A vs An

[countrigal]

Ok... this is a simple, silly question.  I have looked in the Gregg Reference manual and it didn't address this particular question so I thought I'd bring it to the "experts".  



 I thought I could remember someone somewhere (here or in my previous position) that there is a rule for using "an" vs "a" in front of abreviations.  For example:  Look in a MSP book  - or - Look in an MSP book.  I have always used "a" but someone told me before that there is a rule for this.  Does anyone know of such a thing or am I just day-dreaming now?  

[dedlered]

CG.. I believe the rule is that if the abbreviation has a consonant sound use a (like a CPA)  if it is a vowel sound use an (an fob  (f pronounced "ef")



Hope that helps

[bethanial]

what dedlered says is what I've always heard, and used.

[countrigal]

Thanks y'all... That sounds about right, though I couldn't remember it to vocalize for another.  Appreciate the timely help.

[ocblnd]

Right out of 'The Professional Secretary's Handbook, Third Edition'

  a, an.  A is used before a word beinging with a consonant (a building) or a consonant sound (a university); an is used before a word beginning with a vowel (an employee) or a vowel sound (an hour).  A rather than an should be used before words like historial (a hysterical) unless the h is not pronounced (an herb).



one of those rules we all learned years ago and every once in awhile need to check out to see if we remember what we learned.



 

 

[countrigal]

OCblnd... that's what the Gregg reference manual said too, but for some reason I thought there was a special rule for abreviations.  It's basically the same, but just not how I thought of it.

[mrsbw]

Hi all,

I believe I know the "rule" you are referring to: when deciding to use a or an before an abbeviation or acronym, it depends on whether you would normally pronounce the acronym, or if you would pronounce the word(s) the acronym stands for. For example: She is an HR specialist. (when reading this, if you would say, "she is an 'aiche-are' specialist," use an.  But, if you would say the above as "she is a human resources specialist," then you would use a.  Does that make sense? Another one: "I need an MSDS for this chemical" (if I would read this as an em-ess-dee-ess); but "I need a MSDS for this chemical" (if I would say 'material safety data sheet'). Hope this helps!

 

[countrigal]

Perfect!  Now I'll remember that silly rule and not make the error I've done.  How'd you know it was MSDS that I was worrying with?  



Thanks to everyone for the help/refresher.

[mrsbw]

Hi again,

Just realized that I messed up my explanation of the rule, and the examples did not really support what I was trying to explain. The rule for using a or an with an acronym depends on whether the ACRONYM is pronounced as a word or as the invidual letters. (Hopefully, here's a better) example:  Do you have an SEP plan? or Do you have a SEP plan? .. If SEP is pronounced "sep," use a. But if SEP is pronounced "ess-ee-pea," use an.  Here's another one: a FEMA investigation or an FEMA investigation. If FEMA is pronounced as a word "feema," use a; if FEMA is pronounced "eff-ee-em-ay," use an. Sorry for the confusion, please disregard my earlier post!!

[countrigal]

No confusion... matched what another poster put so I understood and it made lots of sense.  Must be because it's Friday.  



Wishing everyone a safe and happy weekend...