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An historic or a historic



 
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ESL Forums | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
watch film vs. see film vs. watch the film vs. see the film | subject verb agreement-'is' or 'are'
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An historic or a historic #1 (permalink) Tue Feb 14, 2006 5:14 am   An historic or a historic
 

Here is somehing I have been wondering for a while. Why is "an" always used with the word historic instead of "a"?

For example:
It was an historic moment at the Olympics today.
Derf
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An historic or a historic #2 (permalink) Tue Feb 14, 2006 7:52 am   An historic or a historic
 

It isn't always-- in some cases, either is acceptable, as here, where the unstressed first syllable of the h- word leaves the pronunciation of /h/ very soft, almost vowel-like. Other similar words:

a/an historic moment
a/an Hawaiian guitar
a/an Havana cigar
a/an hallucinatory experience
a/an Herculean task.


Sometimes, real pronunciation differences determine different indefinite articles, as in a/an herb.
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An historic or a historic #3 (permalink) Sun Sep 14, 2008 15:39 pm   An historic or a historic
 

Quote:
Sometimes, real pronunciation differences determine different indefinite articles, as in a/an herb.

Hi MM,
Do you mean if we pronounce the word 'herb' strongly, it should be 'a herb' and vice versa?

Many thanks,
Nessie.
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An historic or a historic #4 (permalink) Sun Sep 14, 2008 22:21 pm   An historic or a historic
 

.
Yes.
.
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watch film vs. see film vs. watch the film vs. see the film | subject verb agreement-'is' or 'are'
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