English Trick of the Day: Simple Tip to Use “A” vs “An” Correctly!

Simple Tip to Use “A” vs “An”: ‘ An Apple’ and ‘ A Cat’ . It's so easy to use. But ‘ a university’ and ‘ a unicorn’ why is that so? A confusion every kid has while learning about using correct articles before. What is usually taught in school is what makes it confusing for kids learning the correct use of ‘ a’ or ‘an’. These articles known as ‘indefinite articles’ are mostly used with countable nouns like a cat, an octopus to determine there is a single determinant here. But most students miss the most essential part of learning the use of indefinite articles which is to focus more on sounds rather than spellings as it is. 

In schools generally, students are taught to determine which word starts with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) and which one with consonants (b,d,f,g,h…etc.). But the most missing part here is putting the entire stress on a single syllabi. Vowels and consonants are sounds. They are signified through sounds, hence the words. Now if this much has been clear, we can move forward to learn the difference and how to use ‘a’ and ‘an’. 

Difference Between “A Vs An”

A is always used with words that start with consonant sounds. While, An is used with words that start with vowel sounds. It’s all about focusing on the phonetics (sound) of the word.

The trick is simplified as where spelling fails, sound technique works to define and differentiate between the use of these two articles. It’s all in sound rather than spellings. 

Confusion around ‘U’or ‘Eu’ Sound

You may have often noticed how certain words that have sounds like ‘U’ or ‘Eu’ are mixed up. It is because of the pronunciation of the word. It is better to focus on which syllable is at front and stressed more. For example, with ‘you’, A must be used because of the /y/ syllable which has a dominant sound. 

Similarly:

• University - Yoo-ni-versity- (consonant /y/ is pronounced here) so it will be A University. 

• Unicorn- Yoo-ni-corn - (consonant /y/ is pronounced here), so you will use A Unicorn and not an unicorn.

• European- Yoo-ro-pean- (consonant sound /y/ is more dominant here), hence it will be A European state. 

You may still feel confused while using a and an with these similar sounding words. The only tip is to keep on practicing with these words and look for more such words that sound like U and Eu.

Tricks to Differentiate Sounds in Acronyms 

There are several differentiating factors in using A or An. Precisely for acronyms, it get even more confusing to whether to apply an or a. As suggested before, always go with initial stressed sounds. It’s explained better with examples shared here: 

Extra Tips To Master Articles! 

In most cases these indefinite articles (a or an) change based on nouns and adjectives in the sentence. For example - 

• A cat is walking there. 

• If you add adjectives like - An orange cat is walking there. 

More examples: 

• I saw a cycle parked across the street. 

• With adjective: I saw an electric cycle parked across the street. 

Similarly, you can vary the basis of use of nouns, adjectives and verbs. The key is to understand the sounds and stress more on starting a syllable, how it sounds more than how it is spelled. 

Practice these tips and tricks to master the use of ‘ A’ and ‘ An’. Also stay tuned for more tips and tricks in understanding different tricky concepts in your subjects. 

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