TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: a or an From:Kelley Sheppard <ksheppar -at- mailbox1 -dot- tcfbank -dot- com> To:roberta -dot- boyle -at- lmc -dot- ericsson -dot- se, techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com Date:Thu, 14 Oct 1999 17:16:43 -0500
I've always thought the general rule was if the first syllable of the
following
word is a vowel sound (not necessarily a vowel) you should use "an"; if
it's a
consonant sound you use "a." So in this case you would say "an" because
M
sounds like im (short i). I think this also applies to silent H, e.g.,
"an
hour."
Roberta Boyle (LMC) wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I know this question is quite basic, but we are in disagreement here.
I
> would like to know which
> to use, a or an in the following heading:
>
> Defining an MSC
> Defining a MSC