Sambhram instituti

When to Say a or an
The indefinite article is a or an. But how do we know when to say a and when to say an?
We use both ‘a’ and ‘an’ in the same way but we use ‘a’ in front of a consonant, and ‘an’ in front of a vowel (a,e,i,o,u). For example:

The rule is really very simple. It depends on the SOUND at the start of the following word. (It does not depend on the way we WRITE the following word, it depends on the way we SAY it.)

a + consonant SOUND

If the following word starts with a consonant SOUND, then we say a:

• 
  a cat
  
• 
  a game of golf
  
• 
  a human emotion
  
• 
  a Peruvian
  
• 
  a very nice lady
  
• 
  Here are some examples:
  
• 
  There’s a cat in the garden!
  
• 
  I need a stamp for this letter.
  
• 
  Is there a whiteboard in the classroom?
  
• 
  My husband drives a lorry.
  

an + vowel SOUND

If the following word starts with a vowel SOUND, then we say an:

• 
  an apple
  
• 
  an easy job
  
• 
  an interesting film
  
• 
  an old man
  
• 
  an umbrella
  
• 
  Sally is an accountant. She works for a multinational company.
  
• 
  We need an apple and an orange for the fruit salad.
  

The Importance of SOUND

Normally, we pronounce consonant letters with a consonant sound, and vowel letters with a vowel sound. But there are some exceptions. The rule about a or an is still the same. You just need to think about the SOUND, not the WRITING. Look at these examples: