Grammatically Correct 3/7/06
A weekly grammar tip created by Academic Center Peer Writing Tutors.
University of Houston-Victoria
3007 N. Ben Wilson
Victoria, TX 77901
Using A and An
by David Felts

The, a, and an are called articles, also known as determiners. These words are used to modify nouns, pronouns, and words acting as nouns. An article can be separated from a pronoun or noun with an adjective: a large cat.  A and an are indefinite articles, meaning that the modified noun refers to any member of a group. Here’s an example: a car (this means any car).

Rules for Using "A" and "An"

·        A is used before any word that begins with a consonant sound whether the word is a noun or an adjective.
Ex.:  a hiking trail, a visit to a friend’s, a midnight stroller

·        An is used before any word that begins with a vowel sound whether the word is a noun or an adjective.
Ex.:  an orange, an eagle, an art exhibition

Exceptions to the Rules (Very Important)

Though these rules are often true, there are a few exceptions. Here are the exceptions:

  • Use an before an unsounded h.
    Ex.:  an honest person, an honorable speaker
  • Use an when discussing all vowels (except u) and the consonants f, h, l, m, n, r, s, and x.
    Ex.:  Sal’s name ends with an l.
  • Use a when u makes the same sound as the y in you.
    Ex.:  a unit, a unicorn, a U.S. citizen
  • Use a when a combination of vowel sounds makes the same sound as the y in you.
    Ex.: a euthanist, a eucharist, a eutopia

A and an are also used to show membership in a profession, nation, or religion.

  • Cynthia is a lawyer.
  • Johnny is an American.
  • Juan is a Buddhist.
Definitions

Adjective
a word that describes a noun or pronoun, such as “black” in the sentence “She wore a black hat,” or “happy” in the sentence “I’ll try to make you happy.”

Article
a word used before a noun to show whether the noun refers to a particular example of something or to a general example of something

 Noun
a word or group of words that represent a person, place, thing, quality, action, or idea.

Pronoun
a word that is used instead of a noun or noun phrase, such as “he” instead of “Peter” or instead of “our boss,” or “it” instead of “the car”

Definitions come from The Longman Advanced American Dictionary.
Recommended Grammar Website of the Week
by David Felts

Along with our own website, we recommend the following site: The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Writing Center. This website has a thorough handout on article use. Visit this handout at http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/articles.html.

Test Your Knowledge
by David Felts

Test your understanding by making the needed corrections to the following sentences.

1.  The class is experiencing a eventful semester.

2.  Scott has a test next week.

3.  I don’t listen to him because he is not a honest person.

4.  There is a unit missing from the whole.

5.  That word seems to be missing a “m.”

Answers

1.  The class is experiencing an eventful semester.

2.  Scott has a test next week. [This sentence is already correct.]

3.  I don’t listen to him because he is not an honest person.

4.  There is a unit missing from the whole. [This sentence is already correct.]

5.  That word seems to be missing an “m.”

 

Grammatically Correct is a grammar tip of the week created by Academic Center Peer Writing Tutors at the University of Houston-Victoria in Victoria, Texas.

Comments about this newsletter should be directed to Summer Leibensperger, leibenspergers@uhv.edu.

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