a or an

[a...]

Hello

I tried an exam for biggeners but I surbrised the answers

With " U " as in union :
Is it a union or an union ?

with " X " :
Is it an x-ray or a x-ray ?

and Why ??

[Soup]

Hello

I tried an exam for beginners but I was surprised by the answers:

With " U " as in union :
Is it a union or an union ?

with " X " :
Is it an x-ray or a x-ray ?

and Why?

Use 'an' before vowel sounds and 'a' before consonant sounds. The first sound in "union" is not a vowel. It's the same sound in "you", a consonant. The first sound in "x-ray" is not a consonant. It is a vowel: the same sound in "exit".

[Route21]

Hi JM

I tried looking for both "a" and "an" in the search function and both came up with a UE page that said
"403 error - forbidden"
It is forbidden to access the requested location on this server
Please modify the URL in the address bar or use the links on this page to navigate to the area of the site you are looking for. Alternatively, try searching for what you require using the search box below:


Regards
R21

[Route21]

Hi JM
Oops! Looks like your post has gone!
R21

[Route21]

Hi Soup

I've also tried searching via the UE Search menu, but it says that the words "a" and/or "an" are either too common or too short. It even rejects "a OR an".

The reason for my search was the fact that I normally use the term "a NES" rather than "an NES".

Which is the officially correct version - "a NES" or "an NES"?

Regards
R21

[JMurray]

Sorry R21.
Soup and I posted simultaneously and the Soup pretty much had it covered, so I was going to rejig my post and then got called away. I tell you, Sundays are full-on around here.
I also got the error page when I searched "a or an", but there is another search box on the error page and for some reason that works.

[Soup]

Which is the officially correct version - "a NES" or "an NES"?

• an NES (for those who pronounce NES as an acronym)
• a NES (for those who pronounce NES as a word)

(I have never used 'NES'. I prefer to write it out: native English speaker.)

[Route21]

Hi Soup and JM

Many thanks

Soup: I think, to myself: "Native English Speaker" when I write it, therefore I should be OK.
I'd never thought of pronouncing NES as a word (i.e. "Ness") in its own right.

JM: The reason why I was concerned over the error message was that, despite all my firewalls and anti-virus systems, it looked as though a bug had broken through!

All the best
R21

PS If they haven't picked it up already, I'll send a message to Site Admin re the broken link.

[a...]

Thanks alot to all of you