Which indefinite article is used before a letter? How do you decide? Is the way a letter is "spelled" the deciding factor?

1 Answer
Jun 30, 2016

Use "an" before a word starting with a vowel sound; otherwise use "a".

Explanation:

Usually this means that you use "an" if the word following starts with a vowel;
for example:
color(white)("XXX")XXXan apple
color(white)("XXX")XXXan eagle
color(white)("XXX")XXXan innocent glancecolor(white)("XXX")XXXnotice that it is the next word and not the next noun that matters

There are exceptions, most commonly when words start with the letter "H";
for example:
color(white)("XXX")XXXan honor
but note:
color(white)("XXX")XXXa horse
color(white)("XXXXXX")XXXXXXThe difference here is whether the consonant "h" is silent or sounded.

"spelling" is a contributing factor in whether a word starts with a vowel sound, but as can been seen (above) it is not the defining characteristic.