Articles & parentheses?

[PurrfectPeach]

I was trying to write this sentence for an essay on how a native tribe used certain leaves to create hallucinogenic brews.

The sentence in question: They then strained the mixture, ending with *** (undoubtedly foul-tasting) liquid.

Here's the thing - without the parenthetical remark, I would use 'a'. If I simply removed the parentheses, I would use 'an'. Which would I use if I wanted to keep the parentheses?

My idea was to put the 'n' in the parentheses, as in "They then strained the mixture, ending with a(n undoubtedly foul-tasting) liquid."


Yes, I know that I could simply rephrase, but I'm really curious.

[Sound of Silence]

General rule of parenthesis is that you can take away what's written in the brackets and it still makes grammatical sense: e.g.:

They then strained the mixture, ending with a (undoubtedly foul-tasting) liquid.

would, without the paranthesis, be:

They then strained the mixture, ending with a liquid.

so to use 'an' would make the sentence go against that grain of usage (remember 'a' is used for consonants they're determining, and 'an' for vowel sounding letters beginning in the next word. As 'liquid' is the head noun being determined, and it starts with a consonant, 'a' is your choice).

so, leaving out your aprenthesis with 'an', you'd have:

They then strained the mixture, ending with an liquid.

which isn't your typical usage.

whether it's with or without the parenthesis, 'a' would be the better choice for this one. :)

They then strained the mixture, ending with a (undoubtedly foul-tasting) liquid.

Hope that helps.

[PurrfectPeach]

Thanks! I love these forums.

[Sound of Silence]

You're welcome, sweets.