Bull's Eye Business Writing Tips

Tip #419: Six rules for using "a" or "an":

These FREE weekly business writing tips
will help you improve your business writing.

Tip #419: Six rules for using "a" or "an":

  1. Use "an" before historic and historical. Also, use "a" before other "h" sounds.

  2. Use "an" before words in which the initial "h" is not sounded—herb, honor, heir. 

  3. Use "a" before words beginning with a "yew" sound.

  4. When choosing an indefinite article to precede a number, consider the sound of the number: "an" $11.00 check, "a" 10-pound weight.

  5. Be careful of abbreviations. For example, if you read F. Y. I. "for your information," then an "a" would precede it. Otherwise, "an" would be correct because "F: is pronounced "ef."

  6. Use "a" before the word "one," because the "o" has a consonant sound "w"."

Weekly Exercise:

We receive over 200 emails per day.  We encourage you to answer our weekly tips, but please, if you are answering this weekly tip exercise,  identify the tip number in the subject line of your email.

This week’s quiz:

Change the adjective or adverb that is used incorrectly:

  1. My son doesn't feel very good today.

  2. She was the most beautiful of the two.

  3. Speak slow, or you will lose your audience.

  4. Life in the city is exciting, but life in the country is best.

  5. If you don't talk clear, the audience will not understand you.

Comments from our readers:

Randall Christison, Attorney at Law commented about Tip #418:

Make that: "The use of "said" in a phrase like "the said document" is appropriate only in bad legal writing. Yes, you do see some of my fellow lawyers using that construction, but it is considered substandard by careful legal writers. Good legal writing is identical to good writing. Like any specialized field, there are terms of art and specialized language, but otherwise, writing is writing. 

Thanks for your newsletter.

******

Frances F commented:

I've been receiving your tips for some time and find them very helpful. Thank you!

I would like to make a suggestion concerning the subject line of your email. I archive your email in a designated folder but find it very difficult to use efficiently. 'Tip #406 doesn't give much in for on what that tip is about. If I have time, I change the subject line to a short description of the topic, much the same as you have done in your archives. Why don't you delete the unnecessary repetition of 'writing tips' in brackets and instead include the topic such [transitions] , [openings], etc.? (Is that period after etc correct before a question mark?) As it is now, I save only the ones in which I've changed the subject line. Are you intentionally trying to get us to delete your mail and use your website archives? If so, I understand and realize I should probably not have the tip delivered weekly but only a message that 'A new tip has been added'.  

*****

Our comment to Frances:

Thanks for the suggestion. We decided to use that subject many years ago, and never realized that our readers might have a better way to title them. What would you think of "Writing Tip #418 - The use of "said" as a title? Would it help in your filing routine. By the way, you could always go to our Tips Index page, where we have a search capability. That might save you archiving the tips you feel are interesting to you at any one time.

We will poll our readers, and see what they suggest.
Dan, Webmaster
P.S. (Your use of etc.? is correct.)
*****

What do you think readers?
******

Frances responded to our answer: I'm impressed with your quick and thoughtful response. Your suggested title would be great, and I hope your other readers agree.

Yes, I realize I can use the Tips Index but that requires me to leave my mailbox and go to the Internet. Of course, this is easy but, if in my mailbox, I will automatically look at them. On the internet I have to make the decision to go there. Thanks again for your quick response. 

Quote of the week:

"Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that
take our breath." (Unknown)

Answers to this week's quiz:

  1. My son doesn't feel very well today.
  2. She was the more beautiful of the two.
  3. Speak slowly, or you will lose your audience.
  4. Life in the city is exciting, but life in the country is better.
  5. If you don't talk clearly, the audience will not understand you.

To send the above exercise answers to Gloria for her comments and review,  copy the questions,  paste  them into an email, answer them,  and send to Marsha@basic-learning.com.

 

See this week's tip

You can always see the FREE Weekly Business Writing Tip.
But you must be on my mailing list to receive the answers! 

Please share these FREE tips with your friends.

For those who are first-timers, sign up by sending me an email.
 
Google Custom Search

These business writing tips brought to you by:
Bull's Eye Business Writing Bull's Eye Business Writing logo
10 Easy Guides for Getting to Your Writing Target
By Gloria Pincu, M.A. , President of Basic Learning Systems, Inc.
return to first page
Please feel free to share these tips with a friend
To find out more about us:

Order our books, CD-ROM and online courses today through our secure online store.

 
Here are some books on business writing that I recommend.

Bull's Eye Business Writing is also available from Amazon.com.
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation, author, Lynne Truss The Everything Resume Book by Steven Graber
On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction , by William Knowlton Zinsser  The Gregg Reference Manual, by William A. Sabin 
The Elements of Style, by William Strunk, White, E. B. White  How to Take the Fog Out of Business Writing, by Robert Gunning, Richard A. Kallan (Contributor) 

More books on business writing and other business subjects  (available from Amazon.com). 

Contact Gloria Pincu at Basic Learning Systems, Inc.

Bull's Eye Business Writing banner