Grammar Mishaps: A vs. An
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Question...
I received this question and thought I'd write a quick hub:
How do I know when to use a or an before a noun/subject?
The Article: An
Use the article "an" before a word beginning with a vowel.
- I ate an apple with my lunch.
- The jewelry was made by an East Indian woman.
- The growing boy had an enormous appetite.
There are two exceptions with the article "an":
- When the letter "u" sounds like a "y", as in "you", use the article "a".
- When the letter "o" sounds like a "w", as in "water", use the article "a".
- A U.S. navy ship was deployed from San Diego.
- My daughter wanted to be a unicorn for Halloween.
- She was a one-woman show.
The Article: A
Use the article "a" before a word beginning with a consonant.
- A clown performed at the party.
- I saw a peacock walking around loose at the zoo.
- The book was about a girl in the 1700s.
There is one exception with the article "a":
- Use "an" with a silent "h".
- I will wait for an hour.
- He was an honorable man.
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Thoughts, Comments, Questions?
Thanks, George. That's a great way of explaining it!
Thanks for the explanation. You make it so clear and easy to understand with the examples. If only my former English teachers had been that good...or maybe I should have paid closer attention!
I'm glad it helped, Jenny. Thanks for the hub idea! ;)
I must say that I have always heard the rule as: 'use "a" before a consonant sound; use "an" before a vowel sound'.
A university
A euphemism
Incidentally, "an hotel" is optional. Many English say "a hotel". It depends on how strongly one stresses the "h", which depends on one's dialect. The tendence is towards saying "a hotel".
In American English the "h" in "herb" is often unstressed, so therefore "an herb" is what many Americans would say.
There are odd words that seem to be able to take either -- unique for example. It can be "an unique" or "a unique".
To express the rule in terms of sounds rather than letters is important where acronyms are concerned:
An MBA
An SoS
etc.
Thanks, StuartJ. That's a great way of putting it! ;)
Hi Robin,
Your explanations made me pretty clear, but I am still confused with the way 'an' is used.
When a word sounds like 'YOU' or 'Wo', we should use 'a'. Am i right?
And please give me more examples on usage of 'a' and 'an'.
As StuartJ mentioned, is it possible that one can say 'An MBA'?
Hi Sam,
If the word following the article has a vowel sound then use the word "an"; if it has a consonant sound then use "a". "An MBA" would be correct because "M" has a vowel sound. When a word sounds like "you" or "wo" use the article "a", e.g., a eulogy. Even thought this word begins with a vowel, it has a consonant sound at the beginning, so you would use the article "a".  I hope this helps.
What do you do for A vs AN in the following situation, involving inserted parenthesis?
"...considering doin' an (I'm assuming, unpaid) rehearsal..." ?
Thanx!
FACE
Hi Face,
Write the sentence as if the parenthesis were omitted, e.g., ...considering doing a (I'm assuming, unpaid) rehearsal...." Cheers!
Hi folks, I am pretty confused about how to distiguish the usage of A and AN, in such conditions, can anyone help? e.g. it's an A, it's a B, it's a U, it's an E ...etc, is there a fixed rule that, particularly on alphbets
thanks, andy
Hi Andy,
I would follow the rule, if it sounds like a vowel, use "an"; if it sounds like a consonant, use "a". Here is how I would write the alphabet: an A, a B, a C, a D, an E, an F, a G, an H, an I, a J, a K, an L, an M, an N, an O, a P, a Q, a R, an S, a T, a U, a V, a W, an X, a Y, and a Z.
Hope that helps!
Greatly appreciated Robin,
I guess that settled my many years of correct and wrong assumptions.
I was 25/26 accurate. the only mistake I made was H, as I thought it only works for words like honest, honorable ...etc, those start with an no-sound H, but, pronounced as "O" sound. Didn't know it also works for alphbet H.
I can certainly sleep well tonight. Cheers ! Andy
Hi Andy,
Yes, H has a long a sound and N has an eh sound. It's hard even for a native speaker; I had to read through my alphabet many times and proofread. ;) I've never thought about it before. Thanks for the replies, so I know you got my comment!
Best,
Robin
I would agree with your alphabet list, Robin, except for one letter: I would say "an R" because pronouncing "R" usually requires an â sound.
On a side note, I would add to your "a"/"an" list that sometimes in formal speech or writing, "an" is used before an H, regardless of whether or not the H is silent. I've noticed that many archaelogists talk of "an historic landmark," and some elderly people specify "an hotel" at which they may stay. This isn't common in the twenty-first century, but I felt it should be mentioned.
Good work on this hub! As a rather vocal "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" advocate, I highly appreciate that you've given grammar the attention it so rarely receives.
Hi Jonathon,
Thanks for the comment. I think you're right, "an R" sounds better. Thanks for the mentioning of the "H" with "an" and "a", too.
Hello,
The definitions for use of A and An are almost correct. One uses A before a word that begins with a consonant SOUND, and An before a word that begins with a vowel SOUND. If one remembers this simple rule then it becomes unnecessary to remember special exceptions such as A before hotel or A before one, etc. If you would change your basic definition for use to this simple rule your explanation would be a lot clearer. The use of A and An have nothing to do at all with spelling. Their use depends on the rule of euphany (or pleasant sound). jerezano
As A literatate person and AN American (of the US variety), I've encouterd audible 'wince' moments as well as literary ones that make me cringe. Depending on the source and venue, I often have to take A step back and consider the source and topical relevance:
American reporter: 'A Hotel was bombed today in..."
British (cliche') cabbie: 'take ya to an 'otel then can i guvn'r...'
In this case the spoken interpretation of the word drives the grammatical 'accuracy'.
[I apologize for adopting a hackneied tone, but that's what I do when reading and encounter A A vs. An situation - I just don my internal Eliza hat and sound it out]
- Thank you all for the topic and all the comments, it lets me know that I'm not the only one that gets distracted by AN issue such as this'n.
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gredmondson says:
2 years ago
Hi Robin,
Some grammarians express these rules as "When a noun's beginning sound is a consonant sound, the article is 'a'". Most of the time, the letter itself is enough, but sometimes there will be a consonant that will have a vowel sound. The English say, "An hotel," for example. I'm searching my mind for an American English example of this (and I know there is one), but I can't think of it right now!