Is "noone" even a word?

[jayswin]

question....

One might say "Jordon Leopold is an unrestricted free agent".

Now, most people would abbreviate it to "UFA".

Would you type "Jordon Leopold is an UFA", or "Jordon Leopold is a UFA"?

[awildermode]

Originally Posted by flameswin

question....

One might say "Jordon Leopold is an unrestricted free agent".

Now, most people would abbreviate it to "UFA".

Would you type "Jordon Leopold is an UFA", or "Jordon Leopold is a UFA"?

i noticed that people say "an A", "an E", "an I", "an O"....but say "a U". weird, but it should be "an U"...does not roll of the tongue as easily.

i guess when "u" is pronounced like "uh"- "an" is used. but, when it is pronounced like "you"- "a" is used.

"Leo is an unrestricted free agent, is a United States citizen"

makes my head explode. someone prove me wrong, i would like it to be "an U".

[ResAlien]

A UFA sounds right, but "proper" grammar would suggest "an". The same thing comes up with words that sound like they begin with a vowel. Would you say "I'll be there in an hour" or "I'll be there in a hour". I usually say "an"

One thing that bugs me is when people say the word "often". I was taught as a kid that it is pronounced offen and that it was dirty americans that said off-ten.

[awildermode]

Originally Posted by ResAlien

A UFA sounds right, but "proper" grammar would suggest "an". The same thing comes up with words that sound like they begin with a vowel. Would you say "I'll be there in an hour" or "I'll be there in a hour". I usually say "an"

One thing that bugs me is when people say the word "often". I was taught as a kid that it is pronounced offen and that it was dirty americans that said off-ten.

some diry brits say off-ten, also

[ResAlien]

Heh, not trying to disparage anyone, just what I was told .

[awildermode]

Originally Posted by ResAlien

Heh, not trying to disparage anyone, just what I was told .

...trying to disparage noone

[4X4]

Originally Posted by ResAlien

Heh, not trying to disparage anyone, just what I was told .

In my whole life, I've only heard the word 'disparage' used once. If you can guess where, I'll buy you a beer.

[flip]

Originally Posted by 4X4

In my whole life, I've only heard the word 'disparage' used once. If you can guess where, I'll buy you a beer.

When you nailing an ex?

[OBCT]

Originally Posted by flameswin

question....

One might say "Jordon Leopold is an unrestricted free agent".

Now, most people would abbreviate it to "UFA".

Would you type "Jordon Leopold is an UFA", or "Jordon Leopold is a UFA"?

Technically, you think of the way people will naturally pronounce whatever is written, and apply the a(n) rule from there. Basically, awildermode had it correct. Don't let seemingly "wrong" grammar rules lock you into something you know is not correct; there's probably an exception to the rule.

When writing your second example, "Jordan Leopold is an UFA," would be incorrect. Most people naturally read it as they see it, so, "Jordan Leopold is a U-F-A (letters pronounced individually)," would be correct. Pronouncing the letter "u" by itself requires the starting "y" (in this case) vowel sound, meaning the added "n" is not required to fulfill the needed vowel sound between words.

Now, if you intentionally* write out an acronym knowing that the audience will automatically translate it to a full word or phrase in their head (some people do this subconsciously with certain acronyms, etc), then the opposite rule could be correct. If, with the same example as above, it was generally accepted that "UFA" directly equals "unrestricted free agent" in people's minds, then, "Jordan Leopold is an UFA," could also be correct. It's a bit of a stretch, and I'd argue it's rarely correct, but there are probably instances where it fits. Such is english.


*This brought me to another tough grammar issue, which I avoided all together so as not to be ridiculed. Purposely vs. purposefully. Which one correctly replaces intentionally in my sentence?

[flip]

Originally Posted by awildermode

"Leo is an unrestricted free agent, is a United States citizen"

This is correct and the reason is simple, it is the pronunciation of the U in un-restricted and u-nited. Sorry if I knew how to show the proper pronunciation dictionary symbols I would.

[Phanuthier]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

Seems like a good thread for this:

resign = to quit
re-sign = to sign again

And they mean almost opposite things.

Originally Posted by Gozer

Ok, can anyone else picture Bobble finally freeing himself of the burden of finding the right thread for this?

-No, not Random Thoughts, too easily passed over. This has to be remembered.

-Moss was just re-signed, the thread title is wrong. I can't keep letting this go but I don't want the thread going off the tracks. Last thing I need is some fracking wise-crack username from that damn Mexican.

-Keenan was fired, everyone will read this thread and people seem to be in a good mood. Maybe I can tie in a Rich Preston joke. Naw, just isn't right.

-Perfect, but not enough exposure in the Quad City sub-forum. Can't waste this in the minors... that would be implying this is the Anders Ericsson of grammatical pet peeves.

Bump cause its been a day later and I'm still laughing at this

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by ResAlien

A UFA sounds right, but "proper" grammar would suggest "an". The same thing comes up with words that sound like they begin with a vowel. Would you say "I'll be there in an hour" or "I'll be there in a hour". I usually say "an"

I would disagree that 'proper' grammar suggests 'an'. Most writing authorities agree that the article preceding any word is based entirely on the sound of the word, not the actual letter it starts with. The letter 'U' starts with a consonant sound (y), so when it's used it an acronym, you use 'a'. Similarly, F, H, L, M, N, R, S, and X are consonants that start with a vowel sound, so you'd write 'an' in front of them. Chicago Manual of Style even points out the interesting example (at least, interesting to me) that you would write 'an NAACP meeting', but also 'a NATO meeting'.

[malcolmk14]

I love this thread.

As far as "they're, there, their" goes, don't people learn that in First Grade?

Poor grammar is a huge pet peeve of mine.

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by malcolmk14

I love this thread.

As far as "they're, there, their" goes, don't people learn that in First Grade?

Poor grammar is a huge pet peeve of mine.

I doubt it. First grade is when kids are introduced to the farcical "Fun with Dick and Jane".

[onetwo_threefour]

The a/an debate I always liked was 'an historical account'

Although the 'h' in historical is hard, the most common way to write this is with 'an' instead of 'a'.

[Rerun]

Originally Posted by octothorp

I would disagree that 'proper' grammar suggests 'an'. Most writing authorities agree that the article preceding any word is based entirely on the sound of the word, not the actual letter it starts with. The letter 'U' starts with a consonant sound (y), so when it's used it an acronym, you use 'a'. Similarly, F, H, L, M, N, R, S, and X are consonants that start with a vowel sound, so you'd write 'an' in front of them. Chicago Manual of Style even points out the interesting example (at least, interesting to me) that you would write 'an NAACP meeting', but also 'a NATO meeting'.

Wow... where do you learn all this stuff? Why do you learn all this stuff?

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by Rerun

Wow... where do you learn all this stuff? Why do you learn all this stuff?

I believe Octothorp has mentioned he is an author, so words would be of particular interest to him.

[Rerun]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

I believe Octothorp has mentioned he is an author, so words would be of particular interest to him.

That certainly explains a lot. Stuff like this usually put me to sleep while I was still in school.... thats why I tended to chose courses in the sciences or maths.

[octothorp]

Originally Posted by Rerun

Wow... where do you learn all this stuff? Why do you learn all this stuff?

Sadly, it's my job to know all of this, or at least to know where to look it up. I spend all day enforcing grammatical rules in a technical documentation environment, and then all evening bending or breaking them while writing creative fiction.

[Bobblehead]

I had a grade 9 English teacher who railed against people who would use "alot" in assignments.

And many of the errors that bother me are the ones that make me stop reading and back up because suddenly the sentence doesn't make sense. The point being made might be 100% correct, but as soon as I need to start rereading to figure out what you are trying to say there is a pretty good chance I will give up and skip your post.

But the mistake I really do love: "Your an idiot"

From the Urban Dictionary:

your an idiot

a response that
1) makes one chuckle
2) proves that you didn't have a good English teacher
3) is said by true idiots
4) is now in Urban Dictionary