English: A vs. An
The gist
A Red Blob Games blog post on "a" vs "an" drew a Hacker News submission.
The rule hinges on spoken sound, and only 129 of 32,455 words needed exceptions.
How it unfolded
- Sep 14, 2026A Facebook post and a Preply blog both explain the sound-based rule for choosing "a" or "an."
- Sep 16, 2026Red Blob Games publishes "English: a vs an," describing a function for procedurally generated text and reporting that only 129 of 32,455 words in his list needed exceptions.
- Sep 17, 2026A YouTube short and a Facebook post explain choosing the article by the sound of a word, not its letters.