the articles "a", and "an '.

I've been reading posts for years in which the article "an" is used before "stereo 70" or "stereo 120".
I was taught 65+ years ago that "a" is used before a word beginning with a consonant, (a stereo 70),
and "an", before a word beginning with a vowel, (an amp), and the rules still apply.

It's funny you should mention this. I was just thinking about "a" and "an" before the word unique. We should be saying "that was an unique thing", not "that was a unique thing". But it sounds better the second way - and easier to say!

It's funny you should mention this. I was just thinking about "a" and "an" before the word unique. We should be saying "that was an unique thing", not "that was a unique thing". But it sounds better the second way - and easier to say!



I new dear was sumting rung width the sahon ov meye VTA. I inkstall the rung artiecle

I was taught 65+ years ago that an "a" is used before a word beginning with a consonant.

(yore welcome)   

OK smarty pants...  How would you say the follow sentence?  "Does the word 'physician' start with (a or an) 'f'  or 'ph' " ?

arledgsc wrote:OK smarty pants...  How would you say the follow sentence?  "Does the word 'physician' start with (a or an) 'f'  or 'ph' " ?

In my experience a physician usually starts with a cup of coffee.    

-DB

"Does the word 'physician' start with an f'ing 'f' or an f'ing 'ph' " ?   

I have always used:

"A Stereo 70."

"An ST-70 (because of the way letter "S" is pronounced, making it 'EssTeeSeventy')."

As for "unique," there is no "more unique" or "most unique" or "one of the most unique" of anything. UNIQUE means there is ONE. Period.

An apostrophe pet peeve: the improper use of "it's" when what is really meant is "its," not "it is." This has spread to an apostrophe-s being appended to proper names such as in, "I prefer the sound of Telefunken's." This isn't really new, though. I saw it in print in a 1960 advertisement in a stereo magazine: "...This is why more Garrard Type A's have been sold..."

But then I have found that on my iPad Mini, the autocorrect defaults to "it's" even when I really did mean "its." Then I have to go and override it. Phooey.

GP: You really beat the crap out of the grammar text books , don't you ?

buchela wrote:GP: You really beat the crap out of the grammar text books , don't you ?

Mrs. Shepardson, my high school English teacher would have expected no less.    

It's her fault, perhaps, that I get so annoyed by misuse of the language, especially when people demonstrate that they
couldn't care less...such as when they say, "I could care less"   but really mean the opposite.  

Honestly, though, I do take SOME measure of pride in being able to speak and write the language correctly.  

Either way works for me I'm bilingual

Good God, this forum is really stretching for suitable material, eh??

An honourable discussion, and a historic one, too, legerdemain. (Just what is a laminarian, anyway? The O.E.D. makes vague reference to algae . . .) An old friend Greg used to say, "The last name is Palmer, that's Palmer, starts with a 'P', as in Pterodactyl."
As a life-long paid abuser of the King's English (we were once called reporters: journalists were either out-of-work print reporters or those dreadful mannequins who talk at you in front of kinescopes) I assure you that all rules applicable to grammar, diction and even spelling as outlined in the AP Stylebook and Strunk & White's Elements of Style are ironclad except when they ain't.
When overload occurs, might one suggest taking up one's fly rod and attempting to catch a ghoti. Or pondering which among flammable and inflammable objects will explode first, or where the Brits get that extra "i" in aluminum. Or what "partially destroyed" means.

Proper grammar is of paramount importance. As they say, it's the difference between feeling your nuts and feeling you're nuts.

  

Saw a lot of great bands at the Paramount. Important ones, too.

deepee99 wrote:An honourable discussion, and a historic one, too, legerdemain. (Just what is a laminarian, anyway? The O.E.D. makes vague reference to algae . . .) An old friend Greg used to say, "The last name is Palmer, that's Palmer, starts with a 'P', as in Pterodactyl."
As a life-long paid abuser of the King's English (we were once called reporters: journalists were either out-of-work print reporters or those dreadful mannequins who talk at you in front of kinescopes) I assure you that all rules applicable to grammar, diction and even spelling as outlined in the AP Stylebook and Strunk & White's Elements of Style are ironclad except when they ain't.
When overload occurs, might one suggest taking up one's fly rod and attempting to catch a ghoti. Or pondering which among flammable and inflammable objects will explode first, or where the Brits get that extra "i" in aluminum. Or what "partially destroyed" means.

The lamina cribrosa is a part of the optic nerve. I'm an optometrist. I've been mistaken for a hydraulics engineer (laminar flow), someone who (whom?) laminates linoleum onto counter tops, and had one fella ask me if I laminated wood for a living.

Laminarman wrote:

deepee99 wrote:An honourable discussion, and a historic one, too, legerdemain. (Just what is a laminarian, anyway? The O.E.D. makes vague reference to algae . . .) An old friend Greg used to say, "The last name is Palmer, that's Palmer, starts with a 'P', as in Pterodactyl."
As a life-long paid abuser of the King's English (we were once called reporters: journalists were either out-of-work print reporters or those dreadful mannequins who talk at you in front of kinescopes) I assure you that all rules applicable to grammar, diction and even spelling as outlined in the AP Stylebook and Strunk & White's Elements of Style are ironclad except when they ain't.
When overload occurs, might one suggest taking up one's fly rod and attempting to catch a ghoti. Or pondering which among flammable and inflammable objects will explode first, or where the Brits get that extra "i" in aluminum. Or what "partially destroyed" means.

The lamina cribrosa is a part of the optic nerve.  I'm an optometrist.  I've been mistaken for a hydraulics engineer (laminar flow), someone who (whom?) laminates linoleum onto counter tops, and had one fella ask me if I laminated wood for a living.  

Thank-you for the clarification. Are you an optimistic optometrist? I'll trade you a stash of TungSol 6550s for a cataract removal.

I came up with this one a while ago. I mentioned it to an optometrist friend of mine and she cringed.

'What do you call the situation where someone thinks they need glasses but really doesn't. An optical delusion'.

    

deepee99 wrote:

Laminarman wrote:

deepee99 wrote:An honourable discussion, and a historic one, too, legerdemain. (Just what is a laminarian, anyway? The O.E.D. makes vague reference to algae . . .) An old friend Greg used to say, "The last name is Palmer, that's Palmer, starts with a 'P', as in Pterodactyl."
As a life-long paid abuser of the King's English (we were once called reporters: journalists were either out-of-work print reporters or those dreadful mannequins who talk at you in front of kinescopes) I assure you that all rules applicable to grammar, diction and even spelling as outlined in the AP Stylebook and Strunk & White's Elements of Style are ironclad except when they ain't.
When overload occurs, might one suggest taking up one's fly rod and attempting to catch a ghoti. Or pondering which among flammable and inflammable objects will explode first, or where the Brits get that extra "i" in aluminum. Or what "partially destroyed" means.

The lamina cribrosa is a part of the optic nerve.  I'm an optometrist.  I've been mistaken for a hydraulics engineer (laminar flow), someone who (whom?) laminates linoleum onto counter tops, and had one fella ask me if I laminated wood for a living.  

Thank-you for the clarification. Are you an optimistic optometrist? I'll trade you a stash of TungSol 6550s for a cataract removal.

Very optimistic. I actually believe the VTA ST70 I'm building will function once I plug it in.

Captain Coconut wrote:I came up with this one a while ago. I mentioned it to an optometrist friend of mine and she cringed.

'What do you call the situation where someone thinks they need glasses but really doesn't. An optical delusion'.  

    

OMG that's really bad. And I haven't heard that one before!

Laminarman wrote:

Captain Coconut wrote:I came up with this one a while ago. I mentioned it to an optometrist friend of mine and she cringed.

'What do you call the situation where someone thinks they need glasses but really doesn't. An optical delusion'.  

    

OMG that's really bad.  And I haven't heard that one before!

Please don't encourage him. Far too many PUNdits blurk this bb already.

Laminarman wrote:Very optimistic. I actually believe the VTA ST70 I'm building will function once I plug it in.

Good luck! Please let us know when the "big day" arrives.......(so that we can unplug our sensitive electronic components)

Laminarman wrote:
OMG that's really bad.  And I haven't heard that one before!

Yes, you have. You only THINK you haven't. That's called jumping to confusions.

This is an important topic
that/which
needs to be bumped to the top.