What's the correct call on this?

[KillahBee]

a/an before an acronym? Let's say I'm typing the acronym "SMB" (small to medium business". Do I use "a" (referencing "small") or "an" (referencing "S")?

First person to post a link to Google gets e-AIDS

 

[puddlemonkey]

What about posting a link to yahoo? Whats that get me?

 

[redshirt27se]

i dont think it matters if it an acronym or not. i think it just matters what the first letter is.

 

[puddlemonkey]

i before e except after c

 

[KillahBee]

What about posting a link to yahoo? Whats that get me?

A minor yeast infection

 

[puddlemonkey]

A minor yeast infection

Its been awhile since my last one, I'm probably due.

 

[swole]

i'd use "an"

 

[stilleto]

in that case, you'd say "an" because S starts with a vowel SOUND (Ess).
it doesn't matter what it stands for.

a PBR
a KB
an EF

the letter R, would get "an" because R is prounounced like "ARE", a vowel sound.

 

[Smurfy]

i'd use "an"

right because when reading an acronym, you read the letters, not what they stand for (i suppose the purpose of an acronym to begin with) so you'd use AN before an acronym that starts with an S. good call swole

 

[Smurfy]

in that case, you'd say "an" because S starts with a vowel SOUND (Ess).
it doesn't matter what it stands for.

a PBR
a KB
an EF

the letter R, would get "an" because R is prounounced like "ARE", a vowel sound.

repost!

 

[stilleto]

right because when reading an acronym, you read the letters, not what they stand for (i suppose the purpose of an acronym to begin with) so you'd use AN before an acronym that starts with an S. good call swole

REPOST!!!!!!

 

[samoth]

I use "a" because the acronym is spelled out as a manner of shorthand -- you're saying the full thing in your head. Well, perhaps not, but that's why the words were acronomized in the first place, viz. simplicity of something already known.

Now, sayinng an acronym out loud, on the other hand, I would follow proper english "a" and "an".

Not this is just how I do things, not the correct way per some english grammar guide or something. I don't know the technically correct way to do it.

 

[samoth]

in that case, you'd say "an" because S starts with a vowel SOUND (Ess).
it doesn't matter what it stands for.

a PBR
a KB
an EF

the letter R, would get "an" because R is prounounced like "ARE", a vowel sound.

Yeah, but KB's OP said "type", not "say".

I don't know if there's a technical difference, but I prefer differentiating them.

 

[stilleto]

you wouldn't say "I got a STD". You'd sound like an idiot. You'd say "I slept with Perkele and got AN STD".

 

[b0und]

in that case, you'd say "an" because S starts with a vowel SOUND (Ess).
it doesn't matter what it stands for.

a PBR
a KB
an EF

the letter R, would get "an" because R is prounounced like "ARE", a vowel sound.

TITCR

Now when reading "This is the credited response" should "the" be pronounced "thee"?

b0und (TITCQ)

 

[samoth]

you wouldn't say "I got a STD". You'd sound like an idiot. You'd say "I slept with Perkele and got AN STD".

Yeah, but that's an accepted acronym in speech.

I thought he was referring to acronomizing stuff on the interwebs, e.g. "My BFF KB has a TTT OP, HTH. BTW, WTF's up with WGWAG?" Now no one says out loud many internet acronyms, thus making them a special case exempt from spoken acronyms following commonly accepted grammatical rules.

HTH

 

[stilleto]

TITCR

Now when reading "This is the credited response" should "the" be pronounced "thee"?

b0und (TITCQ)

i'm not always right about this stuff, but... i AM a writer...