When the 'h' is pronounced, use the article "a".
When the 'h' is silent, use the article "an".

This is wrong:
"This is an historic occasion." (I keep hearing this! )
"It is a honor to be here."

This is correct:
"This is a historic occasion."
"It is an honor to be here."

1/21/2009 3:01:02 PM

what an whore

1/21/2009 3:01:50 PM

just use whichever sounds better

1/21/2009 3:02:08 PM

I too learned grammar in 3rd grade.

1/21/2009 3:02:27 PM

Quote :

"This is an historic occasion."

Has been driving me crazy.

1/21/2009 3:02:56 PM

Quote :

"I too learned grammar in 3rd grade."

Commas are still a part of grammar.

1/21/2009 3:03:56 PM

There were no commas necessary in that statement.

1/21/2009 3:05:24 PM

Fucking signed.

Add to that: not all words that start with h have a silent h. E.g., humble is not pronounced "umble"

1/21/2009 3:05:38 PM

I don't see this as being that difficult.

People are fucking retarded. When did grammar start deteriorating so much?? With the rise of spell and grammar check on MS Word??

1/21/2009 3:07:24 PM

1/21/2009 3:09:07 PM

No

it was when the elementary schools told kids they'd learn grammar in middle school, the middle schools said they'd learn grammar in high schools, and the high schools said 'you should have learned this by now'

And then the feel-good method of education: it's more important for the kids to feel good about themselves than to struggle to actually learn anything.

1/21/2009 3:09:28 PM

Quote :

"This is an historic occasion."

It sounds fine if you say it with a cockney accent.

1/21/2009 3:10:29 PM

an is used when the first syllable of a word is pronounced using a vowel sound

a is used when the first syllable of a word is pronounced using a consonant sound.

1/21/2009 3:12:59 PM

^^
lol

Quote :

"the feel-good method of education: it's more important for the kids to feel good about themselves than to struggle to actually learn anything"

I hate that shit.

1/21/2009 3:17:31 PM

i hate hate hate this.

and Fumbler hates it more.

an historic ftl

1/21/2009 3:17:53 PM

GG to the OP. And concerning "too":

Quote :

"Cathy Cikra, of Hartville, Ohio, writes: 'A punctuation question recently arose during the proofreading of our school's newspaper. The sentence was this: "Remember it's your paper too." The newspaper adviser and a journalism professor disagreed on whether to put a comma before the "too." Your thoughts?' Dear Cathy: There is no well-established rule about this, so no wonder the adviser and the professor disagreed. Three possible ways of being consistent are to decide never to use a comma with 'too,' always to use one, or to be fancy and do as I do. Sometimes 'too' appears right next to the word it modifies -- as, for instance, in 'The paper is mine and theirs -- and it's yours, too.' But at other times a word or a few words separate 'too' from what it modifies. That's the case with your example sentence, unless it means that something in addition to the paper is yours -- as in, 'This is your breakfast and your paper, too.' Try saying some of these example sentences aloud and see if you agree with me that it seems natural to pause before the 'too' when the word is next to the one it modifies, and not to pause otherwise. I use commas to reflect the pauses. But that’s just my rule -- and of course, it’s your language too."

http://www.wordcourt.com/archives.php?show=2005-02-23

[Edited on January 21, 2009 at 3:22 PM. Reason : .]

1/21/2009 3:20:22 PM

Questions about "a" and "an" continue to trouble a good many writers. The old rule called for "a" before words beginning with a consonant and "an" before words beginning with a vowel. Thus, a book, a candle, an aardvark, an iceberg. The old rule suffered from so many exceptions that a new rule came into being: Go by the sound of the word following "a" or "an." Thus, a one-year term, an open question, a CBS program, an L.A. Times reporter.

Here are some examples of "an" where I believe "a" would have been better: an unique character, an 9-8 victory, an 103-62 loss, an seven-foot birdie putt. Often a writer will use "a" where "an" works better: a article, a anonymous writer, a 18-year-old woman, a 8-pound girl, a 11-point Clinton lead, a $18 million contract and a ineffectual candidate.

Those are the easy ones. We get into knockdown arguments over the aspirated and unaspirated "h." The Las Vegas Review-Journal likes "a historic occasion." The New York Times goes for "a hilarious version." Newsweek requires "a Hispanic TV company." By universal agreement it has become "a hotel in New Hampshire."

Some authorities have attempted to nail down a rule: If the accent is on the second syllable, rather than the first syllable of the operative word, "an" is acceptable: an habitual offender, an harassed employee, an humanitarian cause, an hypothesis. I like "an historic moment." My ear guides me to "an heroic rescue." Bryan Garner, a late arrival in the field of experts, calls "an heroic" an affectation, but those of us who hear the unaspirated "h" are doing only what comes naturally.

The AP, whose Stylebook is our bible, decrees "a historic" event. So be it. The only rock-solid rule in this area is to be consistent. If law is an honorable profession on page 10, it had better not be a honorable profession on page 11. That's a very sound rule, and we should be pretty well advised to obey it.


-James J Kilpatrick.

1/21/2009 3:22:33 PM

1/21/2009 3:26:16 PM

Quote :

"Add to that: not all words that start with h have a silent h. E.g., humble is not pronounced "umble""

Agreed. Tired of hearing old ppl saying "UMOROUS" when they are saying "humorous".


^ And THAT shit is FUNNY!

[Edited on January 21, 2009 at 4:55 PM. Reason : .]

1/21/2009 4:43:39 PM

1/21/2009 4:45:33 PM

nobody cares about grammar now.

look at ipod's newest ad

the funnest ipod ever....

1/21/2009 4:47:55 PM

Quote :

"I don't see this as being that difficult. People are fucking retarded. When did grammar start deteriorating so much?? With the rise of spell and grammar check on MS Word??"

Quote :

"No it was when the elementary schools told kids they'd learn grammar in middle school, the middle schools said they'd learn grammar in high schools, and the high schools said 'you should have learned this by now' And then the feel-good method of education: it's more important for the kids to feel good about themselves than to struggle to actually learn anything."

100% agreed. I hate the state of education now. It is fucking shameful and embarassing. Just look at some of the posters on here. If one doesn't know elementary and middle school grammar and spellings by the time one is 18, one should jump off a bridge.

***********************************************

What words do you know that can be pronounced with or without the initial 'h' sound?

Herb

Any others?

1/21/2009 4:57:39 PM

heir?

1/21/2009 4:59:21 PM

^^ does anyone really give a shit as long as we can understand each other?

1/21/2009 5:00:36 PM

No, the h is silent in 'heir', on both sides of the pond.

^ definately, you should of too. and stop being rediculous.


[Edited on January 21, 2009 at 5:03 PM. Reason : ]

1/21/2009 5:01:32 PM

gah, i missed the "with or without" qualifier

1/21/2009 5:03:00 PM

nm

[Edited on January 21, 2009 at 5:27 PM. Reason : can't read.]

1/21/2009 5:27:19 PM

Quote :

"you should of too"

you should have too?

Quote :

"definately"

definitely?

[Edited on January 21, 2009 at 5:32 PM. Reason : x]

1/21/2009 5:30:23 PM

So I take it 'rediculous' is fine by you?!

Gotcha!

1/21/2009 5:36:21 PM

diculous and rediculous

1/21/2009 5:37:46 PM

Meh strongly disagree wit da premise uh dis ear tread

1/21/2009 5:37:52 PM

Quote :

"Gotcha! "

damnit, should have known. if i had noticed the third one i would have understood what the shit was goin on here, thats what she said.

1/21/2009 5:42:26 PM

hwhat

1/21/2009 5:44:51 PM

I mean, it's OK for people like Carl Sagan.

1/21/2009 5:49:44 PM

bttt

3/4/2009 2:01:43 PM

Holy fucking shit I love you so much grimx


Anyone else get when some dude on SNL fucked this up weekend before last? I forget now what he said, but I wanna say it was the 'a honor'

And then you have 'an half hour'

3/4/2009 2:03:12 PM

Quote :

""This is an historic occasion." (I keep hearing this! )"

It's because of those fucking british. Imagine in your head "historic" being pronounced with an british accent -- they'd drop the "h" sound almost entirely. Thus "an 'istoric"... so, this one is okay for the europeans/australians to do, but not us.

[Edited on March 4, 2009 at 2:08 PM. Reason : also, it would seem after reading the rest of the thread that someone mentioned this already]

3/4/2009 2:03:54 PM

Quote :

"Holy fucking shit I love you so much grimx"

I don't even think he is premie

3/4/2009 2:06:03 PM

i'm not

3/4/2009 2:06:31 PM

^^That's got nothing to do with anything.

3/4/2009 2:07:16 PM

not premie, just awesome

3/4/2009 2:08:20 PM

I thought he had BTTT'd the thread b/c of chatterbox...but he can't see chatterbox so it was a coincidence.

3/4/2009 2:08:57 PM

:carlface:

3/4/2009 2:09:32 PM

http://www.thewolfweb.com/message_topic.aspx?topic=297214&page=3402#12690494

3/4/2009 2:09:47 PM

in after all the fucking know-it-alls on TWW

3/4/2009 3:55:01 PM

I actually don't mind that my grammar isn't stellar. I rather enjoy faggots like hamhosia getting all worked up over trite shit.

3/4/2009 3:57:08 PM

now that you mention it, ambrosia is kind of a fag

3/4/2009 3:59:02 PM

Fucking hippies.

3/4/2009 4:01:14 PM

i 2 lerned grammer in 2nd grade

3/4/2009 4:01:41 PM

set em up

3/4/2009 4:05:15 PM