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'A' is used before consonant sounds; 'an' is used before vowel sounds.
Side-by-side comparison
Indefinite article. Used before words that begin with a consonant sound. The rule depends on the sound, not the spelling.
She earned a university degree in economics and immediately found a job at a well-known consulting firm.
It was a one-time opportunity and she was not going to let it pass.
He described it as a historic moment, the first time the two countries had signed a peace agreement.
Indefinite article. Used before words that begin with a vowel sound. The rule depends on the sound, not the spelling.
It took her an hour to finish the report, longer than she had expected given how prepared she was.
He is an MBA graduate who worked for two major banks before starting his own company.
She made an honest mistake, nobody told her the policy had changed.
Common mistake
- •The classic mistake is writing "a apple" or "an university": the article depends on the initial sound, not the letter.
- •"University" starts with the "yu" sound (consonant) so it takes "a"; "hour" starts with the "au" sound (vowel) so it takes "an".
Trick to remember it
Say the word out loud before picking the article: if the first sound is a vowel sound (a, e, i, o, u), use "an"; if it is a consonant sound, use "a".
Quick rule
- •"A" before a consonant sound; "an" before a vowel sound.
- •The rule is about pronunciation, not spelling.
Did you know?
Before the 19th century, "an" was used before every word starting with H, whether pronounced or not. "An hotel" and "an historic" were perfectly correct. Over time the H in words like "house" started being pronounced and the rule shifted. Even today, "an historic" is considered elegant in some British English circles.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Pick the right one
She waited for _____ hour before the doctor called her name.
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
My brother wants to become _____ engineer.
Exercise 3 · Form the word
Related word pairs
'Good' is an adjective describing nouns; 'well' is an adverb describing verbs (and as an adjective means 'in good health').
'I' is the subject pronoun (who performs the action); 'me' is the object pronoun (who receives the action).
"Some" is used in affirmatives and questions where "yes" is expected; "any" is used in negatives and neutral questions.
'A lot of' works for countable and uncountable; 'many' only for countable; 'much' only for uncountable.
Bryan López
Founder of SpeakUP Academy