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Anonymous Posted 21 years ago
Grammar
"a" or "an" before a consonant acronym
I thought I'd throw this up for the sake of discussion. Compare the following sentences:
"I received a call from a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent."
"I received a call from an FBI agent."
At first, I was confused as to whether to treat the acronym "FBI" as though it was merely just a representation of the full out "Federal Bureau of Investigation", rather than treating the acronym as though it was an actual word itself. In that context, one might want to argue in favour of "...from a FBI agent."
But, having come to understand that an acronym has become some kind of word itself, I can only expect therefore that "...from an FBI agent" is correct, while "...from a Federal Bureau...." is correct when the acronym is not used in place of the full name.
Duane Aubin
"I received a call from a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent."
"I received a call from an FBI agent."
At first, I was confused as to whether to treat the acronym "FBI" as though it was merely just a representation of the full out "Federal Bureau of Investigation", rather than treating the acronym as though it was an actual word itself. In that context, one might want to argue in favour of "...from a FBI agent."
But, having come to understand that an acronym has become some kind of word itself, I can only expect therefore that "...from an FBI agent" is correct, while "...from a Federal Bureau...." is correct when the acronym is not used in place of the full name.
Duane Aubin
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17 Answers
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Right - you choose "a" or "an" according to the initial sound of the acronym, not the actual initial letter. In "FBI," the initial sound is "eff," which begins with a vowel sound.
00
Hi,
I have one question regarding acronyms: Following Michael Swan book (Practical English Usage) articles are usually drop in acronyms, considering acronyms the abbreviations that are pronounced as words. So, if 'FBi' is a word, we should write:
I received a call from FBI
instead of:
I received a call from the FBI
Could you comment me th
I have one question regarding acronyms: Following Michael Swan book (Practical English Usage) articles are usually drop in acronyms, considering acronyms the abbreviations that are pronounced as words. So, if 'FBi' is a word, we should write:
I received a call from FBI
instead of:
I received a call from the FBI
Could you comment me th
00
But FBI is not a word, we are saying the individual letters. We are spelling out Eff-bee-eye, not drawling all the sounds into a new word (Fbeye?)
To use a couple of UK examples.
RSPCA. This is pronounced by spelling out the letters, 'Ar, es, pee, cee, ay' as in FBI. 'I received a visit from the RSPCA' is correct.
NACRO. This is pronounced as a single word - 'nacro' not
To use a couple of UK examples.
RSPCA. This is pronounced by spelling out the letters, 'Ar, es, pee, cee, ay' as in FBI. 'I received a visit from the RSPCA' is correct.
NACRO. This is pronounced as a single word - 'nacro' not
00
I suppose any hard and fast rule is not warranted. Consider that others argued that acronym and abbreviation are not the same thing:
"There is a difference between acronyms and abbreviations. An acronym is usually formed by taking the first initials of a phrase or compounded-word and using those initials to form a word that stands for something. Thus NATO, which we pronounce NATOH, is an acr
"There is a difference between acronyms and abbreviations. An acronym is usually formed by taking the first initials of a phrase or compounded-word and using those initials to form a word that stands for something. Thus NATO, which we pronounce NATOH, is an acr
00
My personal opinion is to say and write things as unambiguosly as possible. Therefore I prefer to always use "an" before an acronym that is pronounced by spelling the letters. Here is why:
If you were to say, "this is a BSA rule." it could be heard as "this is ABSA rule."
If you were to say, "this is a BSA rule." it could be heard as "this is ABSA rule."
00
Hi,
My personal opinion is to say and write things as unambiguosly as possible. Therefore I prefer to always use "an" before an acronym that is pronounced by spelling the letters.
Here is why:
If you were to say, "this is a BSA rule." it could be heard as "this is ABSA rule."
An acronym is not pronounced by spelling the letters. Instead, you pronounce the lett
My personal opinion is to say and write things as unambiguosly as possible. Therefore I prefer to always use "an" before an acronym that is pronounced by spelling the letters.
Here is why:
If you were to say, "this is a BSA rule." it could be heard as "this is ABSA rule."
An acronym is not pronounced by spelling the letters. Instead, you pronounce the lett
00
I agree. It actually really vexes me when people use "a" in front of an acronym. Even though the previous post has been up for quite some time, maybe someone will run across this and find it helpful.
Here is my reasoning:
So, yes, we all know the English language is supposed to be one of the most grammatically difficult languages around. But when you think about the rules, almos
Here is my reasoning:
So, yes, we all know the English language is supposed to be one of the most grammatically difficult languages around. But when you think about the rules, almos
00
Counterpoint:
"This is an BSA rule." could be interpreted as "This is NBSA rule."
"This is an BSA rule." could be interpreted as "This is NBSA rule."
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