A/an European expert was invited to speak to the committee.

[danghuynh88]

I am doing an online exercise on internet about A-An-The

I chose An as the answer but it turned out I was wrong. I thought we have to use An before "a,e,i,o,u".

Thanks

 

[danghuynh88]

so as you say, the articles only applies on the word right after it. Then what about this one "an honest opinion", I was corrected that it was "an honest opinion", not "a honest opinion".

 

[kilroy65]

Here's a thread which provides a detailed explanation on the matter:

https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/threads/235422-A-amp-An

I hope it helps.

 

[Matthew Wai]

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/540/01/
Scroll down to 'Remember, using a or an depends on the sound that begins the next word.'

The following thread is also relevant.
https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/threads/232086-An-MQI-channel-(A-MQI-channel)

 

[danghuynh88]

Thank you guys, this is unbelievable, I have thought wrongly for the past 27 years that we follow the letters to use a/an.

 

[GoesStation]

Thank you guys, this is unbelievable, I have thought wrongly for the past 27 years that we follow the letters to use a/an.

Many people make the same mistake. Only the sound that follows the article in spoken English affects the choice.

 

[Narkises]

Hello,
I always use a trick to understand this issue. I think about pronunciation and I choose the more fluent way of pronouncing. Look; "An apple" or "an honest" are very fluent and you can say it as one word: ((anapple)) or ((anonest)) !! But pronouncing "an European" needs a lot of efforts and it has a Big pause!

I'm not a teacher and I'm not sure about my innovative rule; but it works for me and I clearly understand how to use a/an!

Let's see what the native speakers say. :shock:

 

[GoesStation]

Hello,
I always use a trick to understand this issue. I think about pronunciation and I choose the more fluent way of pronouncing. Look; "An apple" or "an honest" are very fluent and you can say it as one word: ((anapple)) or ((anonest)) !! But pronouncing "an European" needs a lot of efforts and it has a Big pause!

I'm not a teacher and I'm not sure about my innovative rule; but it works for me and I clearly understand how to use a/an!

Let's see what the native speakers say. :shock:

Your method is the right approach. The only reason an exists is that saying something like a apple is awkward.

 

[danghuynh88]

That trick is pretty awesome, but can you suggest a few more words please, very interesting. I couldn't think of any now

Hello,
I always use a trick to understand this issue. I think about pronunciation and I choose the more fluent way of pronouncing. Look; "An apple" or "an honest" are very fluent and you can say it as one word: ((anapple)) or ((anonest)) !! But pronouncing "an European" needs a lot of efforts and it has a Big pause!

I'm not a teacher and I'm not sure about my innovative rule; but it works for me and I clearly understand how to use a/an!

Let's see what the native speakers say. :shock:

 

[danghuynh88]

What about "an expert" ??

 

[danghuynh88]

What about "an expert" ??

No that obviously to use an, I want
some examples using an with words that ending without a,e,i, o, u.

 

[Matthew Wai]

An hour.

 

[GoesStation]

No that obviously to use an, I want
some examples using an with words that ending without a,e,i, o, u.

You mean with words that begin with a consonant. How about an FBI informant?

Here are some more examples of both variations: A before a vowel and an before a consonant or a numeral.

An 18-mm wrench.
A one-inch screw.
An H-bomb. (People who pronounce H like "haitch" can write a H-bomb.)
A U-turn.
An F chord.
A Y intersection.

 

[Barb_D]

In general, H's and U's will be the letters you need to think more about about. (As you see in European, those are not the ONLY letters.)

hour -i s "ow-er" so it starts with a vowel sound. An hour.
humble - starts with the H sound. A humble visitor.

umbrella starts with the "uh" sound - vowel - an umbrella.
university stats with the "Y" sound "you-niversity" - consonant - a university

You will have to look up how to pronounce the words you don't know.

When you have an abbreviation where you say the letters individually, think about how the letter sounds. F is "eff" - an vowel sound at the start. An FBI agent is an Eff Bee Eye agent. Any abbreviation that starts with A, E, I, or O will be "an." An EPA rule, an IBM innovation, etc. If it starts with U, we say "you" - a You Eff Oh - I saw a UFO last night.

 

[SoothingDave]

Your method is the right approach. The only reason an exists is that saying something like a apple is awkward.

Exactly! Lots of things in language are arbitrary, but this is actually based on ease of pronunciation.

 

[danghuynh88]

Thanks everyone for spelling that out. This is way more complicated than I expect. It's gonna take a while to rule it.

 

[Narkises]

All these examples make sense if we pronounce them fluently!
An 18: ((Aneytheen))
An H: ((aneych))
An F: ((anef)) :-D

 

[Narkises]

Thanks everyone for spelling that out. This is way more complicated than I expect. It's gonna take a while to rule it.

NO! It's a piece of cake! Don't be afraid of it! Take it easy; just say the words and you'll find the answer! ;-)

 

[GoesStation]

Thanks everyone for spelling that out. This is way more complicated than I expect. It's gonna take a while to rule it.

It's not complicated provided you know how to pronounce the word after the article. If the word begins with a vowel sound, use an. Otherwise, use ​a.

 

[Tarheel]

That trick is pretty awesome, but can you suggest a few more words please, very interesting. I couldn't think of any now

I am not sure what you mean. You say:

I ate an ear of corn.
I saw a raccoon.
I ate an orange.
I read a book.
I ate an apple.
I saw a car.

(Please note that my comments follow the quoted text.)