A Historic Topic - A vs.

An

Writers sometimes confuse the use of the articles a and an. We were all taught that
a precedes a word starting with a consonant and that an precedes a word starting
with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y).

Here’s the secret to making the rule work: The rule applies to the sound of the letter
beginning the word, not just the letter itself. The way we say the word will determine
whether or not we use a or an. If the word begins with a vowel sound, you must use
an. If it begins with a consonant sound, you must use a.

For example, the word hour begins with the consonant h. But the h is silent, so the
word has a vowel sound. Hence:
an hour

The rule works the other way as well. Take the word university. It begins with the
vowel u. But the u is pronounced as if it begins with the consonant y. Hence:
a university

But consider the word umbrella, also starting with u. It starts with the vowel sound
uh. Hence:
an umbrella

Another vowel with a consonant sound is o. When spoken, the letter can sound as if
it begins with the consonant w. Thus, we use the a:
a one-room apartment
a once-famous actor

Articles with Words Beginning with ‘h,’ a or an

The consonant giving us the most trouble is probably h. When the h begins a word
and the first syllable is strongly pronounced, you should use a.
a history of Europe (accent falls on his)
a hero (accent falls on he)

But when the beginning h is weakly pronounced (historic, habitual), you may use an,
especially in British English.
an historic occasion (hisTORic)
an habitual offender (haBITual)

But these usages are becoming increasingly old-fashioned, so you may also use a.
a historic occasion
a habitual offender
Articles with Acronyms, a or an

Finally, the rule applies to acronyms as well. If you pronounce a letter as a letter and
it begins with a vowel sound, you should precede it with an. The consonants with
vowel sounds include f, h, l, m, n, r, s, and x.
He flew in an SST.
He fired an M‑1.
He attended an FDA hearing.

By the same token, if a vowel letter, with a consonant sound, is pronounced as a

letter, you should use a.
He made a U‑turn.
Got it? So what is your grade?
An A?
A B?
Surely not an F.
 INDEFINITE ARTICLE

A / AN

Use 'a' with nouns starting with a consonant (letters that are not vowels),
'an' with nouns starting with a vowel (a,e,i,o,u)
Examples:
A boy An apple A car
An orange A house An opera

NOTE:
An before an h mute - an hour, an honour.
A before u and eu when they sound like 'you': a european, a university, a unit

The indefinite article is used:

 to refer to something for the first time:
An elephant and a mouse fell in love.
Would you like a drink?
I've finally got a good job.

 to refer to a particular member of a group or class

Examples:
o with names of jobs:
John is a doctor.
Mary is training to be an engineer.
He wants to be a dancer.
o with nationalities and religions:
John is an Englishman.
Kate is a Catholic.
o with musical instruments:
Sherlock Holmes was playing a violin when the visitor arrived.
(BUT to describe the activity we say "He plays the violin.")
o with names of days:
I was born on a Thursday

 to refer to a kind of, or example of something:

the mouse had a tiny nose
the elephant had a long trunk
it was a very strange car
 with singular nouns, after the words 'what' and 'such':
What a shame!
She's such a beautiful girl.
 meaning 'one', referring to a single object or person:
I'd like an orange and two lemons please.
The burglar took a diamond necklace and a valuable painting.
Notice also that we usually say a hundred, a thousand, a million.