Indefinite article before acronyms
The indefinite article "a" is used before words beginning with a consonant sound; "an" is used before a vowel sound.
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Compare the use of "a" or "an" depending on the pronunciation of the initial letter in these acronyms: a CD ['si:'di:] player; an SMS ['es'em'es] message; a PR manager; an ESL course; an HBO picture; a UN member state.
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(See "Note: a, an" in Articles: Countable Nouns in the section Grammar.)
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Other types of abbreviations
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Contracted forms
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A shortened or contracted form of a word or group of words, often with an apostrophe instead of omitted letters, is called a contraction. Contracted forms of auxiliary verbs are very common in English.
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For example: "don't, isn't, aren't, won't" are contracted forms; "do not, is not, are not, will not" are full forms; "it's" is a contraction of "it is" or "it has"; "let's" is a contraction of "let us"; "o'er" is an archaic contraction of "over".
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Standard contracted forms of auxiliary and modal verbs (for example, don't, isn't, can't, shouldn't) are usually considered acceptable in formal writing, though full forms may be preferable in more formal style.
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Clipped forms
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A clipped form of a word (a clipped word) is also regarded as a type of abbreviation.
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For example: ad (advertisement); auto (automobile); bike (bicycle); bra (brassiere); chimp (chimpanzee); deli (delicatessen); exam (examination); flu (influenza); gas (gasoline); gym (gymnasium); lab (laboratory); math (mathematics); mike (microphone); phone (telephone); photo (photograph); plane (airplane); rhino (rhinoceros); sax (saxophone).
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Clipped forms are usually informal, but some of them are also used in formal writing, for example, "cello" (violoncello).
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