A or an

Mikeyam187
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Las Vegas, NV, USA
Edited Date/Time 3/30/2015 12:42pm
Part of the dumbing down of America is the poor grammar which was placed upon us about a dozen years ago, when there was what seemed like a directive from out of the blue.
There was an article which was written by some Journalist/former Teacher who said that, we are all using the word "an" and the letter "a" in the wrong context and voila, that's all it took for a whole generation of people to start using them wrong.
I bring this up, because I see such a large percentage of people using them incorrectly... even journalists writing for major organizations.
I'm not bringing this up because of the incorrect usage on this board, although I do see plenty of it here, but just a general knowledge/help for someone who is unsure of the correct usage.
I'm no English scholar but it is really troublesome to see so much incorrect use of these words.

If it doesn't sound right...it is probably wrong!

Use "a" before a consonant.
Use "an" before a vowel or vowel sound.


http://www.edufind.com/english-grammar/indefinite-articles/
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XXVoid MainXX
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3/27/2015 8:52pm
Peeple reely dont no this?
Old-Man
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3/27/2015 10:06pm
Give me a break man, I just crawled out of the Ocean six million years ago and evolved to what I am now about 200,000 years ago and Civilization as we know it is only 6,000 years old.

Learn how to speak? thats changing about every 50 years so ya I will Use "a" before a consonant.
Use "an" before a vowel or vowel sound.
71Fish
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Ogden, UT, USA
3/27/2015 10:21pm
"I'm no English scholar"
Should be I'm "not an" English scholar.
3/27/2015 10:54pm
I have people calling asking for At(Name) ie @SallySmith
I ask them who the fuck is At? There is no At here. Wrong number asswipe.

I used to think AC was somewhat smart for a kid, and he sent a tweet with 2 words and 10 hashtags recently.
Why not just say Thanks to 10 sponsors so you dont look like an illiterate toothless hick?

Fuckin myspace hookers looked more literate than most of todays grown ups.

The Shop

motogeezer
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3/28/2015 12:31am
Old-Man wrote:
Give me a break man, I just crawled out of the Ocean six million years ago and evolved to what I am now about 200,000 years...
Give me a break man, I just crawled out of the Ocean six million years ago and evolved to what I am now about 200,000 years ago and Civilization as we know it is only 6,000 years old.

Learn how to speak? thats changing about every 50 years so ya I will Use "a" before a consonant.
Use "an" before a vowel or vowel sound.
It's nice to see a moto-head with such a firm grasp of human evolution.

Would you say that the advent of cuneiform script in c. 3000 BCE was an historic event?
121ANM
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3/28/2015 3:53am
I saw an unicorn.
XXVoid MainXX
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3/28/2015 6:00am
121ANM wrote:
I saw an unicorn.
Did you see it at an university?
XXVoid MainXX
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3/28/2015 6:04am Edited Date/Time 3/28/2015 6:05am
If I had an ukulele I could play you an unicorn song in an uniform at an university.
scooter5002
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3/28/2015 6:05am
Welcome to my world. Bad grammar in general, drives me insane, it's my biggest pet peeve. Do NOT get me started on the use of the word "Like".
121ANM
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3/28/2015 6:36am
I like saw like an unicorn.
FLmxer
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Fantasy
3/28/2015 6:40am
Yes I cringe when I hear most people try and put together a sentence. I was a surfer as a kid and everywhere I went people said they loved my lingo. It was probably the start of a generation of thinking it's ok to sounds illiterate and now it's just normal. I would like to apologize to the human race for my actions that led to the stupidity that is so normal these days.
Horndawg
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3/28/2015 6:47am
FUCK YALL OF YUS!
3/28/2015 7:00am
Welcome to my world. Bad grammar in general, drives me insane, it's my biggest pet peeve. Do NOT get me started on the use of the...
Welcome to my world. Bad grammar in general, drives me insane, it's my biggest pet peeve. Do NOT get me started on the use of the word "Like".
Add "actually" and "seriously" to the list.
brlatm
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3/28/2015 7:07am
Welcome to my world. Bad grammar in general, drives me insane, it's my biggest pet peeve. Do NOT get me started on the use of the...
Welcome to my world. Bad grammar in general, drives me insane, it's my biggest pet peeve. Do NOT get me started on the use of the word "Like".
And using shorthand when texting. I have a standing rule with my kids that no shorthand will be used at all.
XXVoid MainXX
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3/28/2015 8:03am Edited Date/Time 3/28/2015 8:03am
Welcome to my world. Bad grammar in general, drives me insane, it's my biggest pet peeve. Do NOT get me started on the use of the...
Welcome to my world. Bad grammar in general, drives me insane, it's my biggest pet peeve. Do NOT get me started on the use of the word "Like".
brlatm wrote:
And using shorthand when texting. I have a standing rule with my kids that no shorthand will be used at all.
omg r u sirius? k
121ANM
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3/28/2015 8:40am
Omg k
3/28/2015 11:06am
What about when the newsies say "a historical" instead of "an historical"
TM
3/28/2015 11:46am
Every motocrosser starts every answer with Yah No. Or Ummmmmm

How was your race?

Yah No, It was OK.

Yah No, it was a little muddy at first.

Yah No, the bike was running great.

How come they just can't talk normal? Like Kimi Raikonnen.

How come you didn't go to Michael Schumachers award deal(Paraphrasing here)

"I was having a shit!"




Falcon
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3/28/2015 12:54pm
I hate it when people say "supposably."

Or, "breaking bumps." What, are there moving parts in them that are about ready to not function anymore?
scooter5002
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3/28/2015 1:29pm
Welcome to my world. Bad grammar in general, drives me insane, it's my biggest pet peeve. Do NOT get me started on the use of the...
Welcome to my world. Bad grammar in general, drives me insane, it's my biggest pet peeve. Do NOT get me started on the use of the word "Like".
Add "actually" and "seriously" to the list.
Totally.
motogeezer
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3/28/2015 2:54pm
Horndawg wrote:
FUCK YALL OF YUS!
Who let Thomas in here?
SEEMEFIRST
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3/28/2015 5:27pm
Welcome to my world. Bad grammar in general, drives me insane, it's my biggest pet peeve. Do NOT get me started on the use of the...
Welcome to my world. Bad grammar in general, drives me insane, it's my biggest pet peeve. Do NOT get me started on the use of the word "Like".
Add "actually" and "seriously" to the list.
Let's not forget "literally". So everything you've said up to now, when you didn't include the "literally" qualifier, has been bullshit? Another one of my favorites is "At this point in time". That's a long way of saying "Now".
Old-Man
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3/28/2015 7:01pm
Welcome to my world. Bad grammar in general, drives me insane, it's my biggest pet peeve. Do NOT get me started on the use of the...
Welcome to my world. Bad grammar in general, drives me insane, it's my biggest pet peeve. Do NOT get me started on the use of the word "Like".
Add "actually" and "seriously" to the list.
Totally.
seriously!?!
DownSouth
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Tallapoosa, GA, USA
3/28/2015 7:27pm
I listened to the Racer X podcast today with Ricky Johnson and Jeff Stanton,and Stanton said "flustrated" at least 3-4 times.

That must be some sort of frustrated/flustered hybrid. Laughing
121ANM
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3/28/2015 9:50pm
I exspecially like this thread.
SEEMEFIRST
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3/28/2015 10:40pm
121ANM wrote:
I exspecially like this thread.
Just don't ax for another one, or you might need an escape goat.
PalerBlue
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3/29/2015 2:31am Edited Date/Time 3/29/2015 2:36am
ToolMaker wrote:
What about when the newsies say "a historical" instead of "an historical"
TM
You're the second person to ask that in this thread but the drivel continues unabated Sad .

In answer to your question this one seems to have come over from America to Britain in the last thirty years. I don't know why it started or why it's been accepted but the BBC now do it, so it's now "correct" I suppose. The reason why I particularly notice it is because I've always done it. When you're a rough speaking Londoner, like I am, you drop your aitches and it rounds right but when you talk correctly, it just sounds so wrong

P.s. Pet peeves of mine are pronoucing the letter 'H' with an 'H' and escape as "excape" (this ones becoming increasingly common)
SEEMEFIRST
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3/29/2015 2:42am
ToolMaker wrote:
What about when the newsies say "a historical" instead of "an historical"
TM
PalerBlue wrote:
You're the second person to ask that in this thread but the drivel continues unabated :( . In answer to your question this one seems to...
You're the second person to ask that in this thread but the drivel continues unabated Sad .

In answer to your question this one seems to have come over from America to Britain in the last thirty years. I don't know why it started or why it's been accepted but the BBC now do it, so it's now "correct" I suppose. The reason why I particularly notice it is because I've always done it. When you're a rough speaking Londoner, like I am, you drop your aitches and it rounds right but when you talk correctly, it just sounds so wrong

P.s. Pet peeves of mine are pronoucing the letter 'H' with an 'H' and escape as "excape" (this ones becoming increasingly common)
You guys have done away with the "R" in most cases, might as well toss the "H" as well.

Grab the caa so we can go to the baa and listen to some guitaa.

Not sure how one goes through life there if there last name ended in an "R". You'd have to spell it every time. Wink
PalerBlue
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3/29/2015 4:24am
ToolMaker wrote:
What about when the newsies say "a historical" instead of "an historical"
TM
PalerBlue wrote:
You're the second person to ask that in this thread but the drivel continues unabated :( . In answer to your question this one seems to...
You're the second person to ask that in this thread but the drivel continues unabated Sad .

In answer to your question this one seems to have come over from America to Britain in the last thirty years. I don't know why it started or why it's been accepted but the BBC now do it, so it's now "correct" I suppose. The reason why I particularly notice it is because I've always done it. When you're a rough speaking Londoner, like I am, you drop your aitches and it rounds right but when you talk correctly, it just sounds so wrong

P.s. Pet peeves of mine are pronoucing the letter 'H' with an 'H' and escape as "excape" (this ones becoming increasingly common)
SEEMEFIRST wrote:
You guys have done away with the "R" in most cases, might as well toss the "H" as well. Grab the caa so we can go...
You guys have done away with the "R" in most cases, might as well toss the "H" as well.

Grab the caa so we can go to the baa and listen to some guitaa.

Not sure how one goes through life there if there last name ended in an "R". You'd have to spell it every time. Wink
As a Peter, I manage quite nicely thank you! Tongue

It get pronounced sort of Pee-tah with the T being very soft. As opposesd to when I was in the States, when it went something like Pee-derrr.
3/29/2015 7:35am
If I watch Frasier, I can understand Daphne perfectly and actually think she sounds sexy. I watch a Netflix movie where they are speaking Queens English and I can't understand a fucking word they are saying. Smile You guys type pretty though. Tongue

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