?a یا anساده اما پیچیده؟

This is an apple.

This is a pencil.

The articles an and a

both mean one

but why did we use an for apple

and a for pencil?

Do you remember this lesson in school?

I remember my teacher saying:

If a noun starts with a vowel

you should put an before it.

What are the vowels?

a-e-i-o-u

and then she would draw a face with these letters

to help us memorize them.

That was cute but not completely correct.

The choice of article

is based upon the

sound of the first letter in a word

not the written representation of the letter.

So if the first letter makes a vowel-type sound

you use “an.”

an apricot

an egg

an orange

an Indian

an uprising

If the first letter makes a consonant-type sound

you use “a.”

a cat

a dog

a buffalo

a purple onion

a big apple

However

even if you follow these basic rules

remember that

there are some exceptions to them.

Use “an” before a silent or unsounded “h.”

Like:

an hour

an honor

an honest mistake

Use “a” when the letter “o”

makes the same sound as “w” in “one”.

Like:

a one-legged man

a one-year-old child

a one-hour workshop

Use “a” when the letter “u”

makes the same sound as the “y” in the word “you”.

Like:

a union

a unicorn

a used napkin

Now what are the correct articles for these nouns?

Write your answers in the comments!

I’ll see you in the next video.

Bye!