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Soheil1 Posted 13 years ago
Grammar

An

Hi.
Why is the indefinite article 'an' used in place of 'a' in:

"Authorities in a rural area of Northern California have launched a sweeping manhunt for an intruder who fatally stabbed an 9-year-old girl Saturday."

?Thanks in advance!
  

Top answer

It's a mistake. "

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  • It's a mistake.
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4 Answers
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It's a mistake. It should be "a."
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an 8-year-old would be OK; the word eight begins with a vowel sound.
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My guess is that the writer was writing phonetically. Using the numeral instead of the written word, he probably heard in his head the 'n' that begins the word 'nine' and inserted it. Had he been writing the word out, he probably wouldn't have made the simple mistake.
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I have seen reports that say she was eight years old. The report may have been written with "eight" and then changed to "nine" without altering "an" to "a".
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