justginger|1384227063|3554818 said:The "h" is pronounced, unlike in 'hour', so it should be 'a' instead of 'an.' It's only 'an' if the next sound is that of a vowel, right?
In Australia it's 'a herb garden' because they pronounce the hard 'h', in the US it's 'an herb garden' because the 'h' is silent.
I've never heard the 'h' of 'historical' as silent.
LaraOnline|1384253016|3554982 said:justginger|1384227063|3554818 said:The "h" is pronounced, unlike in 'hour', so it should be 'a' instead of 'an.' It's only 'an' if the next sound is that of a vowel, right?
In Australia it's 'a herb garden' because they pronounce the hard 'h', in the US it's 'an herb garden' because the 'h' is silent.
I've never heard the 'h' of 'historical' as silent.
Well I'm an aussie, and I voted 'an' as correct.
LaraOnline|1384258167|3555008 said:No I don't actually. But I do find it more comfortable to pronounce 'an' before launching into a soft vowel sound like 'h'.
The idea of 'an herb' sounds pretentious to me, so I wouldn't use that. (But I would have assumed it was the more correct / higher class pronunciation)
AGBF|1384259575|3555016 said:LaraOnline|1384258167|3555008 said:No I don't actually. But I do find it more comfortable to pronounce 'an' before launching into a soft vowel sound like 'h'.
The idea of 'an herb' sounds pretentious to me, so I wouldn't use that. (But I would have assumed it was the more correct / higher class pronunciation)
I use two pronunciations for the word, "herb". Growing up I used to use a pronounced, "h" more frequently and thus would always have said, "a herb". I realized that more people in this area were using the word with a silent, "h" and began to use that at some point (probably in my teens). I then switched to saying, "an herb".
Deb/AGBF
justginger|1384227063|3554818 said:In Australia it's 'a herb garden' because they pronounce the hard 'h', in the US it's 'an herb garden' because the 'h' is silent.
Actually I would find it natural to say 'an hysteric' lol... Although come to think of it, it's not a common expression here.JewelFreak|1384261149|3555037 said:Interesting article, Monarch. I go with what he said -- a historic. People say it both ways, but to me "an" historic sounds a bit pretentious since the h is asperated. Nobody says "an" hysteric, e.g. I lump it with those who pronounce "processes" with a long "e" at the end: processeeez. As if "we professors are so used to the Latin, it comes out naturally."
--- Laurie
LLJsmom|1384234443|3554894 said:I definitely agree with the posters who say "a".
In "historical", the "h" sound is a hard h. Thus it should be preceded by "a".
Just gotta say my pet peeve is when people use "So and so and I" every time they talk about themselves in a sentence.
Correct:
"Catherine and I" went to the movies.
Correct:
John gave Catherine and me gifts.
INCORRECT!!!
John gave Catherine and I gifts.
"I" is never the object of a preposition, and never a direct or indirect object.
Ok, sorry for the threadjack and thank you for letting me vent Kenny.
AGBF|1384260382|3555029 said:My mother taught me that both ways were correct, but she must have said, "herb" with a pronounced, "h" more frequently or I would not have picked that up.
There were many things in my mother's speech that were not generally accepted in my region, even though my matrilineal line goes back several generations in Connecticut. She used to say, "apricot" with a long "a" and most people here said it with a short "a", for instance.
LaraOnline|1384262869|3555055 said:Actually I would find it natural to say 'an hysteric' lol... Although come to think of it, it's not a common expression here.JewelFreak|1384261149|3555037 said:Interesting article, Monarch. I go with what he said -- a historic. People say it both ways, but to me "an" historic sounds a bit pretentious since the h is asperated. Nobody says "an" hysteric, e.g. I lump it with those who pronounce "processes" with a long "e" at the end: processeeez. As if "we professors are so used to the Latin, it comes out naturally."
--- Laurie
I would be more likely to say 'she's hysterical' I think. 'Hypochondriac' would come preceded by an 'a' lol.
Like I said previously, these half-baked rules have never bothered me, as I see them as typical of an old and ever-growing language. Having said that, as a thread jack I do see the growing tendency to drop the -ly at the e end of words with a degree of alarm.
Eg 'she's doing poor' rather than 'doing poorly'. Now, that bothers me lol.
But I think it's an American thing and until I hit PS I'd just never noticed or experienced that way of talking / speaking before.
amc80|1384276662|3555205 said:LLJsmom|1384234443|3554894 said:I definitely agree with the posters who say "a".
In "historical", the "h" sound is a hard h. Thus it should be preceded by "a".
Just gotta say my pet peeve is when people use "So and so and I" every time they talk about themselves in a sentence.
Correct:
"Catherine and I" went to the movies.
Correct:
John gave Catherine and me gifts.
INCORRECT!!!
John gave Catherine and I gifts.
"I" is never the object of a preposition, and never a direct or indirect object.
Ok, sorry for the threadjack and thank you for letting me vent Kenny.
That is one of my biggest pet peeves. That, and the new "literally" trend sweeping the nation (world?). I went on a tirade on fb about it last night.
LLJsmom|1384278923|3555227 said:amc80|1384276662|3555205 said:LLJsmom|1384234443|3554894 said:I definitely agree with the posters who say "a".
In "historical", the "h" sound is a hard h. Thus it should be preceded by "a".
Just gotta say my pet peeve is when people use "So and so and I" every time they talk about themselves in a sentence.
Correct:
"Catherine and I" went to the movies.
Correct:
John gave Catherine and me gifts.
INCORRECT!!!
John gave Catherine and I gifts.
"I" is never the object of a preposition, and never a direct or indirect object.
Ok, sorry for the threadjack and thank you for letting me vent Kenny.
That is one of my biggest pet peeves. That, and the new "literally" trend sweeping the nation (world?). I went on a tirade on fb about it last night.
Thank you amc!!!! We must have been twins separated at birth!!
amc80|1384279440|3555235 said:This was my post of fb last night- "I hope the "literally" trend ends soon...because it's figuratively going to make me lose my mind." I'm sure many of my friends were confused. I hate when people say something like "you literally blew my mind" (no, you didn't) or "I literally just left 5 minutes ago" (um obviously literally unless you figuratively left 5 minutes ago). My boss who is a Director in a large, international corporation says literally ALL the time. "I literally just got out of a meeting with her." Grrr.
amc80 said:"I" is never the object of a preposition, and never a direct or indirect object.
JewelFreak|1384291909|3555404 said:amc80 said:"I" is never the object of a preposition, and never a direct or indirect object.
All that drives me over the cliff. I watched a crime show yesterday while ironing & heard these sentences:
"Me and the crew went into the house."
"Myself and my partner stopped the car."
"They gave it to him and I."
Was ready to send a big fat grammar book to Discovery channel. The use of "myself" for "I" or "me" just makes me grind my teeth.
I also HATE the use of "gift" as a verb. "GIFT" is a NOUN. "Give" is no harder to say, folks!
--- Laurie
maccers|1384296205|3555436 said:The problem using 'a' with 'historical' is that 'ahistorical' is also a word. In conversation, this could be confusing depending on context.