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Do you use “a” or “an” before acronyms?
Why do we write 'He has an MA' and not ' a MA' even though MA does not begin with a vowel? Can anybody give me anymore examples like it?
asked May 4, 2011 at 9:29
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1Dear nicholas, at 1.4k rep I would expect you to search the site first. This question gets asked over and over and over and over and over again. (And I could go on, but I've run out of space.)– RegDwigнtCommented May 4, 2011 at 10:35
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1 Answer
We write "an MA" rather than "a MA" because the choice of article is decided by pronunciation and "M" is pronounced with an initial vowel sound.
Other examples:
- an FTP transfer
- an HMRC office
- an L-plate
- an MOT test
- an NCP car-park
- an RAC van
- an SSD device
- an X-Ray image
- an MSc in Chemistry
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I like your answer because you get a point in 1,5 lines. If you could give an example, it would be perfect. (Don't get me wrong, it's not bad as it is now, I just like to be super-explicit ahah).– AlenannoCommented May 4, 2011 at 10:01
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Gets tricky with SQL - depends if your pronounce it as ess-queue-ell or sequel– mgbCommented May 4, 2011 at 15:37