Timeline for Are there any circumstances when the article 'a' is used before the word 'answer'?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
11 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 24, 2016 at 16:08 | comment | added | Omkar Reddy | @AlanCarmack Thank you. I asked this since I saw this usage in The guardian. See ninth paragraph. | |
| Oct 24, 2016 at 16:02 | comment | added | Alan Carmack | @గణేష్ రెడ్డి The use of a, an is determined only by the word immediately after the indefinite article. So native speakers will say and write a spectacled Oxford graduate. See this answer by ELU's nohat, which mentions the myth or misplaced "rule" that it should be an before spectacled Oxford graduate. | |
| Oct 24, 2016 at 15:52 | comment | added | Omkar Reddy | @AlanCarmack That's okay. But what about An spectacled Oxford graduate? Is it right? Can you clarify this? | |
| Oct 24, 2016 at 15:46 | comment | added | Alan Carmack | @గణేష్ రెడ్డి Yes, before silent h, as in an hour, an honest... and some people also use an before words such as an historical, because the first syllable is not stressed. See ELU's a versus an before a word beginning with h | |
| Oct 24, 2016 at 7:51 | comment | added | Omkar Reddy | @AlanCarmack Can we use an before a word starting with a consonant in any case? Can we say an speculated Oxford graduate? | |
| Oct 23, 2016 at 3:28 | comment | added | Alan Carmack | @Paul , Stephie, Mohammad, and others, even if these two instances are typos, nevertheless, as Paul mentions and as I answer, there is a rule for the use of a before answer, and that rule is that is how it is in some dialects. | |
| Oct 23, 2016 at 0:31 | comment | added | Paul | @AlanCarmack Actually, I'm partially wrong. There are some dialects where "uh answer" sounds right, but those are generally low prestige dialects and would not be used in a formal written context like those quoted, so I still think this is a typo situation. | |
| Oct 23, 2016 at 0:24 | comment | added | Paul | @AlanCarmack I can't imagine anyone but a baby saying "a answer", I'm pretty sure I've never heard a native speaker say it (though possibly when imitating a baby), and Stephie addresses both the fact that it is extremely rare (nGram) and why the typo would persist (low standards for web articles). I think typo is a very good explanation here. | |
| Oct 22, 2016 at 20:24 | comment | added | Alan Carmack | -1 There are no rules except what native speakers actually say. You jump to the conclusion that these are typos, yet typos are generally fixed within hours of publication. These uses may not conform to the rules that you were taught, but they are authentic native uses. | |
| Oct 22, 2016 at 19:47 | vote | accept | Sakib Arifin | ||
| Oct 23, 2016 at 5:16 | |||||
| Oct 22, 2016 at 19:37 | history | answered | Stephie | CC BY-SA 3.0 |