when do you use "an" or "a" because you don't say: an ufo. but u say an elephant?

Answer 1

"a" is used before a consonant sound and "an" is used before a vowell sound. And as in almost every language rule there are exceptions...the u in UFO sounds like a Y which is a consonant

Answer 2

It depends on whether you are writing it or saying it. If you're writing it, then "an" in front of a word beginning with a vowel, "a" in front of a word beginning with a consonant. When speaking, the same basic rule holds true, except you have to consider "phonetic vowel" vs "phonetic consonant". So in your two examples, both "ufo" and "elephant" begin with a vowel, so if you're writing them in an essay, you'd use "an". But if you were speaking them, because "elephant" sounds like it begins with an "e", you'd say "an elephant". But "ufo" when you say it actually sounds like "yufo" and "y" being a consonant in this case, takes "a" when you say it. "Hour" is an example of this same principle in reverse. When you write it, you use "a" because "h" is a consonant. But when you say it, it sounds like "our", and "o" being a vowel takes "an".

Answer 3

because when you say ufo, you are making the sound of a y which is a consonant, most of the time. When you are pronouncing elephant, you are making the vowel sound, eh. Does that make sense? It may not work every time, but it seems to work for me.

Answer 4

It goes by sound as if you're spelling the actual letter. For example, you say "a ufo" because "u" is spelled "yoo", which begins with a consonant. Another example would be "a universe." The opposite will apply for "an ugly dog."

Answer 5

The use of the Indefinite articles 'a' or 'an' depends on the pronunciation of the word following it.

If the word starts with a VOWEL SOUND & NOT LETTER, 'AN' is used.

He is a useful man.
She thought she saw A 'U.F.O.'

Here, 'U' sound is a consonant sound.


Brutus is AN honorable man. ( honorable is pronounced as 'onerable' & so are the words honor,'honest)

More examples: a ewe, an hour, a European, an honest, an M.A. degree holder,

Hope this makes things clearer.

Answer 6

I believe you use "an" when the pronunciation of first part of a word is a vowel. Examples: Apple, Elephant, Orange

You use "a" when the pronunciation of the first part of the word is that of a consonant. Examples: Pie, Yahoo, Chicken

Answer 7

If you were to actually spell out the words Unidentified Flying Object, you would use "an". I would guess that if you were to ask a grammar expert (which I'm not) that "an ufo" would probably be technically correct. Hopefully someone will give us the answer.

Answer 8

"an" comes before any word that starts with a vowel sound.
"a" comes before any word that starts with a consonant sound.

for instance:
"I want a dog for my birthday"
"I want an apple for lunch"

some words are different, because of the sound they make.
The example you gave "a ufo" is said because "ufo" is pronounced "yoo-eff-oh," starting with the "y" sound.

Another example would be "an hour." Although it starts with "h," it is pronounced "ow-er" starting with the "o" sound.

Answer 9

The "u-" in English "UFO", "universe", "unique" is pronounced "yoo-". It starts with a consonant and therefore you use "a".

This is different with words like "umpire", "underdog", etc. where you use "an". These words start with "u-" also in the pronunciation.

Answer 10

cuz the u in ufo sounds like a y which is a consonant.