Use of the indefinite article “an” before an acronym that begins with M.?
The basic rule for using the indefinite article “an” is that the word following begins with a vowel or with a silent H.
But what if the world following is an acronym that begins with M?
The acronym is MC1 (used to describe a job category, but that’s not really relevant)
which is it?
a MC1
an MC1
I say “an MC1 “but when I write it out it looks weird.
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An is correct for MC1, but would not be correct for something like ZC1 as it is the initial sound that is important not the letter.
Vowel sounds = an, others = a
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When handing out indefinite articles, place “an” next to a word (or in this case, an acronym) that SOUNDS as if it began with a vowell.
I’d like to become an MC1. I want to fly an F14. The building has an L.E.E.D. certification.
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When deciding which article to use you have to work with the vowel sound, not the vowel. For example we say “He’s an MBA”
cos the sound of an M in Mba is em, hence the article an is used.
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I cann’t think of the word now, but the same thing happened to me recently… My friend suggested that since “M” sounds like it should be spelled “Em” the correct way would be with “an” instead of “a”. I would have to agree with this way of thinking.
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“an MC1” sounds much better
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An M.A
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