English grammar
A or an? 📕
A and an mean "one". We use them with singular countable nouns when we talk about something for the first time.
The rule
Use a before a consonant sound. Use an before a vowel sound (a, e, i, o, u).
| a + consonant sound | an + vowel sound |
| a book | an apple |
| a teacher | an egg |
| a big house | an old house |
Listen to the sound, not the letter
Some words start with a vowel letter but a consonant sound:
a university ("you-niversity")
a European country ("you-ropean")
a one-way ticket ("won-way")
Some words start with a consonant letter but a vowel sound, because the h is silent:
an hour ("our")
an honest person
When do we use a / an?
- To say what job someone has: She is a nurse.
- To say what something is: This is an umbrella.
- To mean "one": I need a pen.
- With "per": twice a week, 100 kroner an hour
✗ I am teacher.
✓ I am a teacher.
✗ She is an university student.
✓ She is a university student.