When to use an

When to use an When to use an When to use an By Maeve Maddox David asks When to use a or an? a horse, an apple. A SUV or an SUV? The rule is to use the article a before words beginning with a consonant sound and an before one beginning with a vowel sound: a dog an eel an hour Disagreement exists with certain h words. For example, not everyone pronounces the h in herb, homage, and humble, but more and more native speakers do. Depending upon vocal stress, one might hear either â€Å"a historic occasion† or â€Å"an historic occasion.† Most American speakers would probably say â€Å"a historic.† Either is correct in writing. About the only common English h words that definitely require an are heir/heiress/heirloom, honest, honor/honorable, and hour: an heir to the throne an honest man an honorable woman an hour before Which indefinite article to use before an abbreviation, a numeral, or a symbol, depends upon pronunciation. Some examples from the Chicago Manual of Stylee: an NBC anchor a CBS anchor a URL an @ sign CMOS also points out two possible readings of MS: an MS treatment Here the letters stand for â€Å"multiple sclerosis† and are read as â€Å"Em S.† a MS in the National library Here the letters stand for â€Å"manuscript† and are customarily read as â€Å"manuscript.† Youd write an SUV because SUV is pronounced one letter at a time and the sound of S is ess. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:10 Rules for Writing Numbers and Numerals50 Nautical Terms in General UseWood vs. Wooden