The best rule I can think of is don't let the consonant "n" in "an" flow into another consonant, and don't let the "a" in "a" flow into a another vowel. So "an LED" is a no-no. By the way, speaking of grammar, "english grammar" is "English grammar" because "English" is a nationality, and is always capitalized in the King's English.In this forum, I am continuously reading, refering to leds "AN LED" where it should be "A LED or ONE LED". This is what I have learned, years ago, studying english grammar . Can somebody illuminate me, if in the meantime the english grammar rules have changed or it is just an accepted way of saying.
Sorry, and with all due respect, it's the pronunciation not the spelling that governs, particularly for acronyms. Follow my example of "an L."Alberto,
The best rule I can think of is don't let the consonant "n" in "an" flow into another consonant, and don't let the "a" in "a" flow into a another vowel. So "an LED" is a no-no. By the way, speaking of grammar, "english grammar" is "English grammar" because "English" is a nationality, and is always capitalized in the King's English.
Ratch
As someone else mentioned, it's how it sounds when speaking that determines whether 'a' or 'an' are used. Ratch's rule is close, but fails with e.g. 'URL', as the 'U' is pronounced more like a hard consonant than a soft vowel. No doubt some linguist or pedantic English teacher could construct an exact rule, but I suppose a practical rule could be made from where your tongue is with respect to your teeth or whether your lips are closed when saying the letter.The best rule I can think of is don't let the consonant "n" in "an" flow into another consonant, and don't let the "a" in "a" flow into a another vowel.
When unsure, there are lots of resources available.I'm not so sure "an" is correct, but rather "a". You see, if we unravelled the acronym LED and had "Light Emitting Diode," "An Light Emitting Diode" doesn't agree gramatically. However, "A Light Emitting Diode" does make sense. Therefore, I think "A LED" would be correct and also "One LED" would be alright as well.
JohnRemember, using a or an depends on the sound that begins the next word. So...
* 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
* In some cases where "h" is pronounced, such as "historical," us an:
An historical event is worth recording.
Well then, according to your resource I am correct. "L" is certainly not a vowel and therefore it's a consonant. It sounds correct anyway.When unsure, there are lots of resources available.
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/540/01/
John
Agreed. I never said anything about spelling. I said consonant. The dictionary defines consonant as a. (in English articulation) a speech sound produced by occluding with or without releasing (p, b; t, d; k, g), diverting (m, n, ng), or obstructing (f, v; s, z, etc.) the flow of air from the lungs (opposed to vowel).Originally Posted by Ratch
Alberto,
The best rule I can think of is don't let the consonant "n" in "an" flow into another consonant, and don't let the "a" in "a" flow into a another vowel. So "an LED" is a no-no. By the way, speaking of grammar, "english grammar" is "English grammar" because "English" is a nationality, and is always capitalized in the King's English.
Ratch
Sorry, and with all due respect, it's the pronunciation not the spelling that governs, particularly for acronyms. Follow my example of "an L."L."
So "an LED" is a no-no.
Ratch
So, how do you pronounce "LED?" And, how about "IRED?""A LED" sounds good because of its consonant sound.
1A) an el,ee,deeSo, how do you pronounce "LED?" And, how about "IRED?"
As was pointed out before, the rule applies to how it sounds, not how it is spelled. So when you say LED, you are using the "leh" sound, which is a consonant.Ratch, that is interesting but I don't spell "L", "E" , "D" when I refer to a led, I just say "LED", so there is no pronounced "EL".
Nope. A word designated to be capitalized does not lose that status if it is used as an adjective. Two examples are "Boolean algebra" and "Boole's inequality", both named after George Boole.Sorry for that, but I thougt that since English was refered to the word "GRAMMAR", you didn't need the upper case or King's English
Regarding the indefinite article, you should review the numerous comments regarding pronunciation. How do YOU pronounce "USB?" If you pronounce the individual letters, the correct article is "a." If you try to pronounce it as a single word, as apparently some people do with LED, then the correct article depends on how you make the beginning sound. If that sound is like "ooo", as in boo, then the article is "an." If it is more like "u" as in uniform, then the article is an "a."I'm just curious. If you were talking about a(an) USB cable instead of LEDs which would it be:
a USB cable
or
an USB cable
?
I guess if it were plural it would have to be 'the USB cables', so no problem there.
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