to say HAHmij." Skank. If 45 had been invited back, I bet you would have been a diplomat. 😁 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackFergy Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 Why not just say “monumental” and avoid the confusion? Oh, I see who started this thread. Forget it. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 OR. What say ye. It's: "What say ye?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhoTom Posted August 9, 2021 Share Posted August 9, 2021 1 hour ago, Gugny said: I pronounced homage "HAHmij," and was quickly "corrected," by a co-worker. She turned around and asked, "do you mean ohMAHZH?" to which I quickly responded, "No. I said HAHmij and I meant to say HAHmij." Skank. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeGOATski Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 A historic... A historical... A historically... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 From Mr.Webster: "If the word begins with a vowel sound, use an, such as in "an honorable man," and with spoken acronyms like "an FBI agent." Words like historic, with a pronounced "H," can use either a or an. In the eternal, and generally fruitless, quest to find some way to make English make sense, many people look for simple rules to apply to our language. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US Egg Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 Is being called 'an a' proper? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Draconator Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 I asked my literacy center owner wife, and she says "A". Think like you're reading in a book, "That is a historic passage" was the example. "A" is a more common usage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gugny Posted August 10, 2021 Author Share Posted August 10, 2021 44 minutes ago, Draconator said: I asked my literacy center owner wife, and she says "A". Think like you're reading in a book, "That is a historic passage" was the example. "A" is a more common usage. I feel like I used "A" for most of my life, but realized in recent years that I've transitioned to "An." Now using, "A," feel very weird to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThurmanThomasEnglishMuffin Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 Sister Mary Lou beat me with a ruler to reinforce that 'An' precedes a vowel. The 'A' or 'An' as acceptable before 'h' could have saved my knuckles much pain.... We are reaching a historical milestone' sounds right. yet 'I completed that ticket a hour ago' sounds like a rube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 What say ye? A utility... AN utility... It does break the "vowel rule." 1 hour ago, ThurmanThomasEnglishMuffin said: Sister Mary Lou beat me with a ruler to reinforce that 'An' precedes a vowel. The 'A' or 'An' as acceptable before 'h' could have saved my knuckles much pain.... We are reaching a historical milestone' sounds right. yet 'I completed that ticket a hour ago' sounds like a rube. You should have shived Sister Scary Mary Lou win A utility knife! 😉 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jokeman Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 A, as I always thought an was reserved for words starting with a vowel sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 (edited) 4 minutes ago, The Jokeman said: A, as I always thought an was reserved for words starting with a vowel sound. Do you think a unicorn exists and do you wear a uniform? 😏 Did you go to a university or a college? 😆 Edited August 10, 2021 by ExiledInIllinois Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jokeman Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 1 minute ago, ExiledInIllinois said: Do you think a unicorn exists and do you wear a uniform? 😏 Did you go to a university or a college? 😆 I went to the State University of New York at Buffalo. 😜 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 1 minute ago, The Jokeman said: I went to the State University of New York at Buffalo. 😜 Same here! BA, '90. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Jokeman Posted August 10, 2021 Share Posted August 10, 2021 Just now, ExiledInIllinois said: Same here! BA, '90. BA, 2000! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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