Articles: A versus An

Summary: This short handout deals with which article to use before a noun -- "a" or "an."
Contributors: Chris Berry, Allen Brizee
Last Edited: 2010-04-17 05:55:10

How do you know when to use the indefinite

articles?
"A" goes before all words that begin with consonants.
• a cat
• a dog
• a purple onion
• a buffalo
• a big apple
With one exception: Use "an" before unsounded h.
• an honorable peace
• an honest error
"An" goes before all words that begin with vowels:
• an apricot
• an egg
• an Indian
• an orbit
• an uprising
With two exceptions: When u makes the same sound as the y in you, or o makes
the same sound as w in won, then a is used.
• a union
• a united front
• a unicorn
• a used napkin
• a U.S. ship
• a one-legged man
Note: The choice of article is actually based upon the phonetic (sound) quality of
the first letter in a word, not on the orthographic (written) representation of the
letter. If the first letter makes a vowel-type sound, you use "an"; if the first letter
would make a consonant-type sound, you use "a." So, if you consider the rule from
a phonetic perspective, there aren't any exceptions. Since the 'h' hasn't any
phonetic representation, no audible sound, in the first exception, the sound that
follows the article is a vowel; consequently, 'an' is used. In the second exception,
the word-initial 'y' sound (unicorn) is actually a glide [j] phonetically, which has
consonantal properties; consequently, it is treated as a consonant, requiring 'a'.

A or An
Click the answer button to see the answer.
Top of Form

1. This is Bob. He's _____ doctor.

a. a
b. an
Answ er

2. Peter is ____ engineer.

a. a
b. an
Answ er

3. That's Oliver. He's ___ travel agent.

a. a
b. an
Answ er

4. Leonardo di Caprio is ___ actor.

a. a
b. an
Answ er

5. Fred is ____ electrician.

a. a
b. an
Answ er

6. Mr. Smith is ___ teacher.

a. a
b. an
Answ er

7. This is Gloria. She's ___ homemaker.

a. a
b. an
Answ er
8. That's John. He's ___ police officer.
a. a
b. an
Answ er

9. I'm ____ student.

a. a
b. an
Answ er

10.Meryl Streep is ____ actress.

a. a
b. an
Answ er

1. He is ____ boy. a an
YES!

2. Yesterday I saw ____ animal. a an

YES!

3. My father is ____ doctor. a an

YES!

4. Marsha is ____ honest girl. a an

YES!

5. The chicken laid ___ egg. a an

YES!

6. Jan ate ____ piece of pizza. a an

YES!

7. Sylvia put ___ old hairbrush in her bag. a an

YES!
 8. Mexico is ____ large country. a an
YES!

9. I need ____ English dictionary please. a an

YES!

A An
10. ___ apple a day keeps the doctor away!
YES!

When Irregular Nouns become Plural

Singular Plural Singular Plural
analysis analyses appendix appendices
bison bison cactus cacti
calf calves child children
elf elves foot feet
goose geese knife knives
leaf leaves life lives
loaf loaves man men
mouse mice person people
scissors scissors tooth teeth
Singular Plural Singular Plural
Bottom of Form