I need help with english. I'm not sure if this should go in >>>/int/ but i figure you're the ones more interested in the english language.
>a identification number
>an identification number
>a player identification number
>an player identification number
What is correct and why?
an identification number
a players identification number
You write an if the VERY next word begins with an I, A, E, O
Fuck you
>>7811267
Actually if the SOUND is a vowel. It's an hour, not a hour.
>>7811275
It's easier to remember this way, but you are right
Thanks.
>You write an if the VERY next word begins with an I, A, E, O
But why is this? Seems like a very random and arbitrary rule, to me.
>>7811275
But it is not an historic
Shit pisses me off
>>7811322
As I understand, it has to do with phonetic flow.
In practice, english speakers don't pronounce "a" with the long vowel sound (as in "ape"). As a preposition or an indefinite article, "a" and "an" are pronounced like "uh" and "un".
The goal of "a" and "an" is to make a phrase easier and more natural to say, because it forces you to go from open to closed, or from closed to open. Without "an", you would either slur two words together (like uuuAPPLE) or you would have to awkwardly pause between the two (uh--apple).
With "an" you can quickly get out both words without sacrificing clarity (unAPPLE).
This might not be a linguistically sound explanation, but it's the way I've always thought about "a" vs "an".
>>7811373
Cool. Thanks.
>>7811324
Depends on how you pronounce it.
>>7811324
Actually, it should be said "an historian, an history, an historic" etc
>>7811448
Maybe if you're a cahnt
Reminder that americans should be banned from speaking english
>>7811324
Historic is pronounced with the aspirated h sound, whereas the h is silent in hour. It's all about pronunciation and not about spelling.
>>7811261
Hey, dude. I'm a writing-tutor.
chompchomp.com has a number of great exercises you can work through.
Buy "Laugh your way through Grammar" (amazon.com/Laugh-Your-Way-Through-Grammar/dp/0877207852) and "The Only Grammar Book You'll Ever Need: A One-Stop Source for Every Writing Assignment" (amazon.com/Only-Grammar-Book-Youll-Ever/dp/1580628559/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1457988664&sr=1-1&keywords=the+only+grammar+book+you%27ll+ever+need)
These are great resources, and I can't emphasize enough how helpful they are to ESL students.
Good luck
>>7811261
"Identification" starts with a vowel.
"Player" does not.
A player
An identification number.
It's just to make it roll off the tongue better.
a-identification number would make too many consecutive vowel sounds and this isn't hawaiian.
>>7811981
Why not just always use 'an'?
Are corgies the most literary puppers?
>>7812248
Like "an", "a" also makes certain things roll off the tongue better. It's slightly less clunky. This is probably why it developed naturally
>>7812361
>Shouldn't a vowel be inserted
Two consecutive "n"s roll off the tongue pretty easily. No need to muck that up with extra noise. It seems to me like you're just trying to be thick. Unless english is your second language, in which case I apologize for english. The linguists don't like it either. It's riddled with extra patchy nonsense like the past tense of "Bring" being "Brought" instead of "Bringed" and things like that.
>>7812389
"rolls off the tongue" and "it just sounds right" are not very helpful, as far as arguments go. Even if it seems to be the strategy of choice of most people for dealing with grammar. And not just for English either.
>>7811448
Only if you have a meme accent.
>>7812500
Vague shit like "it rolls off the tongue" is exactly how languages evolve, anon, you're going to have to get over it.
n goes before a vowel to make it easier to say, because people instinctively don't like pausing
>a illness
makes you go
>a ___STOP!!!!!___ illness"
in your brain to differentiate the vowels, whereas anillness can be spoken as part of the continuous word soup that we naturally want to speak in at all times
for what it's worth, every language does this. french adds a l' to certain words beginning with vowels sometimes even when no article or meaning is intended. it's just an extra sound to avoid to avoid vowels' balls touching.
>>7812571
No, yes, i know this. I was jut saying it's not very helpful when trying do something 'correctly'. Especially for a second language.
>>7812583
>an extra sound to avoid to avoid vowels' balls touching
ha! i guess this is as good an explanation as any
>>7812618
Languajatwa
