Answer (1 of 10): Everyone who has posted hasn't gotten the right answer. It depends on one thing and one thing only: whether the sound after the article (an/a) is a consonant or a vowel. Use "an" before vowel sounds, and use "a" before consonant sounds. As …

One, useless, unicorn all clearly begin with a vowel; yet one sounds as though one is saying W, and the others two are voiced with an initial Y sound, and so these would be preceded by a, rather than an (“A one hundred dollar bill”).

But when the beginning h is weakly pronounced ( historic, habitual ), you may use an, especially in British English. an historic occasion (hisTORic) an habitual offender (haBITual) But these usages are becoming increasingly old-fashioned, so you may …

11/06/2012 · The rule states that “a” should be used before words that begin with consonants (e.g., b, c ,d) while “an” should be used before words that begin with vowels (e.g., a,e,i). Notice, however, that the usage is determined by the pronunciation and not by the spelling, as many people wrongly assume.

Use "an" before a word or an abbreviation that starts with a vowel sound. If it does not start with a vowel sound, use "a." The key word here is sound. It is not a question of whether the word or abbreviation starts with a vowel. It is a question of whether it starts with a vowel sound. Look at these examples with abbreviations: A FROG missile

Normally, we pronounce consonant letters with a consonant sound, and vowel letters with a vowel sound. But there are some exceptions. The rule about a or an is still the same. You just need to think about the SOUND, not the WRITING. Look at these examples: vowel LETTER but consonant SOUND. a Eu ropean country.

27/07/2012 · Incorrect: This is an universal technique. Of course, "a" goes before words that begin with a consonant if they have that consonant sound, just as "an" goes before words that begin with a vowel if they have that vowel sound. In a way, this is a poetic rule, because it's all about sound. *****. pinterest-pin-it.