A hotel, an hotel?

Simple one this, a hotel

Many thanks. This has been a great help. The argument ended, the bet settled!

Hitchhiker is right, most people us a hotel, but you can also say an hotel!

The reason people use an is because the first syllable is unstressed in hotel, much like the word hierloom or historic.
If the first syllable is stressed like in hospital or househusband, then you can only use a.

So, if you use a or an, you are technically right!

Juliette

It sounds awful though!

it really sounds awfull when you say "an hotel". From what i've learned we use "a" if the noun starts with a consonant letter like " a handbag" now, we use "an" if the noun starts with a vowel like" an apple". Please correct me if I'm wrong, thanks!!

I think this may be influenced by whether it is American or British English (but I could be wrong).

The 'h' in hotel is pronounced in British English, therefore you use 'a'.

There are words beginning with h where the h is not sounded, for example, heir. In that case you use an heir, not a heir.

I know the Americans drop more h's than we do, so possibly they say 'ote

Hi,

Just adding my two cents, I'd vote for the "a hotel" version.

Here is an article dealing with this specific question (including hotel) at [url="http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutgrammar/hotel?view=uk"]AskOxford.com: Ask the Experts[/url].

0 The use of the article "a" or "an" before "hotel" is influenced by the usage (i.e. whether American or British); however the conjecture that the usage of "a hotel" indicates the British is incorrect. There is a predilection for the phrase "an hotel" in the Queen's English when compared with the American usage (the Queen's English being the monastic form of British English). In using the Quee

0 --- Many thanks. This has been a great help. The argument ended, the bet settled! --- 02br
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00Nothing is settled that fast on this board! As an American, I would say "a hotel" (pronuouncing the "h") and "an herb garden" (dropping the "h"). (however, if I were saying the name Herb, short for Herbert, I would pronounce the "h"). However, I seem to remember the rule tha

0 I believe that 'an' can be used with words that start with a silent H, or words where the H is sounded, but the first syllable is unstressed. 02br
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00Thus 'an historical', 'an historian', 'an hotel'; but 'a history', 'a hog', 'a hopeless case'. 02br
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00(That said, I'd vote for 'a hotel'/'a historian'.) 02br
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00MrP 0-