A Or An
A and an are what are called indefinite articles. Indefinite articles give us information about nouns. A and an tell us that there is only one of the nouns. For example: a book, or an apple. But how do you know which to pick? How do you know if you should use a or an? Are there exceptions to the rules? If you’ve always been curious, read on to find out!
Indefinite Article: A
Use “an” before vowel sounds: an energy crisis, an honorary degree (the “h” is silent), an NFL record (sounds like it starts with the letter “e”). For a more full discussion of the differences between the uses of “a” and “an”and some of the trouble words, please see our full page on the subject. Leave a Comment Cancel reply. Additional Activities A / An. Use picture cards of food or play food items (plastic replicas) of food (about 40 items). Name a meal type (e.g., a salad, a sandwich, soup or a pizza). .”Honor” starts with a consonant; however, the “h” is silent. Therefore, the word actually begins with an “o” sound.”Union” starts with a vowel; however, the initial “u” makes more of a “y” sound, which counts as a consonant in this case. Normally, we pronounce consonant letters with a consonant sound, and vowel letters with a vowel sound. But there are some exceptions. The rule about a or an is still the same. You just need to think about the SOUND, not the WRITING. “A” and “an” are indefinite articles, which are used to indicate how many of a certain noun you’re talking about. In other languages, such as Spanish, indefinite articles also indicate the gender of a noun.
You use the article abefore singular countable nouns. It is also used before nouns that begin with a consonant(not a vowel – a,e,i,o,u) sound.
For example:
- a cat
- a book
- a show
- a TV program
- a cousin
Nouns that start with a consonant use a. There are also some nouns, however, that begin with a vowel, but where a is used as an exception. This is because the noun starts with the consonant-like sound- “you”. That means that they are treated like a noun that starts with a consonant.
For example: Free shift scheduler program.
- a university (“you”-niversity)
- a unique situation (“you”-nique)
- a united country (“you”-nited)
Another exception is if the word starts with a hard h sound.
For example:
- a history class
- a hospital
- a helpful hand
Different English accents can have an effect on how a or an is used. British English speakers tend to use an in front of words that begin with h. This is because they pronounce the words that start with h harder and more emphasized.
For example:
- UK English: a herb garden (the h is strongly pronounced)
- US English: an (h)erb garden – the h is silent
Indefinite Article: An
Just like a, an is used before singular countable nouns. However, an is used before nouns that start with a vowel sound.
For example:
- an actor
- an example
- an invitation
- an umbrella
Some words start with a consonant, but are used with an instead of a. This is because some consonants are soft, like some h sounds, or because the consonant has a vowel sound at the beginning.
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For example:
- an hour (silent/soft h)
- an F (efff)
- an MBA degree (em-BA)
It’s important to know that it’s not always the spelling that counts with a and an, but the sound! If you don’t know which one to use, say the word in your head or out loud. This will help you pick whether to use a or an.
Do you need any help with a and an? Let us know if you have a question in the comments below!
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A Or An Rule
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Indefinite Articles “A” and “An”
There are two types of articles – definite (the) and indefinite (a and an). The definite article refers to some specific object or some specific person. An indefinite article refers to a non-specific object or person. Both articles must be followed by a noun or an adjective and a noun.
While “the” can be used for singular or plural nouns, “a” and “an” are used only for singular nouns. For example:-
- The book you want is on the table.
- The books you want are on the table.
- A boy was playing in the yard.
- An apple was lying under the tree.
Whether you use “a” or “an” depends on the noun it qualifies. Does the noun start with a vowel or a consonant? You use one or the other, depending on the first letter of the word following the article, for pronunciation reasons. The use of “an” while talking facilitates smoothness and clarity of speech.
The vowels are “a,e,i,o,u” and if a noun or an adjective starts with any of these letters, you say “an” before it. Examples:-
- Go to bed! We have an early start tomorrow.
- I received an I-Pad for my birthday.
- An airline must get permission to land in a foreign country.
- An apple a day keeps the doctor away!
- The heart is an organ vital to life.
- The earthquake in Nepal was not an unusual event.
An exception to this rule is when “u” is pronounced as “eu”, such as:-
- A union of Asian countries will contribute to political stability.
- A u-boat can sink a ship.
- A European man committed the murder.
- Karen joined a university in Montreal.
- An electric bill is considered to be a utility bill.
Another exception is the letter “h” when the “h” is silent. For example:-
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- It will take us an (h)our to reach the next town.
- It is an (h)onour to be a member of this club.
“A” is used in front of all consonants and sometimes the vowel “u” as already explained above. Examples are given below.
- A school is where you get your education.
- A party was given in celebration of his promotion.
- I do not have a clue why he stopped talking to me.
- Mary and John just adopted a girl.
- They got a shock to see an elephant in the drive-way.
- A pet needs to be looked after like a child.
- A human being can also look like an ape.
- An airplane is a flying machine.
- An attic is located at the top of a house.
- He became drunk and made a spectacle of himself.
- Life is a long journey full of ups and downs.
- A year has twelve months.
“A” and “An” can be used to describe a job or a religion.
- Mary is a Catholic.
- Mario is a doctor.
- Silvia is a beautician.
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- Elizabeth is an air-hostess.
- Ronald is a software engineer.
- He was born a Hindu but converted to Christianity.
- She is a psychiatrist.
- Lorna is a European.
- He trained to be a pilot but could not get a job as one.
- Sam is a union member of the local employees’ association.
A Or An Quiz
It is bad English to drop “a” or “an” before a singular noun, or an adjective and a singular noun. You cannot say “I am man” or “I am woman” or “he is teacher”. The correct way is to add “a” before the words man, woman and teacher.
A Or An Before H
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