A or An? - Rules and Examples

It is common to be confused about the usage of the articles “a” and “an” when writing. The difference between the two is a subtle one, but it is important to understand when to use each article in order to get your writing correct.

What is the Difference between A and An?

The primary difference between the two articles is that “a” is used before a word that starts with a consonant sound, while “an” is used before a word that starts with a vowel sound.

Examples of Using A

The article “a” is used before a word that starts with a consonant sound. It is important to remember that the article should be used before the sound of the word, not necessarily the letter. For example, when writing the word “unicorn”, the article used would be “a”, because the word starts with a “y” sound, which is a consonant.

Other examples of words that would use the article “a” include:

• A book
• A hat
• A tree
• A university

Examples of Using An

The article “an” is used before a word that starts with a vowel sound. Again, it is important to remember that the article should be used before the sound of the word, not necessarily the letter. For example, when writing the word “hour”, the article used would be “an”, because the word starts with an “o” sound, which is a vowel.

Other examples of words that would use the article “an” include:

• An apple
• An orange
• An umbrella
• An elephant

Special Cases

It is important to note that there are some special cases to keep in mind when using the articles “a” and “an”. For example, when writing the word “university”, the article used would be “a”, because the word starts with a “y” sound, which is a consonant. However, when writing the word “honor”, the article used would be “an”, because the word starts with an “o” sound, which is a vowel.