"An" before a "H" word.

Animavore · #1 by **Animavore** » Sep 04, 2011 7:28 am

I just recently noticed recently a lot of people don't put an 'an' before 'h' words where the 'h' is silent ('an hour' 'an heir' compared to 'a hollow' 'a hero'). Is this not practised every where?

EDIT: Some may have noticed I said "a 'h'" and not "an 'h'". In Hiberno-English we pronounce it 'haitch' not 'aitch'.

katja z · #2 by **katja z** » Sep 04, 2011 7:52 am

The rule is as you described it, I'm not aware of any differences on this level between the different varieties of English. It's just that not everyone follows the rules.

ETA I suppose sometimes this might also reflect differences in pronunciation.

Animavore · #3 by **Animavore** » Sep 04, 2011 7:55 am

By the way, do English people say 'an horror' ' an hero' etc... seeing as you never pronounce your haitchs anyway? :lay:

ughaibu · #4 by **ughaibu** » Sep 04, 2011 8:00 am

An whosit.

natselrox · #5 by **natselrox** » Sep 04, 2011 8:00 am

Birth of Silent Letters

X: I say a word, you say a word starting with the last letter of my word and so on.
Y: Okay.
X: Dead.
Y: Duck.
X: Kfuck.
Y: But "fuck" isn't spelled with a "k".
X: 'course it is. The "K" is silent.
Y: No, it ain't!
X: I have a gun.
Y: Arright then...

*best read in an Eddie Izzard voice*

redwhine · #6 by **redwhine** » Sep 04, 2011 8:07 am

Noooooooooo! Not another Andrew4Handel thread! Pleeeze.

katja z · #7 by **katja z** » Sep 04, 2011 8:09 am

Animavore · #8 by **Animavore** » Sep 04, 2011 8:10 am

Who is this 'Handel' that Andrew is for anyway?

Varangian · #9 by **Varangian** » Sep 04, 2011 8:36 am

Anhimavore.

redwhine · **#10** by **redwhine** » Sep 04, 2011 10:03 am

Animavore wrote:Who is this 'Handel' that Andrew is for anyway?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Frideric_Handel

Scar · **#11** by **Scar** » Sep 04, 2011 10:21 am

Animavore wrote:Who is this 'Handel' that Andrew is for anyway?

Andrew doesn't think that's the kind of information 4 you to handle.

The_Piper · **#12** by **The_Piper** » Sep 04, 2011 11:34 am

I say "a historic" because the H is not silent in the US. Other than that, it seems about the same. My French-speaking mother also says "the letter haitch". :lol:

mraltair · **#13** by **mraltair** » Sep 04, 2011 12:06 pm

Blip · **#14** by **Blip** » Sep 04, 2011 4:34 pm

Animavore wrote:I just recently noticed recently a lot of people don't put an 'an' before 'h' words where the 'h' is silent ('an hour' 'an heir' compared to 'a hollow' 'a hero'). Is this not practised every where?

Count me in: that's the rule I follow. That is, 'an' if the 'h' is silent.

I have noticed people saying 'an hotel', which I find odd. But then, I see 'of' replacing 'have' from time to time (as in, 'he might of dropped an aitch'). Repetition don't make it right ;-)

thaesofereode · **#15** by **thaesofereode** » Sep 04, 2011 5:09 pm

While we're on the subject of "h" words, I'm noticing with increasing frequency the phrase "might of," when people actually mean to say "might have" -- as in, "I might have left the door open." Is this also a result of unpronounced letters "h" in common usage?

The_Piper · **#16** by **The_Piper** » Sep 04, 2011 5:19 pm

thaesofereode wrote:While we're on the subject of "h" words, I'm noticing with increasing frequency the phrase "might of," when people actually mean to say "might have" -- as in, "I might have left the door open." Is this also a result of unpronounced letters "h" in common usage?

That one's grammatically wrong. They are spelling out "might've, could've, etc" the way it sounds.
I used to be a grammer nazi until Mozilla started using an automatic spell-checker. :oops:

thaesofereode · **#17** by **thaesofereode** » Sep 04, 2011 5:36 pm

The_Piper wrote:
thaesofereode wrote:While we're on the subject of "h" words, I'm noticing with increasing frequency the phrase "might of," when people actually mean to say "might have" -- as in, "I might have left the door open." Is this also a result of unpronounced letters "h" in common usage?

That one's grammatically wrong. They are spelling out "might've, could've, etc" the way it sounds.
I used to be a grammer nazi until Mozilla started using an automatic spell-checker.

Yah. It's a bit more of a grammatical thing. But the use of "a" or "an" before an "h" word is a grammatical question, too, yes? And these questions have to do with pronunciation having an effect on how they're written out.

In any case, banish the thought — or even the slightest whiff — of my being a "grammar nazi." I've been roundly and thoroughly criticized (or "criticised" for our esteemed UK denizens) for bringing up points of grammar on this forum, so I've sworn it off . . . at least for now.

The_Piper · **#18** by **The_Piper** » Sep 04, 2011 6:05 pm

thaesofereode wrote:
The_Piper wrote:
thaesofereode wrote:While we're on the subject of "h" words, I'm noticing with increasing frequency the phrase "might of," when people actually mean to say "might have" -- as in, "I might have left the door open." Is this also a result of unpronounced letters "h" in common usage?

That one's grammatically wrong. They are spelling out "might've, could've, etc" the way it sounds.
I used to be a grammer nazi until Mozilla started using an automatic spell-checker.

Yah. It's a bit more of a grammatical thing. But the use of "a" or "an" before an "h" word is a grammatical question, too, yes? And these questions have to do with pronunciation having an effect on how they're written out.

In any case, banish the thought — or even the slightest whiff — of my being a "grammar nazi." I've been roundly and thoroughly criticized (or "criticised" for our esteemed UK denizens) for bringing up points of grammar on this forum, so I've sworn it off . . . at least for now.

The use of "a" or "an" before an "h" word is a grammatical question too, don't mind me. I was thinking of when I hear "an historic" spoken, it sounds off to me, while I don't detect "might of" in a conversation. Or your for you're. :lay:

Just kidding, I'm reformed too.

Varangian · **#19** by **Varangian** » Sep 04, 2011 6:05 pm

thaesofereode wrote:
The_Piper wrote:
thaesofereode wrote:While we're on the subject of "h" words, I'm noticing with increasing frequency the phrase "might of," when people actually mean to say "might have" -- as in, "I might have left the door open." Is this also a result of unpronounced letters "h" in common usage?

That one's grammatically wrong. They are spelling out "might've, could've, etc" the way it sounds.
I used to be a grammer nazi until Mozilla started using an automatic spell-checker.

Yah. It's a bit more of a grammatical thing. But the use of "a" or "an" before an "h" word is a grammatical question, too, yes? And these questions have to do with pronunciation having an effect on how they're written out.

In any case, banish the thought — or even the slightest whiff — of my being a "grammar nazi." I've been roundly and thoroughly criticized (or "criticised" for our esteemed UK denizens) for bringing up points of grammar on this forum, so I've sworn it off . . . at least for now.

...but not without subtly correcting The_Piper's spelling of "grammar".

The_Piper · **#20** by **The_Piper** » Sep 04, 2011 6:10 pm

I know how to spell grammar, but I did that by accident. I caught it after I posted but thought it belongs there. :lol:

I'm still used to calling myself a "grammer nazi" after correcting someone, so they know I'm messing around and not seriously upset about spelling. :shifty:

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