When to Say "a" or "an"
The indefinite articles are "a" or "an". But how do we know when to say "a" and when to say "an"?.
The rule is really very simple. it depends on the sound at the start of the following word. (it does not always depend on the first letter of the following word; it depends on the sound of the following word).
- a + consonant sound
If the following word starts with a consonant sound, then we say "a".
Example :
a cat
a game of golf
a human emotion
a book
a very fat cow
- an + vowel sound
If the following word starts with a vowel sound, then we say "an".
Example :
an apple
an extremely easy job
an old man
an umbrella
- The Importance of sound
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 letters. Look at these examples :
- Vowel letters with consonant sounds
- a European country you-ro-pe-an
- a one-day conference won-day
- a university you-ni-ver-si-ty
2. Vowel letters with vowel sounds
- an honest man on-est
- an hour our
- an FBI agent eff-bee-eye