Is this a regional thing?

[PebblesMK]

When I've read the DIS lately, there has been one thing I've noticed from time to time and it confuses me. I was taught that "an" is the correct word used before a word beginning with a vowel. However, I've been seeing "and" being used instead. At first I thought it was a typo, but would notice it throughout a post, and by various people. Example: "We saw an acrobat at the circus", but some people write, "We saw and acrobat at the circus". Generally, I see that those who use "and" are from the south. That's sort of what made me ponder if it's a regional term used.

 

[fall08CP]

I've never noticed that before, or at least chalked it up to being a typo. But I'm from the same area as yourself (Midwest), so I wouldn't have heard of it either. Interesting observation

 

[4greatboys]

When I've read the DIS lately, there has been one thing I've noticed from time to time and it confuses me. I was taught that "an" is the correct word used before a word beginning with a vowel. However, I've been seeing "and" being used instead. At first I thought it was a typo, but would notice it throughout a post, and by various people. Example: "We saw an acrobat at the circus", but some people write, "We saw and acrobat at the circus". Generally, I see that those who use "and" are from the south. That's sort of what made me ponder if it's a regional term used.

I use an and I am from the south. The use of and is incorrect.

 

[FireDancer]

I think most of the time it is a typo but it could be regional. I would imagine though the rules of grammar dictate 'an' is the correct term no matter where you are.

 

[grafxgirl]

I think people just type the words the way they sound to them when they speak.

Many people write "could of" "should of" and "would of", which is incorrect. It is "could have", "should have" and "would have." The contraction forms of those words are "could've", "should've", "would've".

Ex. I should of picked the baked potato with my meal instead of the french fries.-Incorrect

Ex. I should have picked the baked potato with my meal instead of the french fries.-correct

Ex. I should've picked the baked potato with my meal instead of the french fries.-correct

 

[bumbershoot]

I would assume it's a typo. Sometimes your fingers just get going too fast (especially if you don't have to pay that much attention to what your fingers are doing).

 

[Brooknwdw]

My vote is typo..I'm from the south and everyone I know uses "an" correctly in a sentence.

 

[redlight]

It's either a typo or people not knowing how to spell.

 

[Luvchefmic]

I think it is regional to the Dis and other message boards

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

I agree typo. I am from the NE and we would not replace the word "an" with "and".

 

[kimblebee]

I think people just type the words the way they sound to them when they speak.

Many people write "could of" "should of" and "would of", which is incorrect. It is "could have", "should have" and "would have." The contraction forms of those words are "could've", "should've", "would've".

Ex. I should of picked the baked potato with my meal instead of the french fries.-Incorrect

Ex. I should have picked the baked potato with my meal instead of the french fries.-correct

Ex. I should've picked the baked potato with my meal instead of the french fries.-correct

This is my number one pet peeve on boards. I don't know how someone can think that would of makes sense. Think of the words. Would.... of. Huh?

 

[kaytieeldr]

It's either a typo or people not knowing how to spell.

Or over-ambitious spell-check

 

[polkadotsuitcase]

Another vote for typo!

(...or for the grammar police, should I say, "typographical error"?)

 

[PebblesMK]

Or over-ambitious spell-check

I like this one best! That has been known to happen on a few occasions.


I didn't think that "and" was correct, but I was trying to think of different accents which would make it sound as such. Haha. The "should of", "could of" thing is probably on the right track though.

 

[bicker]

I chalk a lot of that up to muscle memory. People, especially those who type a lot, type certain words more often than others. Some words are so common, in certain contexts, that your hand tends to type that word whenever you're typing anything close to it. I'm a software developer (these days), and some words appear in code in excess; I find that very often when I am typing a word that resembles a word very common in code, that I actually end up typing the word that is common in code instead. That's one reason why I read back over my messages after I post them. I know that at least one message in ten will have a correctly-spelled/wrong-word typo.

 

[Shmily1]

Not regional. Our grammar books down here in the south do say that an would be correct in this sentence.

 

[MushyMushy]

I chalk a lot of that up to muscle memory. People, especially those who type a lot, type certain words more often than others. Some words are so common, in certain contexts, that your hand tends to type that word whenever you're typing anything close to it. I'm a software developer (these days), and some words appear in code in excess; I find that very often when I am typing a word that resembles a word very common in code, that I actually end up typing the word that is common in code instead. That's one reason why I read back over my messages after I post them. I know that at least one message in ten will have a correctly-spelled/wrong-word typo.

What he said.

If I try typing a word that ends in "in," my fingers automatically add a g at the end of that because I frequently type "ing" words. I've also caught myself going ahead and typing "and" for "an."

99% of the time I catch my mistakes, but there are those rare times I don't.

Typos happen.

 

[cathyce2]

My phone thinks it's smarter than me (and maybe it is ) so it "corrects" my typing. If I don't go back to show it who is boss I end up posting things just like this!

 

[blana]

Going with typo here. I have a brother named Tim, and if I'm not being careful, I type his name as Time every single time. So, it being throughout a post wouldn't strike me as odd. Kind of like how Word auto corrects "teh" to "the". Enough people do it to where it is a known issue with typing.

 

[horseshowmom]

Not regional. Our grammar books down here in the south do say that an would be correct in this sentence.

Absolutely!

While I do sometimes hear someone say "a" when they should say "an", I've never heard anybody from the south say "and" in that situation.

I chalk a lot of that up to muscle memory. People, especially those who type a lot, type certain words more often than others. Some words are so common, in certain contexts, that your hand tends to type that word whenever you're typing anything close to it.