1. I just bought a high definition television.

2. I just bought an HDTV.

Why do you differentiate between "a" and "an" with two words that both begin with H? I know it sounds right but why is it this way?

11/25/2005 9:03:23 PM

because of the way it is pronounced. AYECH. this is my best guess and it makes plenty of sense.

[Edited on November 25, 2005 at 9:37 PM. Reason : so i mean, you are right, but thats just how shit goes]

11/25/2005 9:37:22 PM

[Edited on November 25, 2005 at 9:39 PM. Reason : ^beat me to it]

11/25/2005 9:38:49 PM

Quote :

"Why do you differentiate between "a" and "an" with two words that both begin with H."

You don't. it's a, an is for aeiou and sometimes y.

11/25/2005 9:41:31 PM

an is used because british fucks usually have the silent H and the next letter is usually a vowel, so it just kinda evolved into using "an" before words starting in "H"... and it just transcended into american use.

11/25/2005 9:43:38 PM

AP style says a is used before consonant sounds and an is used before vowel sounds... since the beginning letter H is a vowel sound, an should be used

11/25/2005 9:44:49 PM

it's spelled A-I-T-C-H and whenever it's pronounced as such its associated indeinite article is AN. However, if you read "HDTV" as "high definition ..." then it should be A.

11/25/2005 9:49:33 PM

I like an before h's. My favorite is an hyberbola. That's how my old pre-calculus professor spelt it.

11/25/2005 10:24:10 PM

for spoken language, it sounds better to say "an"

11/25/2005 10:34:52 PM

Jesus, so many posts, and only one or two proper answers.

It is not about letters you morons, but SOUNDS.

Quote :

"a is used before consonant sounds and an is used before vowel sounds"

11/26/2005 7:10:03 AM

But, like everybody has said, "an" is the appropriate word to use before a word beginning with with H.

11/26/2005 12:15:49 PM

see cyrion's post it is exactly right, think about how you would spell the letter....

for example you would say "an F" (an eff) but you would also say a T (a tee)

an H (an aych)

11/26/2005 12:20:10 PM

I just went over to my friends place. He just bough an house.

^^Not always

11/26/2005 12:21:31 PM

yeah, thats right... i was just explaining when you use 'an' before actual letters

11/26/2005 12:33:18 PM

Quote :

"it's spelled A-I-T-C-H and whenever it's pronounced as such its associated indeinite article is AN. However, if you read "HDTV" as "high definition ..." then it should be A. "

does anyone remember a few years back during the National Spelling Bee that one of the last words for the kids was to spell H (aitch). That's the only reason I know how to spell it.

11/27/2005 12:19:44 AM

Ha, that's nuts... I'd be pissed if I were that kid.. btw did he spell it right?

11/27/2005 1:06:42 AM

^^me too.
i didn't actually see it though. just heard about it.

maybe one spelled it and the other didn't? i don't know though.

11/27/2005 1:08:03 AM

as people have said, it is "an" regardless of whether h is a consonant or not, regardless of whether you are spelling it or saying it, you use "an" bc H makes a vowel SOUND

11/27/2005 1:57:39 AM

^ No

[user]MacGuyver[/user] is right.

His house statement is a good example.

It's the sound of the beginning of the following word/acronym/etc. What letter it begins with is irrelevant.

11/27/2005 2:50:02 AM

Quote :

"does anyone remember a few years back during the National Spelling Bee that one of the last words for the kids was to spell H (aitch). That's the only reason I know how to spell it. "

thats fucking awesome

11/27/2005 3:22:04 AM

Quote :

"as people have said, it is "an" regardless of whether h is a consonant or not, regardless of whether you are spelling it or saying it, you use "an" bc H makes a vowel SOUND(when H makes a vowel sound only, le fucking duh dude) "

haha, reading comprehension people, do you even understand what i said, you told me no, then said exactly what i said, so ok then

11/27/2005 3:50:58 AM

Quote :

"But, like everybody has said, "an" is the appropriate word to use before a word beginning with with H."

Quote :

"as people have said, it is "an" regardless of whether h is a consonant or not, regardless of whether you are spelling it or saying it, you use "an" bc H makes a vowel SOUND"

Jesus people, are you that dumb?

And sNuwPack, when you quoted yourself ^, you added something to your post which was not there. Don't try to fool us.

IT IS THE SOUNDS

NOT THE LETTERS

THAT'S THE GENERAL RULE

NO NEED TO REMEMBER ANYTHING

ASK AN HOBO, EVEN HE WOULD KNOW BETTER

11/27/2005 7:07:40 AM

I remember a cute little article in the Charlotte Observer when I was 14 (so a long friggin' time ago).

It was common sense, but it provides a good mnemonic.

Title was "'A' or 'An': A Sound Decision"

eh? eh? Get it? Aw, never mind...

"An NC State student"
"A UNC student"

Unless there's some clause or exception I haven't heard about, it should be

"A historical decision"

rather than

"An historical decision"

[Edited on November 27, 2005 at 7:33 AM. Reason : .]

11/27/2005 7:32:11 AM

are you that dumb?

historical:
sounds like
hissssssssstorical

not

aaaisstorical

when you say H there is an A sound. when you say historical there is no A sound.
are you unable to recognize the difference in these sounds? if so you need to go back to elementary school.

11/27/2005 7:55:32 AM

Ahem, reading comprehension check.

11/27/2005 8:00:34 AM

Bumsen englisch gesprach auf Deutsch

11/27/2005 12:09:21 PM

Absolutely amazing. I can't tell if this is a joke or not.

Quote :

" From : firmbuttgntl To : Maverick Received : Sunday November 27, 2005 at 12:25 PM Subject : joo grammers is apauling "An NC State student" "A UNC student" It should be an unc, a nc state. I don't know what the other shits about. "

I can't believe that someone who learned English as a second language is teaching you people how to speak. Absolutely amazing.

[Edited on November 27, 2005 at 3:04 PM. Reason : .]

11/27/2005 3:00:37 PM

More clarification on the a/an historic (I've seen this both ways in many history books, although the term "a historic" did seem correct):

Quote :

"http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/anhistoric.html You should use “an” before a word beginning with an “H” only if the “H” is not pronounced: “an honest effort”; it’s properly “a historic event” though many sophisticated speakers somehow prefer the sound of “an historic,” so that version is not likely to get you into any real trouble. "

[Edited on November 27, 2005 at 3:35 PM. Reason : .]

11/27/2005 3:35:38 PM

Quote :

"It should be an unc, a nc state."

- firmbuttgntl

DEAR LORD

TAKE ME UP

11/27/2005 4:54:52 PM

Quote :

"I can't believe that someone who learned English as a second language is teaching you people how to speak. Absolutely amazing."

Uh...

ESL students generally seem to be much stronger grammatically than native speakers.

11/27/2005 5:09:07 PM

the only real grammar i got was in latin class

11/27/2005 5:14:57 PM

^^^

I apologize to him though. He was joking all along (had me fooled, though, whew!)

11/27/2005 6:31:38 PM

Quoting from the 2004 AP Stylebook,

Quote :

"a, an - Use the article a before consonant sounds: a historic event, a one-year term (sounds as if it begins with a w), a united stand (sounds like you). Use the article an before vowel sounds: an energy crisis, an honorable man (the h is silent), an NBA record (sounds like it beings with an e), an 1890s celebration."

http://blogs.newsobserver.com/grammar/
see also the Oct. 2nd entry.

[Edited on November 27, 2005 at 10:39 PM. Reason : link]

11/27/2005 10:24:44 PM

OK. I'm sick of reading through all of these posts... but to whomever said that "an" is used for any word beginning with an H, please GTFO.

For the record...
Any ACRONYM that is pronounced letter by letter (i.e. H-D-T-V yields aitch dee tee vee) that begins with an H should be preceded by "an."

[Edited on November 28, 2005 at 3:58 AM. Reason : due to the sound of the "aitch"]

11/28/2005 3:57:16 AM

^^

I think the people that say "an historic" might be people who may either not pronounce the "h" in "historic" (I guess I could see some accents doing that), or who may have difficulty since they're two fairly hard sounds together. Personally, I don't say it, but I know people who do.

11/30/2005 5:03:54 PM