Received: by 10.66.84.202 with SMTP id b10mr3219230paz.43.1352391902648;
        Thu, 08 Nov 2012 08:25:02 -0800 (PST)
From: "Charles Richmond" <numer...@aquaporin4.com>
Newsgroups: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: node names
Date: Fri, 2 Nov 2012 09:51:07 -0500
Organization: A noiseless patient Spider
Lines: 28
Message-ID: <k70ml7$3bt$1@dont-email.me>
References: <m3pq4543rs.fsf@garlic.com> <35d6be63-c4b0-4688-83e8-0e76bd3e4396@b6g2000yqd.googlegroups.com> <m3pq4543rs.fsf@garlic.com> <35d6be63-c4b0-4688-83e8-0e76bd3e4396@b6g2000yqd.googlegroups.com> <m3pq4543rs.fsf@garlic.com> <35d6be63-c4b0-4688-83e8-0e76bd3e4396@b6g2000yqd.googlegroups.com> <1143.719T1415T7404704@kltpzyxm.invalid> <PM0004CD32AFC7943E@aca31192.ipt.aol.com> <509180d2-6878-472f-b3c5-4a2aa6196ab3@k20g2000vbj.googlegroups.com>
Reply-To: "Charles Richmond" <numer...@aquaporin4.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Injection-Date: Fri, 2 Nov 2012 14:51:20 +0000 (UTC)
Injection-Info: mx04.eternal-september.org; posting-host="efa8a9c5be6578faf821a716d61d5f88";
	logging-data="3453"; mail-complaints-to="ab...@eternal-september.org";	posting-account="U2FsdGVkX193KhVcP1ac/oightq251vsMZHWbhJNGZc="
X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.0.6002.18463
In-Reply-To: <509180d2-6878-472f-b3c5-4a2aa6196ab3@k20g2000vbj.googlegroups.com>
X-Newsreader: Microsoft Windows Mail 6.0.6002.18197
Cancel-Lock: sha1:+hS100Diyo6J2d62Bz3USZ47ImM=
X-Priority: 3
X-MSMail-Priority: Normal
Path: s9ni86401pbb.0!nntp.google.com!npeer02.iad.highwinds-media.com!news.highwinds-media.com!feed-me.highwinds-media.com!border3.nntp.dca.giganews.com!border1.nntp.dca.giganews.com!border4.nntp.dca.giganews.com!border2.nntp.dca.giganews.com!nntp.giganews.com!news.mccarragher.com!news.grnet.gr!de-l.enfer-du-nord.net!feeder2.enfer-du-nord.net!eternal-september.org!feeder.eternal-september.org!mx04.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail
Bytes: 2719
X-Received-Bytes: 2827
Content-Type: text/plain;
	format=flowed;
	charset="iso-8859-1";
	reply-type=original
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

"Quadibloc" <jsav...@ecn.ab.ca> wrote in message 
news:509180d2-6878-472f-b3c5-4a2aa6196ab3@k20g2000vbj.googlegroups.com...
On Oct 29, 7:27 am, jmfbahciv <See.ab...@aol.com> wrote:
>> Charlie Gibbs wrote:
>> > In article
>> > <35d6be63-c4b0-4688-83e8-0e76bd3e4...@b6g2000yqd.googlegroups.com>,
>
>
> > "E-mail" evolved from "mail", which is a collective noun; I feel
> > that this too should be inherited.
>>
>> So how do you write "an e-mail account"? Using "a" doesn't sound
>> right.
>
>Huh? The use of "a" or "an" depends only on whether the word following
>starts with a vowel.
>

That's the simplified rule we all learned in elementary school.  But words 
beginning with *certain* vowel sounds... still take "a" instead of "an".  A 
case in point is "utility"... you would say "a utility" and *not* "an 
utility".  ISTM the whole matter is what makes the words flow better... 
makes them easier to say.

--

numerist at aquaporin4 dot com