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Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Education / Can Anyone Please Explain The Use Of "AN" And Not "A" In This Sentence. (3164 Views)
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Can Anyone Please Explain The Use Of "AN" And Not "A" In This Sentence. by Honest2(m): 9:40pm On Apr 07, 2020 |
Hello ladies and gents!! Can anyone please explain the use of "AN" and not "A" in this sentence below. Dear customers,you will receive 'an' SMS with your data balance shortly. Airtel always show me this sentence anytime I try to check my data balance I thought the correct word there should be 'A' SMS instead of "AN" SMS . I'm confuse, you guys should help me out.. Thanks in anticipation |
Re: Can Anyone Please Explain The Use Of "AN" And Not "A" In This Sentence. by Oshin56(m): 9:45pm On Apr 07, 2020 |
MICHAELSERIOUSB:bro you know even sabi scam. Which club or country they play match for this covid19 issue. |
Re: Can Anyone Please Explain The Use Of "AN" And Not "A" In This Sentence. by Makavelli25: 9:49pm On Apr 07, 2020 |
Words that start with consonant will take "a" Words that start with vowels will take "an" "A" is a vowel so "An Apple" "B" is consonant so "A Ball" Thats how it is The person that typed that message didnt do english in school 10 Likes 3 Shares |
Re: Can Anyone Please Explain The Use Of "AN" And Not "A" In This Sentence. by Jackossky(m): 9:58pm On Apr 07, 2020 |
Makavelli25: Pronounce the word 'SMS' verbally and you might notice why it's 'an' and not 'a' 55 Likes 1 Share |
Re: Can Anyone Please Explain The Use Of "AN" And Not "A" In This Sentence. by MrBachelor: 9:58pm On Apr 07, 2020 |
Words with a vowel sound are preceded with the article "an". And words with a consonant sound are preceded with the article "a". Thus, "S" in that sentence has the vowel sound "e". It is pronounced as /es/. Therefore, the sentence is correct. To further explain, take the letter /U/ in the following words; Umbrella and Uniform. In "Umbrella" the letter /U/ has a vowel sound, while in "Uniform" it has a consonant sound. Same letter but different sounds. Consequently, when using any in a sentence you would have "an umbrella" and "a uniform". In conclusion, the sound, and not the letter, of the first letter of a word determines the article to be used. I hope this helps. Modified: I thank everyone that mentioned me for their feedbacks. We are all learners. Aquilapriscilla: Good day! I'm sorry, I do not know of any app nor site that I can recommend. However, search play store and you may find what you need. Also, you can install grammarly in your PC to aid your written English. Finally, anytime you feel unsure about a grammar ask Google. It has vast resources and materials. Indeed, you may ask Google for the best site or app to improve your English. Warm regards. 128 Likes 7 Shares |
Re: Can Anyone Please Explain The Use Of "AN" And Not "A" In This Sentence. by Makavelli25: 10:00pm On Apr 07, 2020 |
Jackossky:S m S i dont get it bro |
Re: Can Anyone Please Explain The Use Of "AN" And Not "A" In This Sentence. by cingelai(f): 10:02pm On Apr 07, 2020 |
The use of 'an' in that sentence is correct. 'a' is used in words starting in consonant words/sounds, while 'an' is used with words starting with vowel words/sounds. In this sentence, SMS is transcribed as /es-em-es/. When pronouncing it, vowel is the first sound being pronounced. Another example, honour /ɒnə/ we use 'an' when pronouncing honour. eg; It was an honour to be here. 11 Likes 1 Share |
Re: Can Anyone Please Explain The Use Of "AN" And Not "A" In This Sentence. by economia1: 10:05pm On Apr 07, 2020 |
Makavelli25:eS M eS 10 Likes |
Re: Can Anyone Please Explain The Use Of "AN" And Not "A" In This Sentence. by dprpikin: 10:07pm On Apr 07, 2020 |
cingelai: Op, you can take this to the bank. 4 Likes |
Re: Can Anyone Please Explain The Use Of "AN" And Not "A" In This Sentence. by Kylekent59: 10:08pm On Apr 07, 2020 |
Makavelli25: Look who scaled through school. He is even abusive with no manners. You are just embarrassing yourself. At OP[Honest2], It's pronounced 'ESS EM ESS', which starts with a vowel, so I would say 'an SMS', and I can't imagine that I would write it differently. 17 Likes |
Re: Can Anyone Please Explain The Use Of "AN" And Not "A" In This Sentence. by Makavelli25: 10:20pm On Apr 07, 2020 |
Kylekent59:Wow,now i get We learn everyday my brother No need for the insult 4 Likes |
Re: Can Anyone Please Explain The Use Of "AN" And Not "A" In This Sentence. by vertueptime: 10:20pm On Apr 07, 2020 |
You can choose to remove both " n or a "And the sentence will still flow, tactically dodging the wahala |
Re: Can Anyone Please Explain The Use Of "AN" And Not "A" In This Sentence. by Yustash001(m): 10:30pm On Apr 07, 2020 |
To every rule there are exceptions I think it's for the ease of pronunciation...... Look at word like "uniform"... Ordinarily it should be AN " uniform " But I think the correct usage is A because of the pronunciation There are rules like that in languages... e.g arabiyah 1 Like 1 Share |
Re: Can Anyone Please Explain The Use Of "AN" And Not "A" In This Sentence. by GuestLog: 10:31pm On Apr 07, 2020 |
MrBachelor:This makes a lot sense to me and I agree. |
Re: Can Anyone Please Explain The Use Of "AN" And Not "A" In This Sentence. by Nobody: 10:36pm On Apr 07, 2020 |
I saw it coming. |
Re: Can Anyone Please Explain The Use Of "AN" And Not "A" In This Sentence. by etrange: 10:40pm On Apr 07, 2020 |
Yustash001: This is not even a case of exception. The rule says "an" is used before words that start with vowel sounds while "a" is used before words that start with consonant sounds. Note that it is the first sound of the word that matters not the first letter. The word "SMS" clearly starts with a vowel sound /e/ and that's makes it clear why "an" is used. 1 Like |
Re: Can Anyone Please Explain The Use Of "AN" And Not "A" In This Sentence. by Honest2(m): 10:56pm On Apr 07, 2020 |
Kylekent59: what's 'ESS EM ESS',?? |
Re: Can Anyone Please Explain The Use Of "AN" And Not "A" In This Sentence. by Kylekent59: 11:03pm On Apr 07, 2020 |
Honest2: Don't tell me you haven't read what a guy commented above. It's all about the sound. 2 Likes |
Re: Can Anyone Please Explain The Use Of "AN" And Not "A" In This Sentence. by UdyOgwoUde(m): 11:38pm On Apr 07, 2020 |
Makavelli25: An SMS is the correct one because the word "SMS" begins with a vowel sound when it is pronounced. Another perfect example is "an hour". Hour is typically pronounced with a silent H - an hour. Therefore, "An" depends on pronounciation, not spelling. 1 Like |
Re: Can Anyone Please Explain The Use Of "AN" And Not "A" In This Sentence. by sylvez(m): 11:42pm On Apr 07, 2020 |
Jackossky: ‘A sms’ sound somehow na |
Re: Can Anyone Please Explain The Use Of "AN" And Not "A" In This Sentence. by Stillthebest: 1:08am On Apr 08, 2020 |
In case of SMS, you actually would need to deal with the sound. It was pronounced as a bowel sound. Same way you can't call "a honour" same way you can't say "A SMS" It is pronounced as "an honour" and "An SMS" The " és" in the initial of the acronym is is subject of the debate. So, it is an SMS An honour etc. |
Re: Can Anyone Please Explain The Use Of "AN" And Not "A" In This Sentence. by Katier00(f): 2:41am On Apr 08, 2020 |
Makavelli25:Mr op, instead of you to state your concern and wait for others to give their take on it, you dey here dey abuse another person say she no school. Na for primary 4 dey teach us consonant and vowel sound and how the first two words determines the sound 1 Like |
Re: Can Anyone Please Explain The Use Of "AN" And Not "A" In This Sentence. by makavele: 3:10am On Apr 08, 2020 |
Yustash001: Nope , the "U" in uniform begins with /ju/ sound pronounced as "yuuuu" as in "you". Y [ pronounced as *yii* and not *why* ] is a consonant, literally speaking. So you must say "A uniform" . Same goes for "Eunuch", starts with an "A".... |
Re: Can Anyone Please Explain The Use Of "AN" And Not "A" In This Sentence. by Yustash001(m): 3:56am On Apr 08, 2020 |
etrange: makavele:Thanks....Now I get it better... I was actually speaking from my primary school knowledge.. 4 Likes |
Re: Can Anyone Please Explain The Use Of "AN" And Not "A" In This Sentence. by Nobody: 5:40am On Apr 08, 2020 |
Answers have been supplied by intelligent people up there. Thanks but in addition there are some words that take both 'a' and 'an' example is habitue |
Re: Can Anyone Please Explain The Use Of "AN" And Not "A" In This Sentence. by rex444(m): 5:49am On Apr 08, 2020 |
whatever word whose phonetics starts with a vowel sound goes with ""an"" |
Re: Can Anyone Please Explain The Use Of "AN" And Not "A" In This Sentence. by earthsync(f): 6:03am On Apr 08, 2020 |
eS eM eS not Si M Si |
Re: Can Anyone Please Explain The Use Of "AN" And Not "A" In This Sentence. by femi4: 6:40am On Apr 08, 2020 |
Honest2:SMS is pronounced as "ES EM S". Hence, the vowel sound "E" goes with definite article "an" The use of a or an is a function of sound not spelling |
Re: Can Anyone Please Explain The Use Of "AN" And Not "A" In This Sentence. by frankyychiji(f): 6:49am On Apr 08, 2020 |
Makavelli25:The word is ESEMES. |
Re: Can Anyone Please Explain The Use Of "AN" And Not "A" In This Sentence. by kingPhidel(m): 7:24am On Apr 08, 2020 |
Well.. I know one thing! "an" is used on words that start with "a,e,i,o,u" period. So think and correct yourself |
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