Grammar: when to use "A" rather than "An"?

Question

Is it proper grammar to say "He got a F on his test" or "He got an F on his test"? (Since the letter F is pronounced "ef" as if it starts with E, which is a vowel)

What about "I just bought a one-piece swimsuit today" versus "I just bought an one-piece swimsuit today"?

This has always stumped me on essays and I have tried looking it up in the MLA handbook to no avail.

Answer 1

If it "sounds like" a vowel is in front of the letter (F, H, L, M, N, R, S, X, A, E, I, O, ) use "an" (can you hear the short e sound?)

If it "sounds like" a consonent (even an O if it sounds like W) use "a" (O and U can sound like vowels or consonents...careful here. "an ugly girl" but "a uniform" Long U goes "a" and short u goes "an")

I think the only exception to "O" is when the word in one, once or any word that sounds like w but starts with "o". I haven't checked all possibilities but it seems true to me.
An olive
A One-time effort (has a W sound and W is a consonent)


If you say ach for 'H' you will use "an" as it begins with a long a sound as in "an H sound" (Hear the initial A sound?)

If you say 'haa' it doesn't have that initial vowel sound and it and would be "a" as in "a hat" (notice no initial A sound.)

You will always say "an F" because F always has an initial short e sound...you can't pronounce it without the short e sound. but
"a friendly ghost"...just fff sound no initial short e sound = a

The same is true for "an L" because L always has an initial short e sound also but "a letter"...ignore the short e sound and go straight for the LLL sound.

Also for M..."an M" (hear the initial short e sound that is necessary to say "M" (em) If the sound begins with the mmm sound as in mother you would say "a mother" not "an emother"...hear the difference?

F,L,M,N,R,S,X all use "an" if you pronounce it with a initial vowel sound. (mostly short e sound...hear it?)

I'm a native English speaker and it seems natural to me but I can understand your difficulty...this is pretty complicated to explain and even harder to remember.

good luck practicing.

Answer 2

It can be so hard to keep this straight today, especially since people on tv and in movies often don't use it correctly.

As others have indicated, it's not the vowel itself, but the vowel sound that is important. So, we say "an apple", "an F", "a one-piece".

Just to throw you for a loop, it can be acceptable to put 'an' in front of certain words with an 'h'. Maybe not so much in the US as in Canada and the UK. So, you might see or hear "he stayed at an hotel" (prounounced, an o-tel), although without the 'an', the word is normally pronounced "ho-tel". :0

Answer 3

you are correct, it has to do with the phonetic spelling of the word. If the first letter in the word sounds like a consonant, then it is an A, if it sounds like a vowel, then use AN.

Ex: I am studying to get an MA in History.
I am studying to get a Master's in History. both are correct. your examples were also good. the traditional rule of just looking at the letter and using A/AN is taught to children in school and is correct in almost every case, however when you deal with more complex sentences in high school and college you will find some exceptions to that rule.

Answer 4

Master Maverick has summarized the usage admirably. However, there is an exception to what he says, when the word starts with 'u' or a sound like 'u' (deeper sound), when the correct previous word to be used is not 'an', but would be 'a'.
For example, in the words, 'unicorn','uniform' 'unit', 'urine' and many such words, the sound of the letter 'u' is as in 'u' (you) or as in 'eu'. In these cases, the proper preceding word would be 'a' and not 'an' (a unicorn, a uniform, a unit, a urine pot).
On the other hand, where the word begins with a 'softer' phonetic 'u' sound, such as 'ultra', 'urgent', 'upside', 'unwanted', etc. (closer to 'a'), the preceding word should be 'an' and not 'a' (an ultra, an urgent meeting, an upside, an unwanted interruption, etc.).
This exception also applies to many words which begin with 'eu' such as 'a eunuch', 'a European', 'a eulogy', 'a eucalyptus tree', 'a euphemism', etc.

Answer 5

If the word after a or an begins with a vowel than u must use an and if it begins with a consonant than a be used. But I guess some times there are exceptions in this case its
a one piece and on F u can use an F or a F.

Answer 6

its is "He got a F on his test" its the letter not the sound. if it was "He got an A on his test" then as you see I use an. the second sentence is "I just bought an one-piece swimsuit today. if it is a,e,i,o,and u at the beginning of a word you say "an." you use an "a" for the rest of the letters. i hope u have a wonderful day and good luck. :)

Answer 7

hi there..

honestly your not alone in commiting this mistakes....so with this i can help you...the proper usage of the article A and AN in the sentence....a is use when the word that follows on it starting consonant while an is when the word that follows start on vowels.....but be reminded that there are also vowels sounds, so use the article an when the word is vowel sound.....

Answer 8

You use "an" before a word that starts with a vowel (sound). Like apple. He bought "an" apple. Now, when you said the letter "F" it you pronounce it like "eff". This is why you would say he got "an" F (eff) on his test. If you say the word "once", its pronounced like "wunce" which is why you would use "a" instead of "an".

Answer 9

An F. He got A bad grade. A one-piece swimsuit and AN ankle bracelet to go with it.

Answer 10

A if the next sound made is that of a consonant, An is the next sound made is that of a vowel.

An F. A one-piece.

It smooths the transition from a/an to the next word, to have a consonant sound followed by a vowel sound, and vice versa.