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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

A versus an

Do the rules for 'a' and 'an' apply to proper names or titles, as in a U.S. Detective or an U.S. Detective? 'An' just does not seem right.
  

Top answer

U = united, which starts with a 'y' sound, which in this case is considered to be a consonant. also: a Youtube video; a euphemism; a yoke.

— Philip

  • U = united, which starts with a 'y' sound, which in this case is considered to be a consonant.
  • also: a Youtube video; a euphemism; a yoke.
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2 Answers
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U = united, which starts with a 'y' sound, which in this case is considered to be a consonant.

also: a Youtube video; a euphemism; a yoke.
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AnonymousDo the rules for 'a' and 'an' apply to proper names or titles
Yes, the rules apply! It's just that you've got the rule a bit wrong. Your intuition is sending you the right signals, however. You go by sound, not by spelling, so an initial long U counts as a consonant (YOO) and takes a, not an.

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