讀書時學 Prepositions of time，老師說 day 之前要用 on，如 on Sunday、on 13 Sept等。不過最近讀報，見行文用上 in a typical day。唔，這到底是習慣用法，還是另有含義呢？
某天跟男友聊天，他忽然說出「自己的 girlfriends」來，栗聽到立即嘩嘩叫：「Girlfriends with an 's'？！」男友聽罷便問道：「該是 a 's' 吧？」這當然不對。
中一英文課學習冠詞 (article) 時，老師一定說過響音前要用 an。字母 s以 /e/ 音開首，那正正是響音，所以用 an 才對，例如我們會說 an SOS signal，而不說 a SOS signal，便是這個原因。
另一個初中生常犯的錯誤，是將 an MTR train 寫成 a MTR train。留意字母 m 跟字母 s一樣，同是以 /e/ 音開首呀！
I'd say "on a typical day" too, but then I also say "on the street".
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Speaking of "a" vs "an", there's a school of thought that believes "historical day" should be preceded by "an" instead of "a". I don't buy it, do you?
[版主回覆05/30/2010 08:52:00]I really don't know, Teacher. I saw 'in a typical day' in the Economist. Maybe it's British English?
'On the street' is definitely American English. I learnt it when I was in secondary school .
'An historical day'? Of course not! The 'h' sound is pronounced in the word, right?
I could imagine "in a typical day" if the context is such that the author is describing the day as a specific period of time.
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I first heard of "an historical day" from a blogger on Siu's blog, and I thought he was just full of it, until I noticed it in writing, in a reputable publication comparable to the Economist. The rationale there is that when the syllable following the 'h' is not the stress, then the 'h' is not pronounced. I am still not convinced...
[版主回覆05/30/2010 20:26:00]I've never heard of such a rationale. Let me check with my colleagues to see what they think.