RE: A/An
:: *a* before a word that begins with a consonant. *an* before
:: a word that begins with a vowel.
Though it *sounds* ok to say "An HTML
document..." it's technically incorrect because once you expand the acronym,
you get "An hypertext markup language document". ...
Little Brown says that the rule involves consonant sounds, not just consonants, as in "a house" but "an hour." It goes on to address abbreviations/acronyms stating that it depends upon how the term is intended to be read, i.e., pronounced as a word, as in "a SALT treaty," or read as separate letters, like "HTML." The expansion is irrelevant.
Abbreviation expansion software used to monkey this up, but the newer versions seem a bit more sensitive.
--
Georgia Green, CMT
Director of Education
HEALTH PROFESSIONS INSTITUTE
Leaders in Medical Transcription Products
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RE: A/An: From: Swallow, William
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