Why do some people write "an historic" and not "a historic"

It's been bugging me.

in britain.

here in Germany I was teached it that way.

:-)

love book and movie :)

Many people put an "an" in front of many words that begin with h.

Try saying them out loud. "An historic" actually flows and sounds better than "a historic".

and I'm British :shrug:

'Oh, the British use "an" before "h".'

Ugh. See what people are saying about you guys behind your backs? :P

to boil meat.

My husband and I watched "Master and Commander" and "The Madness of King George" in one weekend. They can't seem to decide if you are rough, brilliant seafarers or useless, effeminate fops.

We decided that Hollywood owes you folks a major blockbuster called "THE BLITZ". It should have a massive budget and use Industrial Light and Magic for the special effects.

That explains it now!

:D

with that cut, interestingly enough.

:7

being microwaved

like a peeled russet...

And others are semiliterate yahoos

I need to know if you're insulting me :D

I'm almost 100% sure of this.

You should use “an” before a word beginning with an “H” only if the “H” is not pronounced: “an honest effort”; it’s properly “a historic event” though many sophisticated speakers somehow prefer the sound of “an historic,” so that version is not likely to get you into any real trouble.

http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/errors/anhistoric.html

an historic (never)
The rule is that "a" is used with words that begin with consonant (a,e,i,o,u) sounds, "an" with vowel sounds. We have emphasized sounds because the initial sound, not the initial letter, determines whether to use "a" or "an." When the "aitch" (h) is silent, as in honor or hour, use the article "an." When the "aitch" is pronounced, as in house, hamburger, history and historical, use the article "a."

:D

*groan*

:evilgrin:

You say eether, I say eyether, you say neether, I say nyther, eether, eyether, neether, nyther, let's call the whole thing off!

the English started pronouncing it "eye-ther" and "neye-ther" because their German monarchs did.

"Nee-ther" is listed first in the dictionary, so it's the preferred pronunciation. But "ny-ther" is not incorrect.

I am a copy editor and I earn my bread and butter by correcting grammar, spelling and punctuation in magazine articles.

From my grammar book "Sleeping Dogs Don't Lay."

an historic (never)

The rule is that "a" is used with words that begin with consonant (a,e,i,o,u) sounds, "an" with vowel sounds. We have emphasized sounds because the initial sound, not the initial letter, determines whether to use "a" or "an." When the "aitch" (h) is silent, as in honor or hour, use the article "an." When the "aitch" is pronounced, as in house, hamburger, history and historical, use the article "a."

should use the 'an' instead of 'a'.

Of course, I don't. :P

...as in "a historic" but either is good.

When you gonna learn to speak english, huh?

:spank:

but you gave us Monty Python and Ali G. Oh, and there also is that standing up to Hitler alone when all the chips were stacked against you thing too.

...but always nice to see a Python fan :hi:

But I really don't know the reason.

uhm... destroyed it.

I think not. :P

I forgot that's the reason we want to force immigrants to immediately "learn our language".

if you say Otel, then it's an. If you say Hotel, it's a.

http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutgrammar/hotel

I am gonna kill them

:7

according to my MLA...

I use 'an' but that is because of all my French lessons (in French you don't pronouce the aitch, or in cockney, I guess!) so it's a remmnant of when the literati all spoke French.

I hate that both are correct. "A historic" just sounds so crappy.

Charles Winchester on the phone and he says something about wanting "an harmonica" because he thinks it makes him sound educated.

Man, all this useless and pointless knowledge I have crammed inside my noggin. :eyes:

so when speaking, perhaps people put an 'an' infront to prevent confusion?

If its true that you should use "an" in front of words that begin with an "h" where the "h" is pronounced than would it also be correct to say "I have an headache" or "I'd like to go see an hockey game" or "Would you like an ham sandwich?"

:silly:

I know that "a historic" is more acceptable these days, but it just won't come out of my mouth without effort, and then it feels funny. :shrug:

should be one clear cut way.

told me that is could go either way. He could be wrong, so I could be wrong. :shrug:

I do not think it is easy to say -- and in any given day I must use the word "history" (or one its variants) in conversation or lecture at least a gazillion times (yes, I know. Hyperbole. Some days it feels that way).

The hardest one for me is "an historian." By themselves, these phrases don't cause too many problems, but within sentences they become tongue-twisters.

"A historian" may sound crass, but it is grammatically sound, since the aitch in history is not silent.

Personally, I think it is a conspiracy by university academics.
Take fledgling history graduate students, inculcate through repeated doses of "an historic."
Mark all usages of "a historic" in papers as incorrect.
If questioned about the usage, sigh, shake head sadly (perhaps muttering under the breath), and gently but firmly disabuse the wayward thinker.

I guess I was too old when I went to grad school -- the techniques didn't take.

:-)

:o

Apart from the ghastly massive doses of popery, all his work uses "an hotel". It's a damn shame that he was a great writer otherwise.
:grr:

The whole point is the aspiration of the 'H', in cases where the stress of a word falls on the first syllable the 'H' is treated as a consonant and the correct article is 'a'; in cases where the stress falls later in the word the 'H' is (ironically - nay bizarrely) treated as a vowel, hence an. Thus one should say either "an hotEl" or "a hOtel", in contemporary English the stress pretty much always falls on the former syllable - though I am proud to stand as one of the few hold-outs.

The same principle holds for 'historic' where the stress falls on the second syllable - thus an. The 'H' becomes semi-pronounced; completely to drop the letter would not be correct (though is very widely used).

Proving once again that the US and UK are two nations separated by a common language... :D

Something I'm still having to get used to is the way that many non-English speakers (esp. in the former Warsaw Pact nations) seem to be learning "American" English these days. It's still very weird to me to see, say, a Lithuanian cabinet minister speaking English on the news with an unmistakable American accent.

I wonder if Anthony Burgess used "an hotel". Heaven knows he had plenty of popery in his stuff as well... but brilliant, a truly brilliant writer. I'd never haved learned the term "Venerian strabismus" if not for him.


:hi:

For instance

"an historic event".

If you took out the word historic how would you say that? You are talking about an event, not a event

Or

"a historic figure"

You are referring to a figure, not an figure.

That's how I see it anywho. If you are using historic as a noun, then no one can help you.

Jay

Indeed. There is no justification other than rampant idiocy.

On another theme, why must we hear "different" when we have numbers? What is the purpose of numbers except to give us the amount that differs from the same?

So if the Yankees used six different pitchers (as shockingly opposed to six similar pitchers) I would presume one was a knuckleballer, another a side thrower, etc. If there were six pitchers used, they should not be called different unless their styles of pitching are different.

"An historical" is wrong. The H is not silent. And, it looks ridiculous to me. I cringe when I see it.