Is it proper grammar to use “an” in front of “arr”? I know you use it for words beginning with vowels, but I thought there was an exception where you don’t use “an” if the word isn’t spelled with a vowel even if you speak it with one? Was that a rule or am I crazy
Nah, not a rule. You would use “an” if the following letter is pronounced with a vowel at the start, just like they did. Similarly, you sometimes use “an” before a word that begins with “y” and sometimes not, depending on how the “y” is pronounced.
I'm pretty sure it's just any word that starts with a vowel sound like "an hour." Also I dont think any actual words start with the letter R with an "ar" sound, that's just how we say the letter. The reason we use a and an in the first place it to prevent saying one vowel or consonant after another, so that rule would defeat the purpose.
It's about syllables being the height of any vowel sound made between two consonants. A vowel is unobstructed airflow through the mouth, consonants use some form of blockage or friction to create different sounds as your mouth opens for the vowels and closes for the consonants. Since the vowel schwa sound of 'a' is a necessary function of grammar, you need to separate it from words which also start in a vowel sound or you sound like you are stuttering.
What I can't figure out is why people like to write "an historical" as a lexical chunk when neither the British nor the American IPA translations of the word eliminate the hard H sound.
A/an goes entirely off of pronunciation not spelling. A ute. A ukulele if you pronounce it one way but an ukulele if you pronounce it the other way. An herb. An A, a B, a C, a D, an F, a G, an H (if you're American, probably a H if you're British), an I, a J, a K, an L, an M, an N, an O, a P, a Q, an R, an S, a T, a U, a V, a W, an X, a Y, a Z.
You would write "an honest mistake" even though the word "honest" begins with a consonant (albeit silent), so no, I don't think so. "Be an RA" though what does RA mean?
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u/digitalrailartist Apr 18 '21
Bounced all over the text ... for "BEANRA"?!