Grammatical Rules (grammar rules)

1. "A" is used with names that begin with a consonant.

Examples:

  a book (a book)

  a pen (pen)

  a chair (chair)

  a girl (a girl)

2. "An" is used with names that begin with a vowel.

Examples:

  Animal an (animal)

  an ice cream (ice cream)

  an example (an example)

  an orange (orange)

  an umbrella (umbrella)

exceptions:

We use "a" before words that begin with the letters "u" or "eu" when these are pronounced as the figurative sound "yu".

Examples:

  a university (college)

  to euro (one euro)

"W" is used with words beginning with "h", but only when it is silent.

Examples:

  an hour (one hour)

  a hospital (a hospital)