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Format _an_ NTFS hard drive in 10.3
Authored by: pub3abn on Jan 03, '06 01:48:17PM

"An" is the correct article. The key point is that the article ("a" or "an") is determined by the leading sound, not by the leading character.

In this case, NTFS is pronounced by speaking its letters. It starts with the lettern "N" which is pronounced "en," which begins with a vowel sound, so it takes the article "an." Some letters in the alphabet have names that begin with vowel sounds, others with consonant sounds, so care must be taken to think about how the acronym is pronounced.

Some examples: "an NTFS volume," "a U.S. court," "an IRS document," "a PBS special." If you are a native speaker of English, those should all sound normal to you.

Some acronyms are pronounced like words (GIF, for example, which is pronounced "jiff" ... or some people say "giff" ... both pronunciations require the article "a"). Again, a writer simply needs to think about how the acronym is spoken.



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