Why do we say "an MBBS" and "an MP"?

Why do we say "an MBBS" and "an MP"?

The rule for using the articles "a" and "an" is quite simple.

Use "a" before words that begin with a consonant sound and "an" before words that begin with a vowel sound.

Notice that I am not referring to the letter which a word begins with, but the sound.

Try this out. Say M.B.B.S. Now say the word "monkey". Do you hear a difference between the "m" in monkey and "MBBS"?

The letter "m" when said in isolation, as it is done in the case of "MBBS" and "MP", begins with a vowel sound. That's the reason why you use the article "an". But the same letter in words like "monkey" and "man" begins with a consonant sound.

This also explains why the word university" although it begins with the letter "u" does not take the article "an" before it. The word does not begin with a vowel sound; the "u" in university sounds like the "y" in "yes".

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