> **Possible Duplicate:**  
> [“a” or “an” for words that don't start with vowels but sound like they're starting with a vowel](http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/1019/a-or-an-for-words-that-dont-start-with-vowels-but-sound-like-theyre-startin)  
> [Do you use “a” or “an” before acronyms?](http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/1016/do-you-use-a-or-an-before-acronyms)  
> [Does one use 'a' or 'an' before the word X-Ray?](http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/8181/does-one-use-a-or-an-before-the-word-x-ray)  
> [Use of “a” versus “an”](http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/152/use-of-a-versus-an/164)  

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I understand that "an" has to be used whenever the next word phonetically begins with a vowel. But in this case *L.V.* is an abbreviation.