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Usenet Posted 22 years ago
English in UK
UK spoken English: article A in "A happy new year!"
I have one question:
Is it common in spoken BRITISH English to say "A happy new year!" with an A, rather than "Happy new year!" without the A?
(Background)
In the US, "Happy new year!" is much more common both in speech and text.
But I've seen some examples of "A happy new year!" written by Brits.
DAVID BOWIE's siteF http://www.bowiewonderworld.com/bowienews/news0198.htm
[nq:2]A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE 1st January 1998[/nq]
[nq:1]From: Dionne Siley (Email Removed) Subject: A happy new year to all![/nq]
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Is it common in spoken BRITISH English to say "A happy new year!" with an A, rather than "Happy new year!" without the A?
(Background)
In the US, "Happy new year!" is much more common both in speech and text.
But I've seen some examples of "A happy new year!" written by Brits.
DAVID BOWIE's siteF http://www.bowiewonderworld.com/bowienews/news0198.htm
[nq:2]A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE 1st January 1998[/nq]
[nq:1]From: Dionne Siley (Email Removed) Subject: A happy new year to all![/nq]
________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Find out what made the Top Yahoo! Searches of 2003
Top answer
[/nq] In my UK experience,"Happy New Year" is the more common when the phrase is used in isolation, but in combination with other things the "a" comes in as "merry Christmas and a happy New Year". There is, of course the carol (known in the US as well, I would have thought) "We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year". uk Old mathematicians never die.
- [/nq] In my UK experience,"Happy New Year" is the more common when the phrase is used in isolation, but in combination with other things the "a" comes in as "merry Christmas and a happy New Year".
- There is, of course the carol (known in the US as well, I would have thought) "We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year".
- uk Old mathematicians never die.
- They simply count for less.
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2 Answers
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[nq:1]I have one question: Is it common in spoken BRITISH English to say "A happy new year!" with an A, rather than "Happy new year!" without the A?[/nq]
In my UK experience,"Happy New Year" is the more common when the phrase is used in isolation, but in combination with other things the "a" comes in as "merry Christmas and a happy New Year".
There is, of course the carol (known in t
In my UK experience,"Happy New Year" is the more common when the phrase is used in isolation, but in combination with other things the "a" comes in as "merry Christmas and a happy New Year".
There is, of course the carol (known in t
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[nq:1]I have one question: Is it common in spoken BRITISH English to say "A happy new year!" with an A, rather than "Happy new year!" without the A?(snip)[/nq]
Don't ask me to explain why, but we would normally say "Happy New Year!" on it's own as an exclamation. However, if you add anything to the end then you would probably add the indefinite article. e.g. "A happy New Year to one and all!"
Don't ask me to explain why, but we would normally say "Happy New Year!" on it's own as an exclamation. However, if you add anything to the end then you would probably add the indefinite article. e.g. "A happy New Year to one and all!"
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