"Lose" is not spelled "Loose"

[Uncle-A]

Not really... it's based on pronunciation/sound, not spelling. So "an SPF" is correct, even though S is a consonant. Because when we say "S" it's pronounced like "ess" which starts with a vowel sound.

So most acronyms with consonants, where you say the letters, would have "an" before them. "An MBA degree", for instance, is correct - when we say "m" it starts with a vowel sound.

On the other side, words that start with "u" are often pronounced with a consonant y sound... so it would be "a universal remote" for instance. Or for acronyms, it could be "a US made object".

Maybe it is different for an acronym but I will have to double check this with Google because teachers have been sharing the consonant/vowel relationship for as long as I can remember.

 

[dbostedo]

Maybe it is different for an acronym but I will have to double check this with Google because teachers have been sharing the consonant/vowel relationship for as long as I can remember.

Vowel/consonant is a rough rule of thumb, not the rule. I was definitely never taught to write a/an purely based on vowel/consonant in elementary school.

Think about this - would you have ever have taught or have you been taught to say "an unit", or "a herb"? (Assuming the American pronunciation of "herb"... Brits do say "a herb" but pronounce the "h" )

 

[SBrown]

It depends on pronunciation. Very simple.

 

[Tricia]

It depends on pronunciation. Very simple.

An EssPeeEff

 

[socalgal]

An EssPeeEff

I totally had them same thought with a post I made earlier... "a/an SG" and I went against my instinct and wrote "A" even though it just didn't seem right. Now I can't change it....

 

[Uncle-A]

I Googled the A vs An relationship and got both results one was based on the first letter of the word the other was on the sound of the first letter. So it seems that even the experts disagree.

 

[dbostedo]

I Googled the A vs An relationship and got both results one was based on the first letter of the word the other was on the sound of the first letter. So it seems that even the experts disagree.

I be curious to see a site that claims it's only based on the written letter rather than pronunciation. We clearly don't actually do it that way, and I can't think of exceptions; but like anything in English, there are probably exceptions I just can't think of.

I did some Googling too out of curiosity, and can find a bunch of sites that state things like this: "A long-standing rule that you might have learned along the way is to use a before a word that begins with a consonant and an before a word that begins with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u)." That article then goes on to say that it's not entirely correct and what matters is the sound. (https://www.grammarbook.com/blog/effective-writing/a-or-an/)

So it seems like a bunch of folks remember being taught that way - that the spelling matters. I don't, personally, and remember learning it by sound (I think). Did you find a site that only states the "a before consonant, an before vowel" rule? Got a link?

 

[Uncle-A]

I be curious to see a site that claims it's only based on the written letter rather than pronunciation. We clearly don't actually do it that way, and I can't think of exceptions; but like anything in English, there are probably exceptions I just can't think of.

I did some Googling too out of curiosity, and can find a bunch of sites that state things like this: "A long-standing rule that you might have learned along the way is to use a before a word that begins with a consonant and an before a word that begins with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u)." That article then goes on to say that it's not entirely correct and what matters is the sound. (https://www.grammarbook.com/blog/effective-writing/a-or-an/)

So it seems like a bunch of folks remember being taught that way - that the spelling matters. I don't, personally, and remember learning it by sound (I think). Did you find a site that only states the "a before consonant, an before vowel" rule? Got a link?

Like many things in the English language it is all over the place. The sites I saw start out saying the consonant is the the method and follow by saying the sound is the important part. So it seems both work even the experts disagree.

 

[tball]

I usually get it right instinctively, but I never learned about the sound of the letter mattering due to my seriously lacking English education. Thank goodness for Grammarly!

Now, I'm wondering how they coded figuring out the sound of the first letter of a word. Yikes.

 

[cantunamunch]

Now, I'm wondering how they coded figuring out the sound of the first letter of a word. Yikes.

They didn't bother? They figured that anyone using the word would be writing-as-they-speak?

The only phenomenon that's relatively new here is people typing out words they've never heard spoken.

 

[James]

The problem with google using ai to scrape articles is it often comes up with articles blatantly wrong, or incomplete, but match based on just the text.

 

[SBrown]

Like many things in the English language it is all over the place. The sites I saw start out saying the consonant is the the method and follow by saying the sound is the important part. So it seems both work even the experts disagree.

I really don't think so. It's pronunciation.

As @dbostedo said, if you can come up with a concrete example, let us know. But

"Use a or an before an acronym or other abbreviation depending on how it is pronounced, not how it is written. If it starts with a consonant sound when read aloud, use “a” (a NATO member, a US senator, a PDF, a CEO). If it starts with a vowel sound, use “an” (an OPEC report, an ATM, an NFT, an MBA program, an FBI agent, an HTML file)."

“A” or “An” before Acronyms and Abbreviations?

Use “a” or “an” before an abbreviation depending on how it is pronounced not written. If it starts with a consonant sound, use “a”; if it starts with a vowel sound, use “an.”

editorsmanual.com

 

[James]

“I’m looking for a shirt with SPF of 30”
“Look, this one has an SPF of 30.”
“How do they rate the SPF?”

 

[dbostedo]

Coincidentally, I just received a spam email (bastions of good grammar that they are) with this as the subject:

"CONGRATULATIONS! You have won an Pittsburgh Mechanic Tool"

 

[tball]

Now, I'm wondering how they coded figuring out the sound of the first letter of a word. Yikes.

I asked ChatGTP and Bard, and neither had any great revelations on how to check for the sound of the first letter with software. ChatGTP didn't get beyond simply checking the first letter against "aeiou" but Bard also added using a rules based or dictionary based approach.

Bard's answer:

There are a few ways that software can determine if the first letter of a word sounds like a vowel or like a consonant. One way is to use a list of all the vowel sounds in a language. The software would then check to see if the first letter of the word sounds like any of those vowel sounds. Another way is to use a dictionary of words and their pronunciations. The software would look up the word in the dictionary and see if the first letter is pronounced as a vowel. Finally, the software could use a rule-based approach to determine the sound of the first letter. This approach would use rules about how letters are pronounced in different contexts.

Here are some specific examples of how these methods could be used:

• Using a list of vowel sounds: The software would have a list of all the vowel sounds in the English language, such as "ah", "ee", "oo", and "uh". The software would then check to see if the first letter of the word sounds like any of those vowel sounds. For example, the word "apple" starts with the vowel sound "uh", so the software would determine that the first letter of the word sounds like a vowel.
• Using a dictionary of words and their pronunciations: The software would have a dictionary of words and their pronunciations. The software would look up the word in the dictionary and see if the first letter is pronounced as a vowel. For example, the word "hour" starts with the letter "h", but the "h" is silent in this word. So, the software would look up the word "hour" in the dictionary and see that the first letter is pronounced as a vowel sound, even though the letter itself is a consonant.
• Using a rule-based approach: The software would have a set of rules about how letters are pronounced in different contexts. For example, the rule might say that the letter "y" is pronounced as a vowel if it is followed by a vowel. So, the software would determine that the first letter of the word "why" sounds like a vowel, even though the letter itself is a consonant.

Which method is used will depend on the specific application. For example, a dictionary-based approach would be more accurate than a rule-based approach, but it would also be more complex and time-consuming. A rule-based approach would be less accurate, but it would be faster and easier to implement.

 

[S.H.]

For example, the word "apple" starts with the vowel sound "uh"

it does?

 

[tball]

it does?

Careful. Don't argue with the AI!

Bard just wrote me some code to help with the problem.

----- Long answer with code snipped. See output below ----

This code will print the following output:

MBA True
SPF True
apple False
hour False

As you can see, the code correctly determines that the words MBA and SPF start with vowel sounds, while the words apple and hour do not start with vowel sounds.

 

[S.H.]

Careful. Don't argue with the AI!

Bard just wrote me some code to help with the problem.

----- Long answer with code snipped. See output below ----

This code will print the following output:

MBA True
SPF True
apple False
hour False

As you can see, the code correctly determines that the words MBA and SPF start with vowel sounds, while the words apple and hour do not start with vowel sounds.

75% accuracy is ... good?

 

[cantunamunch]

75% accuracy is ... good?

It is if it's making it all up as it goes along...

 

[dbostedo]

75% accuracy is ... good?

Wait... 75%? You think it only got 1 wrong?

I guess I'll go eat a apple and get back to you in a hour.