🕵️ The Sneaky Logic Behind “A” and “An”
💁🏻 Don’t worry; it’s not that complicated. (But it’s not super obvious either.)
Generally, we use “an” for words that start with a, e, and i:
an apple 🍎, an alligator 🐊, an angry man 🤬
an elephant 🐘, an exit door 🚪, an endangered animal 🐋
an iguana 🦎, an individually-wrapped chocolate bar 🍫, an ice cream cone 🍦
Words that begin with “u” and “o” are slightly tricky:
If a word begins with “u” in which the “u” makes an [ uh ]sound, we use “an”:
an umbrella ☂️
an ugly duckling 🐥
an underwater camera 📸
BUT … if the “u” word starts with a [ you ] sound, we use “a”:
a unicorn 🦄
a university 🎓
a unique shirt 👕
a united country 🇺🇸
We use “an” for many words that begin with “o”:
an octopus 🐙
an orange 🍊
an obscure writer ✍️
⚠️ HOWEVER, we use “a” for words that start with “o” if they make a [ won ] sound:
a one-time fee 💸
a one-man army 💪
a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity 🍀
In summary, all of the following are correct:
an octagon
a one-hour break
an unmitigated disaster
a unisex changing room
an orangutan 🦧
an unfortunate side effect
a euphemism (an e-word that begins with a [yoo] sound)
an umpire staring at an umbrella bat
