# "a" vs. "an" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 13, 1999, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vs-an/2583 "1999-08-13T01:35:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Foghorn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b5a626/32.png) [@Foghorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foghorn)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 1999, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vs-an/2583/1 "1999-08-13T01:35:00Z")
Something I’ve always wondered about that I hope the teeming millions can help me with… I have a question about the usage of “a” versus “an” when it pertains to the word “historic”. Why do newscasters consistently use the phrase “an historic event”, not “a historic event”? It seems that if it sounded or flowed better, than the phrase “an history book” would be used also… but obviously it’s not. Why the difference? ---
**Author:** ![jayron\_32](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/41988e/32.png) [@jayron\_32](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayron_32)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 1999, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vs-an/2583/2 "1999-08-13T01:44:00Z")
In the Standard American English dialect, such as you hear on the news, you don’t pronounce the “h” on an unaccented syllable, but you do on an accented syllable. Thus history is /HIS-t@ree/ or /HIS-tree/(if @=schwa) but historic is /is-TOR-@c/ or /@s-TOR-ic/. Thus, history takes an “a” and historic takes an “an.” If you don’t speak Standard American English (Don’t be embarassed, most people don’t. I didn’t grow up in an area that did.) you may say “a” for both or “an” for both. But in the dialect spoken on the news, it’s as outlined above. * * * Jason R Remy “One pill makes you taller, and one pill makes you small, but the ones that mother gives you don’t do anything at all” – Jefferson Airplane \* White Rabbit \* (Slick, G. 1966) ---
**Author:** ![Foghorn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b5a626/32.png) [@Foghorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foghorn)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 1999, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vs-an/2583/3 "1999-08-13T01:58:00Z")
Ah! Thanks, Jayron. That makes sense to me… and don’t worry… I don’t take offense to your comment. I grew up in Pittsburgh, a town that has done its part in butchering the english language. I’m just a product of my environment. A followup then… I have also had a similar question with the pronounciation of “negotiations”. On the news, I seem to always hear them say “nego-see-ations” and not “nego-she-ations”. A similar english rule being followed here? ---
**Author:** ![mr\_john](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@mr\_john](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr_john)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 1999, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vs-an/2583/4 "1999-08-13T02:44:00Z")
neguh-SEE-Ashuns Main Entry: ne·go·ti·a·tion Pronunciation: ni-"gO-shE-'A-sh&n, ÷-sE- [http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=negotiation](http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=negotiation) that see ation must be an affectation sorta like pronouncing ‘forte’ incorrekly cause ever wun looks at you like your uh idiot if yuh pronunciate it keerectlee ---
**Author:** ![Keeves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f05b48/32.png) [@Keeves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeves)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 1999, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vs-an/2583/5 "1999-08-13T13:39:00Z")
Jayron, your answer makes sense, but the theory must be tested: Can you offer other examples of where “an” is used with a word starting with “h” whose accent is not on the first syllable? Try these: a herMAPHrodite a hippoPOTamus a hortiCULturalist a homoSEXual Would you have suggested “an” for these? ---
**Author:** ![Keeves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f05b48/32.png) [@Keeves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeves)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 1999, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vs-an/2583/6 "1999-08-13T13:45:00Z")
Idiots who say “negoSEEations” also say “URanus”. ---
**Author:** ![ChiefScott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58f4c7/32.png) [@ChiefScott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChiefScott)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 1999, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vs-an/2583/7 "1999-08-13T14:00:00Z")
“The Hermaphrodite Hippo and the Homosexual Horticulturalist” Hmm… All I need now is a script! The title just sells itself. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 1999, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vs-an/2583/8 "1999-08-13T14:23:00Z")
Actually, the “an” before “historic” is a British usage that, for some reason, TV announcers have picked up. “A historic event” was standard in the US until about 20 years ago. There’s no particular reason for it – since the H is aspirated (i.e., pronounced), “a” should be correct. If the H is not aspirated (e.g., "an honor), then “an” should be correct. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 1999, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vs-an/2583/9 "1999-08-13T16:18:00Z")
ChiefScott: > [@](#): > > “The Hermaphrodite Hippo and the Homosexual Horticulturalist” Ha! You call _that_ “H” alliteration? _Here’s_ “H” alliteration: [http://www.redmeat.com/redmeat/comics/rm\_397.htmlx](http://www.redmeat.com/redmeat/comics/rm_397.htmlx) * * * Chaim Mattis Keller [ckeller@schicktech.com](mailto:ckeller@schicktech.com) “Sherlock Holmes once said that once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the answer. I, however, do not like to eliminate the impossible. The impossible often has a kind of integrity to it that the merely improbable lacks.” – Douglas Adams’s Dirk Gently, Holistic Detective ---
**Author:** ![earendel1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c68b51/32.png) [@earendel1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/earendel1)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 1999, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vs-an/2583/10 "1999-08-14T05:30:00Z")
–quote– Jayron, your answer makes sense, but the theory must be tested: Can you offer other examples of where “an” is used with a word starting with “h” whose accent is not on the first syllable? Try these: a herMAPHrodite a hippoPOTamus a hortiCULturalist a homoSEXual Would you have suggested “an” for these? –end quote– Keeves, although these words do not have the main accent on the first syllable, some of them do have a secondary accent on that first syllable. Thus they would take “a” (such as “a hippopotamus” or “a horticulturalist”). Those without a stressed first syllable (primary or secondary) would take “an” (“an hermaphrodite”). ---
**Author:** ![Keeves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f05b48/32.png) [@Keeves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeves)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 1999, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vs-an/2583/11 "1999-08-14T05:38:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Ha! You call that “H” alliteration? Here’s “H” alliteration: [Ooo,"][http://www.redmeat.com/redmeat/comics/rm\_397.htmlx](http://www.redmeat.com/redmeat/comics/rm_397.htmlx) Ooo,]([http://www.redmeat.com/redmeat/comics/rm\_397.htmlx](http://www.redmeat.com/redmeat/comics/rm_397.htmlx)[/quote) no! Don’t go there, they use the word “horrific”! Anyone know how “horrific” got to be such a popular word? I never hear “horrible” or “horrifying” any more. “Horrific” belongs in Uranus. ---
**Author:** ![Keeves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f05b48/32.png) [@Keeves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeves)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 1999, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vs-an/2583/12 "1999-08-14T05:39:00Z")
Hhmmm, i wonder why the end-quote didn’t work. Sorry about that, folks. ---
**Author:** ![tokamak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@tokamak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tokamak)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 1999, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vs-an/2583/13 "1999-08-13T19:34:00Z")
“Anyone know how ‘horrific’ got to be such a popular word? I never hear ‘horrible’ or ‘horrifying’ any more.” This brings up something that’s been bothering me lately. “Terror” and “Horror” are pretty synonymous, or at least can both be read as words meaning something “bad.” The same can be said of “terrible” and “horrible,” “terrify” and “horrify,” and so on. Yet “terrific” and “horrific” are antonyms. What’s that all about? ---
**Author:** ![mr\_john](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@mr\_john](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr_john)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 1999, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vs-an/2583/14 "1999-08-13T23:43:00Z")
cmk, that was an ell of a halliteration hallright. tokamak,what are you trying to start by asking such an inflamatory question? ---
**Author:** ![Doobieous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Doobieous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doobieous)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 1999, 9:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vs-an/2583/15 "1999-08-14T09:35:00Z")
Here is my useage of “a” vs. “an”: If the article preceeds a noun that is pronounced with a vowel sound first, use “an”, if the noun is pronounces with a consonant first, use “a”. That’s how i go about it, and i have never been marked off for it :). Examples (the capitalized / bold letter is the one i pronounce first in the word): a **H** istoric event an h **E** rb ---
**Author:** ![Doobieous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Doobieous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doobieous)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 1999, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vs-an/2583/16 "1999-08-15T03:37:00Z")
Tokamak: i looked it up in my websters dictionary. The useage of “terrific” is really informal. It does have a second meaning of: “causing terror, terrifying”. The common useage is positive, but as with many words, they do change meaning. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 1999, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vs-an/2583/17 "1999-08-15T08:19:00Z")
The most basic form of the A/AN rule is: if the following word starts with a vowel sound (not necessarily a vowel - cf. uniform, hour), use AN. Else, use A. So, it would sound perfectly reasonable for someone with a thick British accent who pronounces “historical” as “'istorical” to say “an historical whatever”. The reason newscasters, then, would be prone to misuse it is obvious. “You know,” thinks the newscaster, “I’m a national icon. I’d better sound smart.” And you know that nothing says pretentious and educated (to Americans, anyway) like a fake British accent. So, even if they don’t want to adopt the entire inflection themselves, they might at least emulate the people with fake accents on this one small point. (Note: A comparable phenomenon is common among Humanities professors.) ---
**Author:** ![ebeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f4b2a3/32.png) [@ebeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ebeth)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 1999, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vs-an/2583/18 "1999-08-16T08:13:00Z")
On the similar (and posted earlier) topic concerning variant pronunciations (URanus, SHEDule, etc)…many of them are British in origin, and used by folks who are NOT AMERICAN. Just because people where YOU live murder the Queen’s English, doesn’t mean they’re wrong. –a disgruntled Canadian. ---
**Author:** ![Foghorn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b5a626/32.png) [@Foghorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foghorn)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 1999, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vs-an/2583/19 "1999-08-16T12:33:00Z")
Wait a minute… “An” uniform is correct usage? That just doesn’t sound right. Has anyone heard something in conversation like… “if you play for our team, we’ll give you an uniform.” I am thinking of throwing an hissy fit over this whole thing. “Me fail English? That’s UN-possible!” - Ralph Wiggum ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 1999, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vs-an/2583/20 "1999-08-16T18:31:00Z")
It’s more complicated than that, though. Educated speakers in England definitely pronounce the “h” in “historical”, and it is the educated speakers that Americans are imitating (if they are imitating anyone). Sometimes these things just happen – a hundred years ago, you could also hear “such an one” from educated British speakers. * * * John W. Kennedy “Compact is becoming contract; man only earns and pays.” – Charles Williams [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-vs-an/2583.md?page=2)