What Is the Difference Between A and An?

When you are learning English, you will notice that the words 'a' and 'an' are used. One concept that you really need to grasp is what their purpose is and, perhaps more importantly, when you should be using a and when you should be using an. Luckily for you, our tutors at JustLearn have all the information for you. We are going to cover that on this page.

The similarities

Both 'a' and 'an' are what are known as indefinite articles. We don't really want to go into the technicalities of what that means as this is not going to be a huge grammar lesson.

All you really need to know is that the words 'a' and 'an' are used in the same context as indefinite articles. However, they will be used at different times. This is what some English learners struggle to grasp.

The use of A

You will use 'a' when the first sound of the following word sounds like a consonant. For example:

* A mouse

* A coffee

* A cupcake

* A tiger

In most cases, the word will start with a consonant, so it should be pretty easy to know when you should be using A. However, as we said before, it is also used when the starting sound sounds like a consonant. For example, unique. The combination of the 'un' makes it sound like a consonant. In this case, it is y.

We do want to mention the word 'herb' here. Although, we are going to come to why in the next section, but keep the word herb in your mind.

The use of AN

The word 'an' is different to 'a'. This word is used when the first sound that the word makes sounds like a vowel or is a vowel. So, the following would be correct:

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* An antelope

* An igloo

* An aubergine

It should be pretty easy to grasp.

However, let's confuse things for a second here, shall we? Remember that word 'herb' that we asked you to remember? Well, this is proof of how the different sounds a word makes can influence whether you use 'an' or 'a'.

In British English, herb is pronounced with a hard H. So, you actually pronounce the H. Since this is a consonant sound, you would start the word with 'a'

In American English, the H isn't pronounced. Instead, the first letter you pronounce is E. This means that it sounds like it has a vowel. As a result, you would use 'an'.

So the following are both correct, depending on the version of English that you are speaking:

* A herb

* An herb