Rewrite Right!: Your Guide to Perfectly Polished Prose by Venolia Jan

Author:Venolia, Jan [Venolia, Jan]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9780307784179
Publisher: Random House, Inc.
Published: 2011-03-22T22:00:00+00:00

a European, but an Easterner

a history, but an hour

a one-dollar bill, but an only child

Uniform and European are pronounced as if they began with the letter y, so a is the correct article to use with them. The h in history is pronounced, so it requires a. The h in hour is silent, calling for an. One is pronounced as if it begins with w, whereas the initial sound of only is o.

The choice of article to precede initials and acronyms is another trap for unwary writers. Again, it is how the word is pronounced that matters. Do you pronounce the letters individually (SEC lawyer, NBA player)? If so, do they sound as if they begin with a vowel or a consonant? “S” sounds as if it were spelled “ess” and “N” as if it were “en.” With both of those acronyms, you should use an.

Is the acronym pronounced as a word? Then use the article a if it’s pronounced with a consonant sound (a NATO official), or an if it has a vowel sound (an OSHA ruling).

Like, as. Use like in direct comparisons of nouns.

Hell hath no fury like a bureaucrat scorned.—Milton Friedman

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