{"id":5182,"date":"2021-07-23T06:00:53","date_gmt":"2021-07-23T11:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/?p=5182"},"modified":"2025-10-23T16:31:23","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T21:31:23","slug":"a-or-an","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/effective-writing\/a-or-an\/","title":{"rendered":"A<\/em> vs. An<\/em>: Should I Use A<\/em> or An<\/em>?"},"content":{"rendered":"

You probably use a<\/em> and an<\/em> in writing and speech every day. Do you also know which one is proper in each usage? In today\u2019s post we\u2019ll clear up any confusion you might have about a<\/em> and an<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Both a<\/em> and an<\/em> are indefinite articles, which are words that refer to a person or a thing that is not identified or specified.<\/p>\n

I bought a<\/u> book yesterday.<\/em><\/p>\n

Cindy had a<\/u> banana before lunch.<\/em><\/p>\n

Robbie saw an<\/u> elephant at the zoo.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You can see that both a<\/em> and an<\/em> play the same role. So what is the difference between them?<\/p>\n

Knowing When to Use A<\/em> or An<\/em><\/h2>\n

A long-standing rule that you might have learned along the way is to use a<\/em> before a word that begins with a consonant and an<\/em> before a word that begins with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u).<\/p>\n

That guideline gives you almost enough information, as we can see in the following pair of sentences.<\/p>\n

I slept through a<\/u> long flight.<\/em><\/p>\n

I slept through an<\/u> entire flight.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You see the adjustment in how we adjust a<\/em> to an<\/em> when the following word begins with a vowel (e<\/u>ntire<\/em>).<\/p>\n

However, that\u2019s not the whole story. The main indicator in knowing when to use a<\/em> or an<\/em> is how the following word sounds<\/em>. As we\u2019ve pointed out, using a<\/em> or an<\/em> will depend on the first letter of the next word. We will use a<\/em> when the first letter of the next word has a consonant sound (including y and w). We will use an <\/em>when the first letter of the next word has a vowel sound.<\/p>\n

Also keep in mind that some letters, notably h<\/em> and u<\/em>, sometimes act as consonants (home, usual<\/em>) and sometimes as vowels (honest, unusual<\/em>).<\/p>\n

Examples: Indefinite Article Followed by Consonant Sound
\n<\/strong>
\na y<\/span>earning
\n<\/em>
\na h<\/u>otel
\n<\/em>
\na U<\/u>-turn<\/em> (pronounced “yoo”)<\/p>\n

a N<\/u>ASA study<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Examples: Indefinite Article Followed by Vowel Sound
\n<\/strong>
\nan u<\/span>nfair charge
\n<\/em>
\nan h<\/span>onor<\/em> (the h<\/em> is silent)<\/p>\n

an H<\/span>MO<\/em> plan (H<\/em> is pronounced “aitch”)<\/p>\n

an N<\/span>AACP<\/em> convention (the N<\/em> is pronounced “en”)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now let\u2019s look at this principle applied to two sentences stating similar thoughts.<\/p>\n

He was a<\/u> h<\/u>alf hour late for class.<\/em><\/p>\n

He was an<\/u> h<\/u>our late for class.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the first sentence, the word after the indefinite article (half<\/em>) begins with an h<\/em>, and it is spoken with a<\/em> detectable consonant sound. We therefore use the indefinite article a<\/em> before the consonant sound.<\/p>\n

In the second sentence, the word following the indefinite article (hour<\/em>) likewise begins with an h<\/em>, but this time it is pronounced as a softer vowel sound, as in the word our<\/em>. We therefore precede the vowel sound with the indefinite article that ends in the consonant n<\/em>, an<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Related Topic<\/h3>\n

A or An vs. The<\/a><\/p>\n

Pop Quiz<\/h2>\n

Complete each sentence with the correct use of a<\/em> or an<\/em>.<\/p>\n

1. I got _____ raise from my boss this month.<\/p>\n

2. Could you spare _____ extra 15 minutes to sign my petition?<\/p>\n

3. Kristen got _____ MBA degree.<\/p>\n

4. John doesn\u2019t know _____ thing about plumbing.<\/p>\n

5. It\u2019s nice to start _____ new day with fresh coffee.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pop Quiz Answers<\/h3>\n

1. I got a<\/strong> raise from my boss this month.<\/p>\n

2. Could you spare an<\/strong> extra 15 minutes to sign my petition?<\/p>\n

3. Kristen got an<\/strong> MBA degree.<\/p>\n

4. John doesn\u2019t know a<\/strong> thing about plumbing.<\/p>\n

5. It\u2019s nice to start a<\/strong> new day with fresh coffee.<\/p>\n

\n
Are you ready for the quiz?<\/h6>\n

A vs An Quiz<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Fill in Your Grammar Knowledge<\/h3>\n

Has it been a while since you brushed up on your grammar? Our website offers an extensive archive of tips and articles you can use to become a better writer and communicator. If you have a comment or a question about this blog post, simply leave it for us below!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You probably use a and an in writing and speech every day. Do you also know which one is proper in each usage? In today\u2019s post we\u2019ll clear up any confusion you might have about a and an. Both a and an are indefinite articles, which are words that refer to a person or a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-effective-writing"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5182"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5182"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5182\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7374,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5182\/revisions\/7374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}