Easy English Lesson: Should you use “A” or “AN”?

Hello. I'm Gill from engVid, back to give you another lesson on an aspect of English,

and today we're looking at the indefinite article, which is "a" and "an", and when to

use each one. So: "a", "an", indefinite article. So, there's one main rule to this that you

use "a" before a consonant sound and "an" before a vowel sound. But as you'll see, sometimes

there are some little exceptions where you just have to bear something in mind to do

with how the word is pronounced, rather than how it's spelt. You'll see that as we go through.

So, just to look at the list here, the letter "a", some people will say: "a" which is okay

if you're emphasizing it, but normally we just pronounce it "uh". So: "uh bag", "uh

coat", you don't say: "a bag", "a coat". It doesn't sound very, you know, normal. So:

"a bag", "a coat", "a dress". And then here's the first exception to the rule, this word

is spelt with an "E", it begins with an "E", which you might think: "Well, that's one of

the vowels: a, e, i, o u. Why is a vowel here for 'E'?" And the answer is that when you

pronounce this word you're making a "y" sound, so it's not "e", "e", "European", it's: "Yuropean",

so: "a European", and that's why there are sometimes

these exceptions, so that is one of them.

Okay. So, then, continuing: "a fridge", "a giraffe", "a kitchen", "a map", "a sound".

And again, letter "u" is a vowel, but the pronunciation is this "y" sound again, so:

"a university". Okay, so it's important to know how the word sounds before you know whether

to write "a" or "an". Okay? So I hope that's clear.

So let's move on to the other column. This one, "an" comes before a vowel sound. And,

again, we pronounce it... This is: "a", this is "un", "un". We don't say: "an". People

do, again, for emphasis, but: "un", because this is a very small, little word, it's not

one of the most important words in a sentence, we don't usually emphasize it. So: "an artist",

"an exhibition", "an insult". If you're not sure what "insult" is, if someone says something

bad about you, they've... That's an insult. If you... If you hear them as well, you say:

"That's an insult. How can you insult me like that?" So, that's an insult, an insult.

"An offer", make me an offer. "An upset", again, if you're not sure of the word "upset",

if you hear somebody insulting you, you will become upset and it becomes an upset. That

was an upset when I heard that insult. So: "an upset". Okay? And then, finally, one other

exception, here's one beginning with "h", but it's one of the small number of words

beginning with "h" where you don't pronounce the "h", so it's pronounced: "onour", so it's

as if it began with an "o", so: "an honour". We don't say: "h-onour", it's: "onour", so:

"an honour". So, that's another little exception. Okay, so I hope that's clear. And we'll now

move on to a second board, where I'll give you a little test where you can choose which

of these two to put in the gaps. Okay.

Okay, so now we have a test, and it's for you to decide whether to put "a" or "an" in

each gap. Okay, so let's go.

"Do you have _____ pen?" Which would you put there? "Do you have a

pen?" Okay? Because "p" is a consonant, "pen". "A pen", okay.

"I'm looking for _____ cup." What would you put there? So: "I'm looking

for a cup", because "c" is another consonant. Okay?

Next one: "Shall we boil _____ egg? Shall we boil _____

egg?" So "e", is that a consonant or is it a vowel?

So, it's a vowel, isn't it? So it's: "Shall we boil an egg?" Okay. Right.

Next one: "How much is _____ Euro worth?"

"Worth" meaning: What is the value of...? Maybe compared to dollars or pounds. So: "How

much is _____ Euro worth?" Euro, it's an "E", but remember it's also about how it sounds.

So, when you say: "Yuro", you're making a "y" sound, like that: "ya". So, it's not "an"

in this case, it's "a". "How much is a Euro worth?" Okay. Right.

So, next one. This is an ominous thing that sometimes people say:

"We need to have _____ talk." And you think: "Oh my goodness, what is this

going to be about?" Anyway. "We need to have a talk." Okay? Because "t" is another consonant.

"A talk". Right.

Next one. You see a tree with apples growing, and you feel like eating one, so you say:

"I'm going to pick _____ apple." So, which one would you put there? "I'm going

to pick an apple." Because "a" is a vowel sound, okay.

Next one: "They used to have _____ dog."

Maybe a family next door to you, and you think: "What...? What's happened to their dog? They

used to have _____ dog. They used to have a dog", because "d" is another consonant.

Okay. Right.

Next one: "It's not really _____ problem." Which would you put there? "It's not really

a problem" because "p" is another consonant. Okay.

Next one: "I don't think that's _____ option. I don't

think that's _____ option." What would you put? "I don't think that's

an option." Okay? Because "o" is a vowel sound.

And then finally, kings always need somebody to follow them. So:

"The king needs _____ heir." And this word, if you don't know it, is pronounced:

"eir". It has an "h" at the beginning, but the "h" is not sounded, so: "The king needs

_____ heir." So that's really a vowel sound, isn't it? So: "The king needs an heir." Okay.

So, there we are. I hope... I'm sure you got all of those right. So, I hope that was useful.

And please visit the website, www.engvid.com, and there's a further quiz on this topic.

And do subscribe to my channel if you've enjoyed this lesson, and see you again soon. Okay.

Bye for now.