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Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
Usage of AN and A
in few words like uniform ,we use a in front of them. but it has a vowel sound why cannot we use an .
Top answer
Hi, in few words like uniform ,we use a in front of them. but it has a vowel sound why cannot we use an . ' Uniform' starts with a Y sound, so we say 'a'.
- Hi, in few words like uniform ,we use a in front of them.
- but it has a vowel sound why cannot we use an .
- ' Uniform' starts with a Y sound, so we say 'a'.
- eg a year, a young man.
- Compare the word 'ugly', which starts with a vowel sound.
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6 Answers
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Hi,
in few words like uniform ,we use a in front of them. but it has a vowel sound why cannot we use an .
'Uniform' starts with a Y sound, so we say 'a'. eg a year, a young man.
Compare the word 'ugly', which starts with a vowel sound. That's why we say 'an ugly man'.
in few words like uniform ,we use a in front of them. but it has a vowel sound why cannot we use an .
'Uniform' starts with a Y sound, so we say 'a'. eg a year, a young man.
Compare the word 'ugly', which starts with a vowel sound. That's why we say 'an ugly man'.
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Actually both forms are possible and in widespread use, but the use of a is more harmonious to a native ear.
The same goes for words like university. Ex. a/an university
Grammatically speaking, an can be used if a word begins with a vowel or a consonant with the sound of vowel.
an hour, An SMS, An Umbrella and so forth.
Keep in mind, you can always use
The same goes for words like university. Ex. a/an university
Grammatically speaking, an can be used if a word begins with a vowel or a consonant with the sound of vowel.
an hour, An SMS, An Umbrella and so forth.
Keep in mind, you can always use
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Hi,
I can't remember ever encountering 'an university' from a native speaker. It just sounds completely wrong. On what grounds do you say it is widespread? For example, do you mean in China?
Keep in mind, you can always use the indifinite article an for words begining with vowels regardl
I can't remember ever encountering 'an university' from a native speaker. It just sounds completely wrong. On what grounds do you say it is widespread? For example, do you mean in China?
Keep in mind, you can always use the indifinite article an for words begining with vowels regardl
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hi
completely agree with calif. in addition we use AN for the word SMS 'cause it starts with a vowel-like sound.
completely agree with calif. in addition we use AN for the word SMS 'cause it starts with a vowel-like sound.
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The choice between a and an depends on pronunciation, NOT SPELLING. We use an before a vowel sound, even if it is written as a consonant: an hour, an MP , an SMS ...
And we use a before a consonant sound, even if it is written as a vowel: a university, a one-pound coin ...
you can check the source: the boo
And we use a before a consonant sound, even if it is written as a vowel: a university, a one-pound coin ...
you can check the source: the boo
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Thank you Clive and thank you Iman for your explanation.
OED clearly indicates that both an/a can be used for university.
You can also check an uniform in American corpus. I could find 11examples from valid sources in corpus of contemporary American English.
But I do agree with you, I was wrong about its widepread use, the use of an for university an
OED clearly indicates that both an/a can be used for university.
You can also check an uniform in American corpus. I could find 11examples from valid sources in corpus of contemporary American English.
But I do agree with you, I was wrong about its widepread use, the use of an for university an
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