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I get confused about how to use "a" and "an" correctly. The question of "a" vs "an" should be decided by the pronunciation of the word that follows the article, right? But I've seen the following sentences on the internet.

{Alternatives to the TOEFL (ACT, SAT, IELTS)—Minimum Score Requirements An ACT English subscore of 21 An SAT Critical Reading score of 540 An IELTS (International English Language Testing System) total score of 6.5, with no subscore lower than 6.0}

I wonder why "an" is used in the sentence "An SAT Critical Reading score of 540". Shouldn't we say "A SAT Critical Reading score"?

Another example, in the following sentence: {The minimum English language requirement of this position is an TOEFL ibt score of 90.}

Shouldn't we say "a TOEFL ibt score" rather than "an TOEFL ibt score"?

Andrew Leach
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Tanuki
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  • Placing of articles happen more on how we pronounce a word and not how we write. If you pronounce 'SAT' - ess-e-tee (all letters separate), it'll take 'an SAT' and if you pronounce it 'sat' as in Saturday, it is 'a SAT'. The rule applies to almost all such examples. – Maulik V Oct 23 '15 at 06:30
  • I'm a bit suprised that the duplicate wasn't suggested when you asked this question. The system may have been confused by the [definite-article] tag; a/an is the indefinite article. – Andrew Leach Oct 23 '15 at 07:03
  • Thanks above! @ Andrew, the question I asked is not new actually. I'm non-native English speaker, sometimes I get confused how to use the language properly. I just happened to read the two sentences on the internet and doubted whether they were written in a correct way. And thanks for the kind remind, it is my first time to come here and I don't even know how this "[duplicate]" comes to my question. I will be careful and try not to ask similar questions next time. – Tanuki Oct 23 '15 at 07:41
  • That's fine; normally when you ask a question, the system uses the title (and possibly the tags) to suggest questions which look similar and may contain the answer. If it didn't, you weren't to know, and this question provides a pointer to the earlier question. – Andrew Leach Oct 23 '15 at 08:10
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    @AndrewLeach I think the question is the duplicate of the one I have posted. The former, When should I use “a” vs “an”, doesn't include references to "words" that consist of initials, especially when the first letter is a consonant. – Mari-Lou A Oct 23 '15 at 08:44
  • @MaulikV: why the weasel wording? The rule is universal. It does not apply to "almost all such" examples. It applies to all examples ever at all times with not a single exception under any circumstances. – RegDwigнt Oct 23 '15 at 11:28

1 Answers1

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I wonder why "an" is used in the sentence "An SAT Critical Reading score of 540". Shouldn't we say "A SAT Critical Reading score"?

I think the reason for an in this case is that the author intended SAT to be pronounced /es eɪ ˈti:/.

SAT /sæt, ˌes eɪ ˈtiː/ BrE AmE noun [countable] 1. trademark (Scholastic Aptitude Test) an examination that American high school students take before they go to college

(My source is an offline American Heritage Dictionary, this link to the online version includes only the latter pronunciation.)

Shouldn't we say "a TOEFL ibt score" rather than "an TOEFL ibt score"?

TOEFL is pronounced /tōʹfəl/, so I don't see any reason for using an in front of it.

TOEFL (tōʹfəl) A trademark for a standardized examination for proficiency in English as a foreign language.

(American Heritage Dictionary)

A.P.
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    A.P., Thank you very much for explaining to me in detail! Then I think "an" is wrongly used in the second sentence. – Tanuki Oct 23 '15 at 06:35
  • @Tanuki No problem, glad I could help. – A.P. Oct 23 '15 at 06:39
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    An upvote from me if you also include the link, and perhaps an explanation that AHD stands for American Heritage Dictionary, not everyone is familiar with the acronym. I for one, didn't know that SAT was an initialism – Mari-Lou A Oct 23 '15 at 07:17
  • @Mari-LouA Thanks for your suggestions, see updated answer. – A.P. Oct 23 '15 at 08:17