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"a" or "an" against the next sound

article-soundon by default (info)English

"a" or "an" that does not fit the next sound, as in "a apple" or "an user"

Example

How to fix

Use "an" before a vowel sound and "a" before a consonant sound.

Why it matters

"A" and "an" follow the sound of the next word, not its spelling ("a user", "an hour", "an MBA"). A slip trips the reader. Words whose spelling and sound disagree, capitals read letter by letter or as a word ("an MBA", "a NASA probe"), and words said both ways ("a SQL", "an SQL") are listed in the lexicon.

What it does not flag

Not before digits ("a 8-hour day"), nor before words the lexicon says are said both ways (SQL, historic). Capitals are read as the lexicon says; unlisted ones are read letter by letter only when short or without a vowel (MBA, NTSB), since longer ones (SALT) may be said as a word. Initials joined by a slash (N/I, N/A) may be read as the words they shorten and are left alone, and an "a" glued to the digit or letter before it ("§ 78a et seq.") is not an article. A document that writes "an" before a sounded h ("an hospital", "an hereditament") at least twice and more often than "a" keeps the older usage as its style, and those are not reported. The fiction and speech presets turn it off.

Turning it off or relaxing it

This page is built from the rule's definition file:packages/chaff/rules/article-sound.yaml