A or an?
The letter on the page does not decide this. The sound you make when you say the word does.
The short answer
Use an before a vowel sound, a before a consonant sound. Say the next word out loud: an hour (the h is silent), a university (it starts with a y sound).
Which one do you need?
| Next word starts with | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a vowel sound | an | an apple, an hour, an MBA |
| a consonant sound | a | a book, a university, a one-off |
Practice the choice
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Getting your first question ready.
Side by side
Three sentences for each form, taken from the 449 sentences this drill uses. The answer is highlighted.
a
- There is a small park behind our house.
- I saw a movie yesterday with some friends.
- She wants to buy a house in the countryside.
an
- She made an omelet for both of us.
- She is studying to become an actress.
- My sister is an engineer at our water works.
Say it, don’t spell it
The rule is about sound. Five letters are vowels, but plenty of words that begin with them start with a consonant sound, and plenty of words that begin with consonants start with a vowel sound.
So the test is always the same: pronounce the word that comes next, and listen to the first sound.
Silent h
Where the h is not pronounced, the word begins with a vowel sound:
an hour, an honest answer, an honor, an heir
Where the h is pronounced, it is a consonant:
a hotel, a house, a history book, a hospital
You may see an historic in older writing, from a time when the h was dropped in that word. A historic is now standard.
U that sounds like you
University, union, European, uniform, user, usual all begin with a y sound, so they take a:
a university, a European city, a useful tool
But where u keeps its plain vowel sound, an returns:
an umbrella, an uncle, an unusual day
One, once
Both begin with a w sound:
a one-way street, a one-off payment
Letters and abbreviations
When an abbreviation is read letter by letter, go by the name of the first letter:
- an MP — em
- an FBI agent — ef
- an X-ray — ex
- an hour-long MOT — em
When it is read as a word, go by that word:
- a NASA engineer — nasa
- a UN resolution — you-en
Numbers
Read them aloud and apply the same test:
- an 8-hour shift — eight
- an 11-year-old — eleven
- a 2-hour delay — two
- a 1950s house — nineteen
Mistakes to avoid
Wrong: a hour correct: an hour
The h in hour is silent, so the word begins with the vowel sound of our.
Wrong: an university correct: a university
University begins with a y sound — yoo-niversity — and y is a consonant sound.
Wrong: a MP correct: an MP
Read the letter aloud: M is em, which starts with a vowel sound.
Wrong: an one-way street correct: a one-way street
One begins with a w sound — wun — so it takes a.