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Olive Green Posted 9 years ago
Grammar

The use of "an" with "English"

Hi. I came across this sentence from a forum on a different website when I searched about the correct usage of the adverb "never" + the verb have.


“We can never use "an" with "English" since it's not quantifiable”


My question is, if we can never use "an" with "English", then is it wrong to say for instance, "She is an English teacher"?

  

Top answer

Olive Green "She is an English teacher"? 'an' here refers to 'teacher', not 'English'. Both 'an' and 'English' are modifiers of teacher, so you should pay attention to the head word in a noun phrase to see whether it is countable or not.

— Persian Learner

  • Olive Green "She is an English teacher"?
  • 'an' here refers to 'teacher', not 'English'.
  • Both 'an' and 'English' are modifiers of teacher, so you should pay attention to the head word in a noun phrase to see whether it is countable or not.
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2 Answers
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Olive Green"She is an English teacher"?

'an' here refers to 'teacher', not 'English'. Both 'an' and 'English' are modifiers of teacher, so you should pay attention to the head word in a noun phrase to see whether it is countable or not.

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Olive GreenWe can never use "an" with "English" since it's not quantifiable”.
  • It's not correct. It should be 'an English teacher'.
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