http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/a.html#a
A or An.
Use an in place of a when it precedes a vowel sound, not just a vowel. That means it's “an honor” (the h is silent), but “a UFO” (because it's pronounced yoo eff oh).
Most of the confusion with a or an arises from acronyms and other abbreviations: some people think it's wrong to use an in front of an abbreviation like “MRI” because “an” can only go before vowels. Not so: the sound, not the letter, is what matters. Because you pronounce it “em ar eye,” it's “an MRI.”
One tricky case comes up from time to time: is it “a historic occasion” or “an historic occasion”? Some speakers favor the latter — more British than American speakers, but you'll find them in both places — using an on longish words (three or more syllables) beginning with h, where the first syllable isn't accented. They'd say, for instance, “a hístory textbook” (accent on the first syllable) but “an históric event.” (Likewise “a hábit” but “an habítual offender,” “a hýpothetical question” but “an hypóthesis.”) Still, most guides prefer a before any h that's sounded: “ahistoric occasion,” “a hysterical joke,” “a habitual offender” — but “an honor” and “an hour” because those h's aren't sounded. [Entry revised 21 April 2006; revised again 10 December 2006.]
The Above, The Following.
Many kinds of writing, especially in business and law, use a lot of lists, and it's common to introduce those lists with the following and to refer back to them by the above. There's nothing wrong with that, but note that you can often make a sentence clearer and punchier with simple pronouns: instead of the above topics, try these topics — the context makes your subject clear. [Entry revised 10 December 2006.]
Absent.
There's nothing wrong with absent as an adjective (“He was absent three days last week”; “Everyone recognized her comment as an insult directed at her absent coworker”). And though it's not very common these days, absent can also be a verb meaning “to keep someone away,” as in Hamlet's “Absent thee from felicity awhile.”
But absent as a preposition meaning “without” or “in the absence of” is jargon from the worlds of business and law: “Absent further information, we'll proceed as planned.” Ick. It's been around for a while, but do we really need another two-syllable way of saying without? [Entry added 12 Jan. 2005.]
Absolutely.
One of the most overused clichés of our age: the pleasant little monosyllable yes seems to be disappearing in favor of the tetrasyllabic absolutely. Listen to any interview on radio or television: almost every yes, yeah, or uh-huh is fed through the speaker's pomposity amplifier, and comes out as absolutely on the other side. And it's not just in interviews. When I asked a waiter, “May I have some more water?,” the answer was “Absolutely,” as if the question admitted various degrees of assent. Now, there's nothing wrong with the word itself, and when you really mean that something is true without qualification, go nuts. Still, how 'bout some variety? certainly, yep, aye, just so, damn straight, sho' 'nuff, sans doute, you bet your bippy — almost anything else would be an improvement. [Entry added 14 Sept. 2004; revised 21 April 2006.]
