Is it a useful or an useful? or a useful? copper is ______

A historic or an historic? A university or an university? A MBA or an MBA? A user or an user? If there"s even a little doubt about which is correct, there is a simple rule to lớn clear up the confusion.

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First, why the confusion?

In grade school, I was taught a simple (but wrong) rule for using a or an:

Use "a" for words that begin with a consonant & "an" for words that begin with vowels.

Although this rule is correct for a lot of words, the actual rule has very little to vị with how a word is spelled. The rule has everything to do with how the word is pronounced:

Use "a" for words that begin with a consonant sound và "an" for words that begin with a vowel sound.

Common questions

Question: A historic or an historic? Answer: A historic. The word historic is pronounced with an H sound. In this case, the H sound is a consonant sound.

Question: A university or an university? Answer: A university. Although U is a vowel, the pronunciation of university begins with a Y sound (you-nee-...) which is a consonant sound.

Question: A MBA or an MBA? Answer: Both. If you pronounce the acronym as em-bee-ey, you should use an, since it"s pronounced with a vowel sound. However, if you expand the acronym khổng lồ Master of Business Administration, you should use a, since master is pronounced with a consonant M sound. Although the former is more commonly used, both are acceptable.

Question: A user or an user? Answer: A user. Although U is a vowel, the pronunciation of user begins with a Y sound (you-zer) which is a consonant sound.

Question: A hotel or an hotel? Answer: A hotel. The word hotel is pronounced with an H sound. In this case, the H sound is a consonant sound.

Tough questions

Question: A one or an one? Answer: A one. The word one is pronounced with a W sound. In this case, the W sound is a consonant sound.

Question: A useful or an useful? Answer: A useful. Although U is a vowel, the pronunciation of useful begins with a Y sound (yoos-ful) which is a consonant sound.

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Question: A thư điện tử or an email? Answer: An email. The pronunciation of the word email begins with an eee sound. This is a vowel sound.

Question: A or an before s-words? Answer: It depends. For a simple word lượt thích secure, you should use a secure, since its pronunciation begins with an S consonant sound. For a more complex example lượt thích SSH, you should go through the same thought process as in the MBA question. You could go either way for SSH. However, the more common usage is an SSH.

Question: A or an before x-words? Answer: It depends again. For a simple word lượt thích xylophone, you should use a xylophone, since its pronunciation begins with an Z consonant sound. For a more complex example lượt thích x-ray, you should pronounce the word: ex-ray. Its pronunciation begins with a vowel sound, so its usage is an x-ray.

Trick question

Question: A honest or an honest? Answer: An honest. Did I catch you? The word honest begins with an H which is a consonant. However, it is pronounced onest. That"s right... Its pronunciation begins with a vowel sound.

Let your ear decide

The old grade school rule works most of the time for two reasons:

The spelling of most words that begin with a consonant are pronounced with a consonant sound.The same is true for words that begin with a vowel -- they are pronounced with a vowel sound.

However, the examples given above show the spelling of some words that begin with a consonant are pronounced with a vowel sound. Some that begin with a vowel are pronounced with a consonant sound. So when all else fails, say the word aloud, and let your ear decide whether it begins with a consonant or a vowel.

About the Author

Ray Li

Ray is a software engineer and data enthusiast who has been blogging for over a decade. He loves to lớn learn, teach & grow. You’ll usually find him wrangling data, programming và lifehacking.

The model NWC was outlined as a useful document lớn assist in such negotiations.- Always a useful thing lớn have along, sir.Life with a hypochondriac mother gives you a useful knowledge of pharmaceuticals.We have a useful tool, we must use it lớn improve coordination.- A camera"s a useful gadget.Quite a useful tool in a seduction.It played a useful, even essential role.Benchmarking can be a useful instrument for keeping track.Absolute control is a useful thing.The Irish proposals provide a useful platform here.The Amsterdam Conference produced a useful but incomplete result.Regional policy is a useful tool for islands.Your plain speaking everyman perspective is a useful counterpoint.Could be a useful positioning piece for me.All right, here"s a useful lesson for you.I thought he might make a useful addition khổng lồ our team.This business serves as a useful front.My mom told us khổng lồ make a useful life.Study hard & be a useful person in the future.Consultation of a credit database is a useful element in the assessment of creditworthiness.

Some examples from the web:

The possibility of extending the duration of an auxiliary contract constitutes an useful element of flexibility in the use of the institutions" human resources.The GEGL Operation tool has been added in GIMP 2.6 và was originally meant as an useful experimental tool for GIMP developers. The GEGL Operation tool enables applying GEGL operations to lớn the image and gives on-canvas previews of the results.And they"re an enormously useful tool in modern molecular biology.As for the Otila report it giao dịch with an extremely useful aid measure.That is an extremely useful definition.Exchange of best practice has proved an especially useful tool.The mạng internet is undoubtedly an extremely useful communication tool, which can however be misused và exploited by terrorist organisations.That was an exceptionally useful piece of political coordination.The land has an unlimited useful life.In conclusion, your rapporteur sees Ecolabel as an extremely useful tool for improving the environment-friendliness of European products và stimulating research và technological innovation.The draft report is an extremely useful compendium of data and commentary that is not otherwise available in readily consultable form.But the setting up of this Tribunal persuaded me that it is an extremely useful instrument for international peace and for preventing other large-scale crimes.I would like to congratulate Mr Mc
Millan-Scott on an extremely useful and balanced report on relations with China.This year was, in my opinion, an extremely useful one in the field of justice and home affairs.Since then, Parliament"s Directorate-General for Research has produced an extremely useful update study.This is an extremely useful remedy for the citizens, businesses and other organisations throughout Europe, confronted as they are with cases of maladministration within the European institutions.Late last month, I paid an extremely useful working visit to lớn Kosovo, where the situation is alarming.We are living through difficult times but we have in our hands an extraordinarily useful instrument to lớn tackle these difficulties.The new Treaty is an unquestionably useful tool for the EU, but it cannot be used lớn establish a multi-speed Europe.Mr President, this has been an extremely useful và valuable debate for the preparations for the summit.
abnormalty or anomaly? agenda or an agenda? agenda or schedule? historic or historical? a historical or an historical ? it was anomaly or it was an anomaly?

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