OK, Copy Bitch, I’ve got one for you: Is it proper to use “a” or “an” before the acronym LGBT? I am a firm believer that “an” should only be used before vowels, so “a” should be used prior to LGBT. But everywhere I look, people are writing “an LGBT.” What say you?
–Rob F, NYC
It’s the vowel or consonant sound that’s critical, not necessarily what the actual letter is itself. So, because you’d say “el” for the letter “L” (which is a vowel sound), “an” is appropriate.
Grammar Girl explains it quite well in this post.
Hope this helps!
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Take an look? I don’t think so!
Exactly, Michael. That’s because the “l” sound in “look” is the hard “l” sound, not the “el” in the example: LGBT. Thanks for stopping by.