A great vs an amazing

Question

I was just writing about a concert I saw, and was deciding whether to describe as 'great' or 'amazing'. Why is it 'a* great performance'  compared to '*an amazing performance'? Thanks for any help.

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

Welcome to English Forums, Chawk.
Thank you for registering.

a great performance: This is good for formal reviews. Usually the performance is a symphony, opera or play.

an amazing performance: This is good for informal reviews. The performance might be your favorite rock star or band.

CalifJim · Answer

ChawkWhy is it 'a* great performance' compared to '*an amazing performance'?

a great - "great" starts with a consonant sound (g).
an amazing - "amazing" starts with a vowel sound (a).
We add "n" so that we don't have to pronounce two vowel sounds in a row.

(In my opinion, the word "amazing" is very overused these days.)

CJ

Chawk · Answer

Thanks for this explanation- I'd never realised this before.
So, in a similar way-
An abomination
A catastrophe

Do you know of any exceptions?

Thanks

CalifJim · Answer

ChawkSo, in a similar way- An abomination A catastrophe

Right.

ChawkDo you know of any exceptions?

There are a few apparent exceptions, e.g., an hour, an honest man. But these are only apparent exceptions because the "h" is silent, so the first sound in hour and honest is a vowel sound.

Remember that this goes by sound, not by writing. Note that 'y' and 'w' are considered consonant sounds, so we have a uniform ("a yooniform") and a one-time winner ("a wun-time winner").

Some people use one or two real exceptions and write "an" where you might not expect it. an historical (novel), an hysterical (mental patient)

CJ

A great vs an amazing

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