When to use “A” vs “AN”

Articles are an important part of English Grammar. An article is a word that we use to modify the noun.

What is a noun?

A noun is a person, a place, an object, a thing or an idea. Nouns are split into common nouns such as words for animals, places, things, or people:

1. doctor
2. horse
3. beach
4. car

Proper nouns are names we use for particular places, people or things:

1. John
2. China
3. Hollywood
4. Mount Everest

(They’ll always start with a capital letter)

What is an article?

An article is an adjective used before a noun. Normally we use adjectives to describe a noun, but an article is used to refer directly to the noun.

When to use A

A is an indefinite article, which means we use it to refer to a general noun rather than a specific item. We use A when before a single noun when the first letter of the noun is a consonant:

• A book
• A car
• A dog
• A flag
• A giraffe

When to use An

An is an indefinite article, which means we use it to refer to a general noun rather than a specific item. We use An when before a single noun when the first letter of the noun is a vowel:

• An apple
• An elephant
• An igloo
• An octopus
• An umbrella

Exceptions A vs AN

There are a few exceptions to the general rules.

For example, in some words where we use a consonant as a first letter which has a vowel sound, we then use An:

• An hour
• An honor

And in reverse, in some words where we use a vowel as a first letter which has a consonant sound, we then use A:

• A United States citizen
• A university

This also happens with any acronyms:

• An LCD screen
• A ULR

Conclusion

So the most important thing to remember in A vs AN is the first sound of the following noun. If the noun starts with a consonant sound, use A. If a noun starts with a vowel sound, use An.