While we're on the subject, spare a thought for those of us that have to battle auro correct and go back and change these words just to be grammatically correct for fear of this type if ridicule! And don't forget these @poptop2 a + singular noun beginning with a consonant: a boy; a car; a bike; a zoo; a dog an + singular noun beginning with a vowel: an elephant; an egg; an apple; an idiot;an orphan a + singular noun beginning with a consonant sound: a user (sounds like 'yoo-zer,' i.e. begins with a consonant 'y' sound, so 'a' is used); a university; a unicycle an + nouns starting with silent "h": an hour a + nouns starting with a pronounced "h": a horse In some cases where "h" is pronounced, such as "historical," you can use an. However, a is more commonly used and preferred. A historical event is worth recording. Remember that these rules also apply when you use acronyms: Introductory Composition at Purdue (ICaP) handles first-year writing at the University. Therefore, an ICaP memo generally discusses issues concerning English 106 instructors. Another case where this rule applies is when acronyms start with consonant letters but have vowel sounds: An MSDS (material safety data sheet) was used to record the data. An SPCC plan (Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures plan) will help us prepare for the worst. If the noun is modified by an adjective, the choice between a and an depends on the initial sound of the adjective that immediately follows the article: a broken egg an unusual problem a European country (sounds like 'yer-o-pi-an,' i.e. begins with consonant 'y' sound) Remember, too, that in English, the indefinite articles are used to indicate membership in a group: I am a teacher. (I am a member of a large group known as teachers.) Brian is an Irishman. (Brian is a member of the people known as Irish.) Seiko is a practicing Buddhist. (Seiko is a member of the group of people known as Buddhists.)
I am only having a laugh btw. When I first used forums I thought text grammar was fine and never really paid much attention to being grammatically correct. I now realise it wasn't really acceptable ( to some) so I do at least try to spell correctly. To, two and too are pretty simple really, as are there, their and they're!
