Re: Proofread request for patch which fixes a/an errors
On Sun, Dec 05, 2004 at 08:28:02AM -0800, Matt Kraai wrote:
> On Sat, Dec 04, 2004 at 11:16:32PM +0100, Jens Seidel wrote:
> > Hi all,
> >
> > I checked the website for errors related to the indefinite articles "a"
> > and "an".
> > As usual I found again many errors and need your approval before I apply
> > this patch. I will not commit it when I get no OK!
> >
> > A short summary of this rule can be found on
> > http://www.fortunecity.com/bally/durrus/153/gramch14.html#2
>
> Use "a" if the words pronunciation starts with a consonant sound, "an"
> if it starts with a vowel sound.
I know ...!!??
> > Nevertheless this article doesn't answer all my questions:
> >
> > Please check the following:
> >
> > A or an FTP|URL|HTML|LDAP? (Both versions are used regularly)
>
> Since are pronounced by spelling out at least the initial letter
> (e.g., "an eff-tee-pee site"), "FTP", "HTML", and "LDAP" should be
> preceded by "an" and "URL" should be preceded by "a".
>
> > Why is "an SSH (key|...)" used so often and not "a SSH"?
>
> See above.
OK, SSH is not (sometimes) pronounced "secure socket layer"?
> > Please note that I also attached files "a" and "an" which contain
> > the grep output of phrases containing a resp. an where I'm not sure and
> > which contain probably many errors too.
>
> The above rule should cover all cases.
Thanks, nevertheless it would be nice if you or someone elso could check
the patch and confirm it. It's not as simple as one might think, compare
with my large patch.
Jens
Reply to: