When to use a in front of word

You ask why some people say or write an historical. The thing is, that’s not what any people actually say or write. People who uses the string an historical is going have a noun after it. E.g, novel:

• He started an historical novel today and now he can’t put it down.

because an historical is not a complete constituent; it has to have a noun to modify. But an historical novel is a complete constituent. And in that constituent, you will notice that the stress is on the syllable with TOR in it.

• an hisTORical novel

And you will also notice that the syllable with his in it is not stressed, and that there is a strong tendency to leave out the /h/ when saying it, producing something that might be pronounced

• /ənɪ’storəkəl’navəl/,

and might be spelled

• an ‘istorical novel

if one had the simple faith in apostrophes that millions display daily.

A linguist would say (and this linguist does say) that initial /h/ is frequently dropped before unstressed syllables. Stressed initial syllables are more normal in English than unstressed, and so they don’t drop /h/; these include all monosyllables like ham and hint, for instance.

This is not a rule that has to be followed; this is an optional rule that is followed by many people, but not by all, often, but not always, even by the same people. So sometimes people say «an historical», because ‘istorical starts with a vowel in speech, and the rule says an before vowels when they’re pronounced as vowels in speech, never mind spelling. So in those cases they’ll write it an historical, too, because it’s a speech rule, not a spelling rule.

Use “a” before words that start with a consonant sound and “an” before words that start with a vowel sound. Other letters can also be pronounced either way. Just remember it is the sound that governs whether you use “a” or “an,” not the actual first letter of the word.

When to use a and an examples?

Using “An” and “A”
The sound of a word’s first letter determines whether to use “an” or “a.” If the word starts with a vowel sound, you should use “an.” If it starts with a consonant sound, you should use “a.” For example: Buy a house in an hour.

When should use an?

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.

What is the rule for using a in a sentence?

The same rule still applies. “A” is used before words starting in consonant sounds and “an” is used before words starting with vowel sounds. It doesn’t matter if the word is an adjective, a noun, an adverb, or anything else; the rule is exactly the same.

WHEN TO SAY AN or A?

The rule is: Use an before a word beginning with a vowel sound (not letter). It doesn’t matter how the word is spelled. It just matters how it is pronounced. Use a before a word with a consonant sound as well as y and w sounds.

Is it a or an before s?

We say an before vowel sounds, regardless of the spelling, and a before consonant sounds regardless of the spelling, because that makes the word pairs easier to say. So we say a before s- words. S sounds as a consonant.

How do you use article a an the?

The indefinite article (a, an) is used before a noun that is general or when its identity is not known.
Definite and Indefinite Articles (a, an, the)

How do you teach a and an?

A dictogloss
The teacher reads out a text with lots of examples of “a” and “an” twice. Students just listen the first time and listen and make notes the second time, then work together to reconstruct the whole text. Perhaps after comparing with the original text, students then discuss the rule for “a”/“an”.

Is EA a vowel?

Most often the spelling pattern (ea) has the long vowel sound as in teacher. However, there are quite a few words that have the short “e” sound (as in jet) but have the (ea) spelling pattern instead. Usually you will find these words listed among the sight words.

Is a European correct?

“a european” is correct. “A” is used when the first letter of the next word is a consonant and “an” is used when the first letter of the next word is a vowel. Despite the fact that “European” is spelt with an initial “e”, it is pronounced “yuropeeyan” and so really starts with a consonant.

What difference between A and an?

‘A’ and ‘an’ are both indefinite articles used before nouns or before adjectives that modify nouns. To determine if you should use ‘a’ or ‘an’ before a word, you need to listen to the sound the word begins with. Use ‘a’ if the word begins with a consonant sound and use ‘an’ if the word begins with a vowel sound.

What is an example of a sentence?

A simple sentence has the most basic elements that make it a sentence: a subject, a verb, and a completed thought. Examples of simple sentences include the following: Joe waited for the train. The train was late.

Do you use a or an before R?

“An R” is correct because the letter R has a vowel sound—”ar.” You use “a” before a consonant sound, “an” before a vowel sound.

Do you use a or an with acronyms?

When the indefinite article is used before an acronym, the choice of form (a or an) depends on pronunciation, not on spelling; in other words, use a if the acronym begins with a consonant sound, and an if it begins with a vowel sound: a NATO decision (a before the consonant sound n)

Is it an SMS or a SMS?

Yes, “an SMS” is correct in both spoken and written English for exactly the reason you wrote. Native speakers generally do not make an error such as “a SMS” in spoken English.

Is MA a vowel?

“M.A.” is pronounced “emm aye”, so it’s a vowel sound.

How do you teach a an the articles?

Explain to use “an” when the noun starts with a vowel sound.
If you need an indefinite article and the word has a vowel at the beginning or makes a vowel sound, use “an.”

What is article writing with example?

An article is a written work published in a print/electronic medium. It may be for the purpose of delivering news, researching results, academic analysis, or debate. Usually, an article is a piece of writing that is published in a newspaper or Magazine for guiding a large audience on a particular topic or subject.

How do you teach kids the difference between A and an?

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How is EA pronounced?

Both spelled the same, but pronounced “reed” in the present tense, and “rehd” in the past tense. So “ea” can be pronounced “ee”, or “eh”.

What are the 21 consonants?

There are 21 consonants: B, C, D, F, G, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, V, W, X, Y, and Z.

How do you know whether to use “a” versus “an” in front of a word? Many of us were taught in elementary school that we use “a” in front of nouns that begin with consonant letters (e.g., “a crown”) and we use “an” in front of nouns that begin with vowel letters (e.g., “an apple”). What if we told you, though, that this rule isn’t quite right? Would you believe us?

A lot of people still believe the rule we learned in elementary school because in most cases, it leads us to the right answer. For example, in all of the following cases, using “a” for words that begin with consonant letters and using “an” for words that begin with vowel letters works out:

Words that begin with consonant letters:

• a beach
• a sandcastle
• a wave

Words that begin with vowel letters:

• an ocean
• an octopus
• an eel

In some cases, though, the rule leads us in the wrong direction. Let’s take a look at the following example:

• They need ___ MC (master of ceremonies) for their wedding.

What word belongs in the blank? “A” or “an”? Many of you would probably say that “an” sounds right more than “a” does. If we go with “an,” we end up with the following sentence:

• They need an MC for their wedding.

Notice, though, that “MC” starts with a consonant letter. This conflicts with our elementary school rule, which tells us that we use “a” with words with begin with consonant letters. Nonetheless, this answer is correct.

If our elementary school rule isn’t correct, how do we know when to use “a” versus “an” in front of a noun? Instead of looking at the first letter of the noun, we need to identify the sound that the noun starts with. If you were to say the word “MC” out loud, you would pronounce it like this: “em see.” As you can see, the first sound (i.e., “em”) is a vowel sound. For this reason, we use “an” rather than “a” in front of “MC.”

In many cases, words that begin with consonant letters (e.g., crown) also begin with consonant sounds, and words that begin with vowel letters (e.g., apple) also begin with vowel sounds. This is why the elementary school rule often leads us to the right answer. If you want to make sure that you always choose the correct word, though, you’ll need to think about the first sound of the noun instead of the first letter.

Have any lingering questions about when to use “a” vs. “an”? Leave us a note in our comments section below and we’ll do our best to incorporate your questions into one of our upcoming posts.

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When is the correct time to use a vs. an?

• A bike.
• An icicle.
• A URL or an URL?

What exactly is the rule? Despite the confusion on when to use these two words, the rule regarding their use is actually quite simple.

What is the Difference Between A and An?

In this post, I will compare a vs. an. Both words are articles and are extremely common in the English sentence. As such, I will go over the general rule for a and an and use each in multiple example sentences.

The basic rule for using a in a sentence is

• Use a before words, abbreviations, acronyms, or letters that begin with a consonant sound, regardless of their spelling.

For example,

• A dog.
• A fish.
• A university.
• A utopia.

The important part is the sound of the word that follows, not necessarily the letter with which it starts. The above examples have words that begin with vowels and consonants, but we use a for all of them because they begin with the sound of a consonant. More on this below.

When to Use An

An is used before words, abbreviations, acronyms, or letters that begin with a vowel sound, regardless of their spelling.

• An idiot.
• An element.
• An honor.
• An heirloom.

The rule only becomes tricky when you have a vowel with a consonant sound or a consonant with a vowel sound like in our above examples,

• A university (yoo-ne-ver-se-tee).
• A utopia (yoo-toe-pe-a).
• An honor (ah-ner).

When you come across these, ignore what the first letter is and just listen to the sound that it makes. Say the word out loud. If it sounds as if it is beginning with a consonant sound, use a. If it sounds as if it is beginning with a vowel sound, use an.

What if an Adjective is Added in Front of a Noun?

Some people aren’t sure how to apply this rule when an adjective appears before the noun being referred to.

For example, which of these are correct?

• I went to an exciting concert last night. (CORRECT)
• I went to a exciting concert last night. (WRONG)

The same rule still applies. “A” is used before words starting in consonant sounds and “an” is used before words starting with vowel sounds. It doesn’t matter if the word is an adjective, a noun, an adverb, or anything else; the rule is exactly the same.

Problem Words with An vs. A

There is, however, some disagreement (although it is decreasing year by year) on how to treat certain words that begin with “h,” specifically historic and historical.

But how can that be? Ask any English speaker today to say “historic” and you will almost invariably hear a distinct “h” sound at the beginning of the word.

English speakers of today might pronounce “historic” with an “h” sound, but The American Heritage Dictionary has a wonderful usage note explaining how that was not always the case.

In the usage note, American Heritage states that “an” was at one time a more common variant before words beginning with “h,” words where the first syllable is now unstressed. This is why you will quite routinely see in 18th-century literature both “a historical” and “an historical.” Back then, this usage made logical sense because many people did not pronounce the “h” at the beginning of the word. The usage note goes on to say that “by the late 19th century educated speakers usually gave their initial h’s a huff, and the practice of writing an before such words began to die out.”

You will still see “an historical” in writing every now and then and, although The American Heritage Dictionary says that both forms acceptable in formal writing, “an historical” should be avoided. Both The Chicago Manual of Style and The AP Stylebook hold that “a historic” is the proper form.

There are a few other problem “h” words out there. Here is a list of most of them and their proper forms.

• An hour.
• An honor.
• An honorary degree.
• A hysterectomy.
• A heredity trait.
• An heir.
• An heirloom.
• An herb.
• A humble man.
• An homage to the fallen.

As we said above, this rule also applies to acronyms and initialisms. Whether or not to use an or a depends on the pronunciation.

• An NBC television show.
• An HTML document.
• A CBS news outlet.
• A Microsoft program.

-but-

• An MS-DOS program.

So, to answer our opening question about URLs, it should be a URL since URL is normally pronounced U-R-L.

Summary

Is it a or an? Both a and an are used as articles in the English sentences, but their use use differs based on what words follow.

How to Use A and An:

• A is used with consonant sounds.
• An is used with vowel sounds.