Indefinite Article Flashcards
(3 cards)
RULE: An + vowel, A + consonant
The most frequent general determiner is the indefinite article a/an used with singular nouns:
A man came this morning and left a parcel.
He was wearing a big coat and a cap.
We use no determiner with plural nouns and uncount nouns:
Girls normally do better in school than boys. (plural nouns)
Milk is very good for you. (uncount noun)
Health and education are very important. (uncount nouns)
The use of A/AN depends on the sound:
For words where the “u” sound is pronounced like
“you”, such as user or usual, use “A”.
Use AN before words that begin with a silent ´h´
E.g. an hour, an honest man, an honorable person.
A European
A union (Y)
An uprising
A U.S. ship
An honorable act
A used car (Y)
An hour
A unicorn (Y)
An undertaker
A hotel
A/AN is used with…
Countable nouns, to say ONE:
E.g. a man, an umbrella
To mention a particular thing for the first time:
E.g. There was a fire in a house.
To refer to one example of a group. E.g. a profession or a species:
E.g. My sister is an engineer.
E.g. An African elephant has larger ears than an Indian Elephant.
In measuring.
E.g. three times a week. (per)
E.g. fifty kilometres an hour (per)
Unknown people.
E.g. A Mr Jones called while you were out.
Use AN before abbreviations said as individual letters that begin with A, E, F, H, I, L, M, N, O, R, S or X:
(because of the SOUND)
an AA meeting - an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting
an EA - an Educational Assistant
an MSc degree – a Master of Science degree
an R&D department – a Research and Development department
an FBI agent – a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent
an SDG – a Sustainable Development Goal
