Javascript library to determine indefinite article

Question

Are there any javascript libraries that exist for determining the indefinite article ("a" vs "an") of a noun?

I can start with a simple regex like so:

var pattern = /^([aeiou])/i;
pattern.test("umbrella");

but this doesn't handle a case like: "user" which should return false (you wouldn't say "an user clicked the button").

First of all you'd need a complete set of rules (there are more exceptions from the default rule, then just "user"), then you can begin to think about how to implement those rules. — Ridcully, Mar 12 '13 at 16:20
I think a good tradeoff is to just use what you have, and put in a list of (common) exceptions. Works relatively well. — Xymostech, Mar 12 '13 at 16:21
just make an exception list that you can add to when you find an example. check if the instance meets the exception, if not go with the general rule. ditto @xymostech — nathan hayfield, Mar 12 '13 at 16:21
The issue is the rules need to work based on the *sounds*, not the letters. For example, if *user* was pronounced *oooo-zer* then you'd say *an*. — Mike Christensen, Mar 12 '13 at 16:22
On the site linked to by FJ's answer, they provide some good examples: "an NSA analyst", "an honest opinion". The list goes on, I'm sure. — Xymostech, Mar 12 '13 at 16:34

score 13 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 12:07

13

The following Javascript library by Eamon Nerbonne should be what you are looking for:
http://home.nerbonne.org/A-vs-An/AvsAn.js

This was actually created as an answer to a similar question here on SO:
https://stackoverflow.com/a/1288473/505154

The approach used here was to download Wikipedia, filter it, and create a prefix database to determine a/an, which should be more accurate than most rules-based systems. You can find more information at the following location (also linked in the above answer):
http://home.nerbonne.org/A-vs-An/

There is also a link there to an alternative implementation by Chad Kirby:
https://github.com/uplake/Articles

edited May 23 '17 at 12:07

Community

1
1

answered Mar 12 '13 at 16:28

Andrew Clark

202,379
35
273
306

1

Yikes! 2.5k just to deal with the inadequacies of English! – Xymostech Mar 12 '13 at 16:33
7

*Irony:* A grammar parsing library with grammatical errors in the comments: `//modification and redistribution permitted, but please don't misrepresent it's source.` – Mike Christensen Mar 12 '13 at 16:43
Seems the original website is down. Here it is on GitHub: https://github.com/EamonNerbonne/a-vs-an – Ryan Shillington Jun 26 '18 at 00:54

score 3 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 28 '13 at 00:22

3

Here's a really simple one I wrote a little while ago:

https://github.com/rigoneri/indefinite-article.js

I hope it helps!

answered Oct 28 '13 at 00:22

Rodrigo Neri

304
3
4

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Feb 10 '19 at 18:37

I've found this library useful and easy to use: https://www.npmjs.com/package/indefinite .

Examples for the docs:

var a = require('indefinite');

console.log(a('apple')); // "an apple"
console.log(a('banana')); // "a banana"
console.log(a('UFO')); // 'a UFO'
console.log(a('hour')); // 'an hour'
console.log(a('ukelele')); // 'a ukelele'
console.log(a('banana', { capitalize: true })); // 'A banana'
console.log(a('UGLY SWEATER', { caseInsensitve: true })); // 'an UGLY SWEATER'
console.log(a('2')); // 'a 2'
console.log(a('8')); // 'an 8'

Javascript library to determine indefinite article

3 Answers3

Linked