0

I know that we should use "an" instead of "a" if the next word (such as a noun) is a vowel.

But I'd like to know if there is an exception to this? One example:

How to install an SSL certificate.

Is the above example incorrect or is an exception? To me, it just sounds right but I don't know if it's correct.

Ricky
  • 20,450
Aurora A
  • 209
  • It’s a valid exception because SSL sounds like ass ass al, hence “a SSL” would sound bumpy. That’s a common, rough rule of thumb, but it also shows that there are just as much exceptions as rules on a vs. an. – dakab Apr 05 '17 at 19:05
  • 1
    There's a lot of variation in how people pronounce things, so there are times when either could be appropriate. For example the programming language SQL: https://oracle-base.com/blog/2015/01/02/a-sql-or-an-sql/ – Andrew Brēza Apr 05 '17 at 19:12

2 Answers2

3

If you were speaking that sentence, you'd say

How to install an ess ess ell certificate.

The word that describes the letter S - which I represent as "ess" above - begins with a vowel sound, so "an" is appropriate.

If it's an abbreviation that's typically pronounced as a word, instead of spelling out the letters, then normal rules apply:

They're having a NATO exercise

People pronounce NATO as "nato", not as "enn ay tee oh."

Some abbreviations are treated differently by different people. The term for a web address is "URL." I think most people spell out the letters, making it "a URL" (a you are ell), but some prefer to speak it as a word - "an URL" (an earl).

Isn't English fun?

Chris Hunt
  • 484
2

"SSL" is an abbreviation pronounced "es-es-el."

Its first sound is a vowel, which is why one must use the article "an" rather than "a."

John Lawler
  • 107,887
Ricky
  • 20,450
  • So if it sounds like a vowel too, we should use "an"? – Aurora A Apr 08 '17 at 18:38
  • 1
    If the first SOUND of an acronym or abbreviation is a vowel, absolutely. – Ricky Apr 08 '17 at 18:41
  • Yes, but.... For historical reasons (chiefly that, in French, the "h" in "histoire" and "hotel" from which our words "history" and "hotel" come, is mute), it is not uncommon for "an" to precede those and similar words, as in "An historic event", "an hotel with 45 guest rooms", even though these days we usually pronounce the "h" in both those words. But the "h" in "hedgehog" has never been mute (except in Cockney), so we don't say "an hedgehog" (I think even a Cockney would say "a 'edgehog"). – tautophile Jun 10 '18 at 18:02