A or An?
Brought to you by the Purdue University Online Writing Lab
"A" goes before all words that begin with consonants.
- a cat
- a dog
- a purple onion
- a buffalo
- a big apple
with one exception: Use an before unsounded h.
- an honorable peace
- an honest error
"An" goes before all words that begin with vowels:
- an apricot
- an egg
- an Indian
- an orbit
- an uprising
with two exceptions: When u makes the same sound as the y in you, or o makes the same sound as w in won, then a is used.
- a union
- a united front
- a unicorn
- a used napkin
- a U.S. ship
- a one-legged man