A / AN
Use ' a' with nouns starting with a consonant (letters
that are not vowels),
'an' with nouns starting with a vowel ( a,e,i,o,u )
Example
- A boy
- An apple
- A car
- An orange
- A house
- An opera
NOTE:
An before an h mute - an hour,
an honour.
A before u and eu when they sound like 'you':
a eu ropean, a u niversity, a
u nit
The indefinite article is used:
- to refer to something for the first time:
An elephant and a mouse fell in
love.
Would you like a drink ?
I've finally got a good job .
- to refer to a particular member of a group or class
Example
- with names of jobs:
John is a doctor .
Mary is training to be an engineer .
He wants to be a dancer .
- with nationalities and religions:
John is an Englishman .
Kate is a Catholic .
- with musical instruments:
Sherlock Holmes was playing a violin when the visitor arrived.
( BUT to describe the activity we say "He plays the violin.")
- with names of days:
I was born on a Thursday
- to refer to a kind of, or example of something:
the mouse had a tiny nose
the elephant had a long trunk
it was a very strange car
- with singular nouns, after the words 'what' and 'such' :
What a shame !
She's such a beautiful girl .
- meaning 'one', referring to a single object or person:
I'd like an orange and two lemons please.
The burglar took a diamond necklace and a valuable
painting .
Other tags:
