For Sticklers – when to use ‘a’ or ‘an’?
Auch Muttersprachler haben manchmal Schwierigkeiten, wenn sie vor bestimmten Konsonanten und Vokalen zwischen „a“ und „an“ entscheiden müssen. So vermeiden Sie typische Fehler.
You probably know the difference between the indefinite articles ‘a’ and ‘an’. You use
- ‘an’ before a vowel sound (a, e, i, o, u)
- ‘a’ before a consonant sound (all the other letters of the alphabet)
But the rule gets a little complicated when a vowel sounds like a consonant and a consonant like a vowel, and even native speakers are sometimes not sure which to use. The key is to remember that you use ‘a’ or ‘an’ depending on the sound of the word it precedes. The words to watch out for are ones that begin with ‘h’, ‘o’, ‘u’ and ‘x’.