In English, we often need to say the words “a” or “an” before nouns. How do we know which word to use?

The answer is: if the noun begins with a VOWEL sound (a, e, i, o, u), we say “an”.

If the noun begins with a CONSONANT sound (any other sound other than a, e, i, o, or u), we say “a”.

Exercise: Choose either "a" or "an" to go before each of these nouns.

1. cat

2. ant

3. chair

4. egg

5. sandwich

6. umbrella

7. orange

8. pear

9. country

10. igloo

Answers:

1. cat: a

2. ant: an

3. chair: a

4. egg: an 

5. sandwich: a

6. umbrella: an

7. orange: an

8. pear: a

9. country: a

10. igloo: an

Ant, egg, umbrella, orange, and igloo all begin with vowel sounds, so they have an before them.

Cat, chair, sandwich, pear, and country begin with consonant sounds, so they have a before them.

Header photo by Arun Kumar