[Grammar] A & An

[marjantaj]

Hello...
Today I did two quizzes in this website about A and An. Here I got a problem, will you help me?

1- ....... open door: I used A for this one but the answer was An; why it should be An? I think we're speaking about "door". But in the same quizz there was another question that was: ...... one-day course, and choose A and it was correct. I don't understand the difference.

2- ........ euphemism: I used An, but the correct answer was A. Why? As I learned that An is used for the words starting with "a, e, i, o, u"; so why here An is not used.

Many thanks for your answer!

Marjantaj

 

[Barb_D]

Hello,
You choose "a" or "an" based on the SOUND of the next word, not the letter.

1a. Open. Open starts with an "oh" sound, which is a vowel sound. An open door.
1b. One-day. One starts with a "wuh" sound, which is a consonant sound. A one-day course.
2. Euphemism. That starts with a "yoo" sound, which is a consonant sound. A euphemism.

Right now, I can't think of any words that start with A or I that start with a consonant sound, but E, O, and U both have a vowel sound and a consonant sound.
An elegy.
A eulogy.

An opossum.
A one-time thing.

An umbrella.
A university.

To summarize, consider how it sounds, not how it is spelled.

 

[bhaisahab]

1. An open door. A door which is open.
2. A euphemism. This is pronounced with a "y" sound at the beginning. "y" is a consonant.

Does that help you to understand?

 

[GoesStation]

An exists to avoid having to say two vowels in a row, which is awkward. So, any time the word following a is pronounced with a vowel at the beginning, you replace a with an.

A 100-year flood ("ay wun....")
An 11-day illness ("an ehlehv'n...")
An idiom
A euphemism

Etc.

Some American dialects don't use an very often, so you may hear things like a eleven year-old ​on TV or in films. This is nonstandard usage.

 

[kilroy65]

In addition to the previous comments, I've noticed that ESL students always get especially confused about these three examples:

- an MP3 player
- an hour
- a year

 

[Tdol]

You choose "a" or "an" based on the SOUND of the next word, not the letter.

This is important as some learners think only of the noun, but when the article is followed by an adjective, it is the adjective's first sound that is important, not the noun's.

 

[marjantaj]

Dear Barb_D,
Thanks a million for your explanation. Now I surley understand how A or An work.

I'm sure you're a good teacher.

Thanks again!

Marjantaj

 

[marjantaj]

Dear Kilroy65,
The problem is because teachers in the collage never spend more times for the students, they just want to teach the lesson and then having their coffee.
This website is better than any other collages.
I'm really thankful for your help.

Marjantaj

 

[emsr2d2]

Thanks a million for your explanation. Now I [STRIKE]surley[/STRIKE] understand how "a" [STRIKE]or[/STRIKE] and [STRIKE]An[/STRIKE] "an" work.

I have deleted "surley" - it was misspelt (it should be "surely") but, even if you had spelt it correctly, it would have been unnecessary.

Dear Kilroy65,
The problem is [STRIKE]because[/STRIKE] that the teachers in the college never spend [STRIKE]more[/STRIKE] enough [STRIKE]times[/STRIKE] time [STRIKE]for[/STRIKE] with the students; they just want to teach the lesson and then [STRIKE]having[/STRIKE] have their coffee.
This website is better than any [STRIKE]other[/STRIKE] college[STRIKE]s[/STRIKE].
I'm really thankful for your help.

Marjantaj

See my corrections above, marked in red.