I actually need your help now. Which of these is grammatically correct?
“A Historic Event”
Or…
“An Historic Event”
I’ve been told it’s the latter, but common grammar rules say the former. I’m not so sure.
Help me out guys, where’s Lynne Truss when you need her?
In other news: Last 24 hours of my existance has produced fuck all newsworthy or worthwhile. Except I had this much spam this morning.
Seems like all I’m getting is spam at the moment (it’s spammy members for the toplist so I cannot block it). Surprise me with something shocking and bloggable in the comment box, or enter the website visualization gallery 
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Comments: 23 Comments
Rhys Wynne, the author of this blog, is a 20 something web designer from Colwyn Bay. 
It depends….
An historic debate is correct – but you wouldn’t say an house.
Also being a Welsh I am shit at English, but I’d say “a historic event”.
what about the cancellation of quiz mania… that is newsworthy. what am I going to waste money on now gee wizz.
shouldn’t it be historical event?
Frankly anyone who says the second deserves a punch in the face. The “an” is there because if you’re posh you drop the h of historic, leaving a vowel at the start of the word and thus you use an – like “an hour”, “an honest man”. Of course, this is bloody stupid, hence the face punching – the correct usage is “a historic”.
You can get rid of that ‘ in Nazis for a start! Sorry, I’m a linguistics student. I will try and find the answer.
This is all I can find in my text books:
“The use of a or an varies before a few words beginning with h, such as hotel and historical. The latter form is often felt to be old-fashioned, though it has begun to re-emerge in recent years.”
David Crystal-Rediscover Grammar (p139)
(well respected linguistics guy who happens to live in Holyhead)
As is often the case in linguistics, it semms that either is acceptable.
The right phrase should be “an hysterical event”.
Tch.
hmmm something surprising…well knowing me its not something I should put down. I can be very surprising
For official correctness use “An”. It’s a stupid rule, but it’s still a rule, so stick to it.
(Also Grammar has an R at the end of it… sorry)
@Lottie – Doh! Fixed it
@Han – You’re intriguing me with that comment!
@nAL – Haha
@Sarah – I stand by my Nazi comment
@Jacob – I thought it was more a chavvy thing, rather than a posh thing. I hear myself say “an historic event” sometimes **ducks punch**
@Guy – It’s not for me, it’s for something through work.
@Ryan – Take up gambling. Or Entropia Universe. It’s ace!
@Tilesey – Neither would I tbh.
I like spam, particularly with tinned tomatoes. Has anyone else noticed in gmail, go to your spam page. The ads along the top always contain links to a website with recipes using spam. comic genius!
It is soooo “A Historic Event”…. It’s only ‘an’ if its before a word beginning with a vowel or a SILENT ‘h’! Like.. “It’s an honour”.
That’s how I learnt it anyway!
I haven’t got a problem with the comment-it’s just that it shouldn’t have an apostrophe because it’s a plural!
@Sarah – :O, haha my mistake!
@Paddy – I thought so too
@Sibz – I never really seen it, I don’t have GMail.
Don’t have Gmail?
Retard
It’s the best thing eva – SO MUCH BETTER THAN LOTUS NOTES, but that is a whole other rant.
@Tilesey – I’ve never seen the need for it to be honest. I love and use everything else by Google, but my Gmail account lies dormant.
**expects Han to fire back with HOW CAN YOU BE SUCH A FRICKING IDIOT!**
QUICK send him an invite!
you know what I’m talking about Rhys. It makes for good a football distraction!
I put the post back – but HEAVILY edited lol! IE it only has reference to my lack of money – not how it got there! heh I’m hosting now!
http://www.jimloy.com/language/historic.htm
It makes sense either way, and the differences are so minor that I don’t think anyone would give you guff over it (save perhaps the grammar check in Word). The use of “an” is more antiquated, from the day when English speakers were more anal-retentive about the proper pronunciation of words… “history” comes from the Old French word historie (said with no “h” sound). But yeah, no one will really care now.
That one particular rule has always really fucked with my writing too.
I think it is “a”. I am more concerned with the apostrophe in Nazis.
Exactly. That’s what I have been trying to tell him! But will he listen to a me? No.
And with the a/an thing, I’m pretty sure it’s either/or, although an history sounds old-fashioned (see Crystal quote above). I certainly would say a history but an history is by no means incorrect.
Sorry I mean it’s either-you can use either-my brain isn’t working yet.
who in the world would drop the “h” when saying the word ‘historical’? Now that’s stupid!
A pity this inquiry should provoke such a violent response. Of course, my age evidently is showing – proper grammar was a necessity. In my day, an was used – an historic event.