Silly questions... Off Topic

[Richard Wagner]

Dear Michel,

This isn't a silly question.  It's just a question about silly English
Grammar.

The reason so many people write "an SAT" is because, as children, we're
taught to use the word "an" if it precedes a word that starts with a vowel
like "a,e,i,o,u."

Now while it's true that the "S" in "SAT" is not a vowel, if you speak it
out loud, the "S" is pronounced like "es" and therefore it feels like
you're saying a vowel.  So by habit, we automatically say and write "an
SAT" not "a SAT".

And you're correct, it does trip off the tounge more easily this way.

Whether actually writing "an SAT" as opposed to "a SAT"  is technically
correct or not, I wouldn't know.

Hope your not more confused than before.

                                         Richard Wagner RPT




At 09:34 AM 11/9/97 +0000, you wrote:
>Dear list,
>
>I apologize fo my limited understanding in English.  I see repetitively 
>people writing "an SAT" and one can see it has been written at least a 
>hundred times that way in you search for that string in the archives.  
>Is it because it simply slips better on the tongue or is it because I 
>really make a mistake in writing "a SAT"?
>
>Regards,
>
>Michel Lachance, RPT
>
>