Page:U.S. Government Printing Office Style Manual 2008.djvu/108

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92
Chapter 5.

Doubled consonants
5.14.

A single consonant following a single vowel and ending in a monosyllable or a final accented syllable is doubled before a suffix beginning with a vowel.

bag, bagging
format, formatting
input, inputting
red, reddish
rob, robbing
transfer, transferred
but
total, totaled, totaling
travel, traveled, traveling
5.15.

If the accent in a derivative falls upon an earlier syllable than it does in the root word, the consonant is not doubled.

refer, reference
prefer, preference
infer, inference
Indefinite articles
5.16.

The indefinite article a is used before a consonant and an aspirated h; an is used before a silent h and all vowels except u pronounced as in visual and o pronounced as in one.

a historic occasion
a hotel
a human being
a humble man
a union
an herb seller
an hour
an honor
an onion
an oyster
but
an H-U-D directive
a HUD directive
5.17.

When a group of initials begins with b, c, d, g,j, k, p, q, t, u, v, w, y, or z, each having a consonant sound, the indefinite article a is used.

a BLS compilation
a CIO finding
a GAO limitation
a UFO sighting
a WWW search
5.18.

When a group of initials begins with a, e,f, h, i, I, m, n, o, r, s, or x, each having a vowel sound, the indefinite article an is used.

an AEC report
an FCC (ef) ruling
an NSC (en) proclamation
an RFC (ahr) loan
5.19.

Use of the indefinite article a or an before a numerical expression is determined by the consonant or vowel sound of the beginning syllable.

an 11-year-old
a onetime winner
a III (three) group
an VIII (eight) classification
a IV-F (four ef) category (military draft)
a 4-H Club