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Re: [OM] English usage clarification

Subject: Re: [OM] English usage clarification
From: "Piers Hemy" <piers@xxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 7 Jul 2010 14:57:28 +0100
Indeed so, Jez, full marks for spotting what I had missed. Reminds me that I
get particularly annoyed by a current expression "it is one of the only
....".

Back to the question - it's an ugly phrasing, and the problem of "a" or "an"
could be avoided by use of a different adjective. Yes, it's ducking the
question, but when the answer is not clear, I think it's the only easy exit.
Did you notice, by the way, that I used the indefinite article preceding a
word beginning with "u" in the sentence before last? I don't think tehre is
any argument that "an" was correct there, so it is not a spelling rule we
are questioning, but a pronunciation rule conflicting with a spelling rule -
as pronounced, "unique" begins with a consonant not a vowel!

Now, what about "hotel"? "A hotel" or "an hotel"?

Piers 

-----Original Message-----
From: Jez Cunningham [mailto:jez@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx] 
Sent: 07 July 2010 10:48
To: Olympus Camera Discussion
Subject: Re: [OM] English usage clarification

Oops, sorry, typo...

If it's unique it should be "the"...


On 7 July 2010 11:46, Jez Cunningham <jez@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> If it's unique it should "the"...
> :-)
> Jez
>
> On 7 July 2010 10:41, Wayne Harridge <wayneharridge@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>wrote:
>
>> I just read this:
>>
>> "...the parking lot, is an unique observation tower with..."
>>
>> I'm wondering if "an unique" is correct, doesn't sound right to me, 
>> "an excellent" works, but "a unique" seems correct.
>>
>> I always thought the rule was "an" before a word starting with a 
>> vowel, but what about "an unique" ?
>>
>> ...Wayne
>>
>> Wayne Harridge
>> http://lrh.structuregraphs.com/
>>
>>
>> --
>>
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