"a" and "an"

could you please tell me the difference and base of "a"and "an"

[monty mike]

If a noun starts with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) you would use 'an'. Otherwise you can use 'a'. Two examples:

1. Have you seen an elephant around here? (elephant begins with 'e' which is a vowel)
2. Have a nice day! (nice begins with 'n' which is a consonant, i.e. not a vowel)

[Hydee]

Aand An are articles. It is use in singular nouns. A is used before consonants. An is used before vowels. A and An mark any person or thing.
Ex: An ambulance has a siren.

[jamiep]

Just to add it's the sound of the word that you need to go by. For example "university" sounds like "yooniversity" so it's a university.

[engee30]

Originally Posted by monty mike

If a noun starts with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) you would use 'an'. Otherwise you can use 'a'.

I used to teach my students the rule with a little difference:

If a noun starts with a vowel sound (not a vowel letter), then you use 'an'; otherwise, you use 'a':

an umbrella [ʌm'brelǝ] but a university [ju:nɪ'vƐ:sǝti]
a hero ['hɪǝrǝʊ] but an hour [aʊǝ]