An RP vs A RP

[Boomarang]

I've been bothered by this for a while.. I noticed that a lot of people put "an RP" which is grammatically incorrect. "Role Play" does not start with a vowel so why do people put "an" in front of it? I would like to know what everyone prefers and why.

I try to be as grammatically correct as possible so naturally I use "a" when describing a role play.

[RedBassett]

An sounds natural because we pronounce "r" "ar". It has a vowel at the beginning if you are talking about the letter itself.

That being said, I would probably use "an RP" and "a Role Play".

[Søren]

I say 'a RP' just as i always have, didn't know if it was right or wrong lol

[Dylan]

An RP.

'An' is used before vowels. Although it doesn't look correct on paper when you first see it, you'll find it does when you read it.

It does depend on how you pronounce 'a'. The above works for "Ah," but "A RP" would sound correct if you pronounce 'a' like "Eh."

[Shrike]

What RedBassett said. If the first letter is pronounced with a vowel to start with, then you'd use "an".

Wikipedia has some more examples

[Shorty]

I agree with RedBassett, if I'm just saying RP then I will use an but if i say the whole word is a

[HoudiniDerek]

Grammatically, Red Bassett is correct even though it might sound off to some people. I use it the grammatically correct way.

[Syko Nachoman]

The one that puzzles me is when people say "an historic." I'd always been taught that you only use "an" before a word that starts with H when the H is silent.

[Spike]

Yeah I've always used "an" for abbreviations that start with the phonetic vowel sound. That's the way my English and writing teachers taught it anyways. I think either way may be acceptable, but this way is more commonly used.

[HoudiniDerek]

Aug 8, 2012 16:20:04 GMT -8 Syko Nachoman said:

The one that puzzles me is when people say "an historic." I'd always been taught that you only use "an" before a word that starts with H when the H is silent.

Agreed.

[Inter{n}ational]

An Rp(G).

Grammar be damned, it simply sounds better to me.

[Boomarang]

hm.. it may be because I don't read it as the letters, I read it as role play.

[Rick Ace]

Grammatically, you would not write "RP". In order to avoid a host of problems (such as the one you described), it would be easier to use the whole term. Therefore, you can call it "a role-playing forum". However, if you are intent on using the abbreviation, you should use an RP.

An is not only used if a vowel is present. It's also used when a vowel is pronounced. In the same sense, you would put "an" before the term "hour".

He replied an hour ago.

[The Dark Knight]

An RP. [Aar-pee]
A role play.

[Former Member]

'it's an RP site'

'AN' only seems to make sense when you abbreviate 'role play' to 'RP'