I was reading a comic book and I noticed that the author used “an A” and “an N” in a particular phrase (screenshot below). While I understand the usage of “An A” here (A being a vowel and what not) and “N” having a pronunciation which has a sound similar to “A“.
Since most of English alphabets have pronunciations which start with a syllable similar to one of the vowels or semi-vowels; is it OK to prefix the letters using “An”?
For eg. An X, or An Y.
Zenescope’s Grimm Fairy Tales – Werewolves: The Hunger, page #8 (Click to enlarge)
Answer
The a/an rule is based solely on pronunciation, not the actual letter that follows.
So it’s…
- An eye for an eye
- An LSD drug user
But note:
- An honorable death
- An honest answer
- but… A human reaction
(don’t get me started on an hotel)
So, yes… your example would be written out:
… an ‘A’.
Attribution
Source : Link , Question Author : hjpotter92 , Answer Author : Robert Cartaino
