“a” vs “an”, c’mon, man!

an ATM machine.

an FMS system

um.
 
eman1200 said:
I can’t take it anymore. we all know my grammar, punctuation and speling is about the finest PoA has to offer….. but I am absolutely flabbergasted by the repeated misuse of ‘a’ vs ‘an’ and vise versa. SOOOO many incorrect examples, I don’t feel like searching for them all but does this bother anyone else? Holy cr@p I’m about to have an conniption!

- You got A flight review, not AN flight review.

- You didn’t go to AN museum, you went to A museum.

- You didn’t read AN thread on proper grammar, you read A thread.

Here’s an quick summary from the gpt:

“A” vs. “An” – Quick Summary:
• Use “a” before words that begin with a consonant sound.
• Example: a dog, a university (sounds like “you-niversity”)
• Use “an” before words that begin with a vowel sound.
• Example: an apple, an hour (the “h” is silent)

Key Rule: It’s the sound, not the actual letter, that matters.


these are the things that keep me up at night, folks. maybe I should start an thread on correct capitalization as well.
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Tiktok VS Tiktalk
 
Half Fast said:
A few years ago when I was working on some document or other for LockMart, I got into an email argument with a young 20-something editor regarding the two spaces after a period. She kept insisting that I stop using two spaces. I finally told her, "My thumb has been automatically double-tapping the space bar for over 45 years and it's not going to stop. I think you need to be more inclusive of the elderly and accept a little diversity in our style."

That was the last I heard about it.
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Fear not, blessed elder. A simple auto-correct term will turn your geriatric thumb spasms into spaces appropriate for this marvelous modern age! You can feel valued and accepted while the rest of us don't have to put up with chasms between sentences! Alternatively, that bright young 20-something--doubtless brimming over with worldly knowledge and smiling indulgently at your charmingly crotchety ways--can invoke a simple find-and-replace once you've logged out from AOL; a solution that shows great respect while correcting old-timey ways!

As fun as this is, I confess that I was taught the double-space during a typing class in the early Nineties ("late 20th Century") while in high school. It took me years for that habit to eventually fade.
 
gregjay said:
How about saying “I could care less” instead of “I couldn’t care less”
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Yeah, this one invariably makes me want to ask how much they care, since they're indicating that they do. It's a prime example of people saying a thing without thinking about what the words actually mean.
 
eman1200 said:
“A” vs. “An” – Quick Summary:
• Use “a” before words that begin with a consonant sound.
• Example: a dog, a university (sounds like “you-niversity”)
• Use “an” before words that begin with a vowel sound.
• Example: an apple, an hour (the “h” is silent)
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But you can read A thread about AN threads.

Palmer Lucky won a law suit because he ALWAYS put two spaces after the period at the end of a sentence. Questions arose whether an email was genuine, and his counsel demonstrated that Palmer habitually put two spaces at the end of a sentence. He won millions.
 
LesGawlik said:
But you can read A thread about AN threads.
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I thought you used AN threads because they have a tensile strength of 125,000 psi and a shear strength of 76,000 psi. And when overstressed, AN bolts bend, rather than snap, since they are not as brittle as SAE bolts. :)
 
AvNavCom said:
As fun as this is, I confess that I was taught the double-space during a typing class in the early Nineties ("late 20th Century") while in high school. It took me years for that habit to eventually fade.
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:yeahthat:

I learned to type in the mid '70s, so you can imagine how deeply ingrained that habit is, and frankly I'm not the least bit motivated to even try to change it.
 
Bob Noel said:
an automatic teller machine machine sounds right?
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or is it an automatic-teller-machine?

About the two spaces after a period. I thought that this was a rule. I've done it for as long as I can remember and don't know if I'll ever break the habit.
I understand that it's a throwback to equal spaced letters, but why does that matter if it's a rule? Lots of writing rules are throwbacks to the old days.
Well now, if what I see in a very superficial google search is true and also what you folks have stated here, then I have learned something. Too many decades of double spaces behind periods. Also, I think it looks a bit better. Besides, there's no rule against it as far as I can tell so I'm not likely to change the habit.
 
eman1200 said:
I can’t take it anymore. we all know my grammar, punctuation and speling is about the finest PoA has to offer….. but I am absolutely flabbergasted by the repeated misuse of ‘a’ vs ‘an’ and vise versa. SOOOO many incorrect examples, I don’t feel like searching for them all but does this bother anyone else? Holy cr@p I’m about to have an conniption!

- You got A flight review, not AN flight review.

- You didn’t go to AN museum, you went to A museum.

- You didn’t read AN thread on proper grammar, you read A thread.

Here’s an quick summary from the gpt:

“A” vs. “An” – Quick Summary:
• Use “a” before words that begin with a consonant sound.
• Example: a dog, a university (sounds like “you-niversity”)
• Use “an” before words that begin with a vowel sound.
• Example: an apple, an hour (the “h” is silent)

Key Rule: It’s the sound, not the actual letter, that matters.


these are the things that keep me up at night, folks. maybe I should start an thread on correct capitalization as well.
Click to expand...

Caring about punctuation and grammar isn’t just about being picky—it’s about readability. Errors are like speed bumps. They slow us down. For example, writing in all caps or starting a sentence with a lowercase letter requires extra mental effort to read. If the information is important, we’ll make the effort to read through it, but for casual reading, people are likely to just move on to something else.
 
sarangan said:
Caring about punctuation and grammar isn’t just about being picky—it’s about readability. Errors are like speed bumps. They slow us down. For example, writing in all caps or starting a sentence with a lowercase letter requires extra mental effort to read. If the information is important, we’ll make the effort to read through it, but for casual reading, people are likely to just move on to something else.
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agree and disagree. as you can see, the words 'agree' and 'as' took no longer to read than if they were capitalized. but when you read something like "I had an flight review and when I passed I got an hooker", you literally sound dumber for reading it as typed. it slows the flow of speaking because, well, because it's just wrong. I get it, it's wrong not to capitalize the first word of a sentence, but 'sarangan' reads no differently than 'Sarangan'.
 
eman1200 said:
agree and disagree. as you can see, the words 'agree' and 'as' took no longer to read than if they were capitalized. but when you read something like "I had an flight review and when I passed I got an hooker", you literally sound dumber for reading it as typed. it slows the flow of speaking because, well, because it's just wrong. I get it, it's wrong not to capitalize the first word of a sentence, but 'sarangan' reads no differently than 'Sarangan'.
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You sound dumber for forgetting the blow
 
eman1200 said:
argee and dasierge. as you can see, the wrods 'arege' and 'as' took no lgoner to read tahn if tehy were cizteapiald. but wehn you read stmhnioeg like "I had an filght reveiw and when I psesad I got an hoekor", you lilalrety sonud demubr for rdieang it as tepyd. it sowls the flow of snakipeg buscaee, wlel, bcuseae it's jsut wnrog. I get it, it's wnorg not to calaiptize the first word of a stnecnee, but 'sanragan' redas no defltrenify tahn 'Sagarnan'.
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FTFY
 
eman1200 said:
agree and disagree. as you can see, the words 'agree' and 'as' took no longer to read than if they were capitalized. but when you read something like "I had an flight review and when I passed I got an hooker", you literally sound dumber for reading it as typed. it slows the flow of speaking because, well, because it's just wrong. I get it, it's wrong not to capitalize the first word of a sentence, but 'sarangan' reads no differently than 'Sarangan'.
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otoh - in this day, there are plenty of examples where people make editing errors and cut/paste errors, so there is always the possibility that starting a sentence without the leading cap could indicate that there are words missing from the beginning of the sentence.
 
Bob Noel said:
otoh - in this day, there are plenty of examples where people make editing errors and cut/paste errors, so there is always the possibility that starting a sentence without the leading cap could indicate that there are words missing from the beginning of the sentence.
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that’s an stretch, but ok.
 
What I don’t understand is people who cannot spell YouTube correctly. For crying out loud, it’s right there on the app! It’s not utube, but an annoying number of people spell it as such.
 
ateamer said:
What I don’t understand is people who cannot spell YouTube correctly. For crying out loud, it’s right there on the app! It’s not utube, but an annoying number of people spell it as such.
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Which brings up the rise of Camel Case in the internet era.
 
ateamer said:
What I don’t understand is people who cannot spell YouTube correctly. For crying out loud, it’s right there on the app! It’s not utube, but an annoying number of people spell it as such.
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I've done that plenty. fewer keyboard clicks. I also do u for you and r for are along with plenty of others.
 
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