grammar- a uruguayan or an uruguayan

abracadabra1

Diamond Member
Nov 18, 1999
3,879
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an Uruguayan sounds right to me...but word tells me otherwise.
an apple
an astronaut
an organge
an umbrella
so an Uruguayan

no?
thx fellas
 

b0mbrman

Lifer
Jun 1, 2001
29,470
1
81
Well that's if you pronounce it like a Spanish-speaker (with no "Y" sound at the beginning)...Otherwise, pronunciation is what determines use of a/an
 

FrontlineWarrior

Diamond Member
Apr 19, 2000
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yeah, the "Y" pronunciation in this case is a consonant, so it's "a uruguayan".
it's the pronunciation, not the spelling. just like it's "an hour" not "a hour" :)
 

Jfur

Diamond Member
Jul 9, 2001
6,044
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I would say "an uruguayan" like you suggested, because I would pronounce it ooro...